Blanca Datuin
Yesterday at 7:19pm ·
Uncluttering my clutter yielded this copy of passages from "Dark Night of the Soul" (La Noche Oscura del Alma) by St. John of the Cross, which I had kept all these years. It was actually posted by a member of an egroup, I don't know whether It was Searchlight or another egroup. Anyway, it led to my discovery and great interest in the life of this saint who suffered a lot in his life as a Discalced Carmelite priest and mystic. In his spiritual crisis, he found such deep meaning that drove him even closer to God in a union described by this saint..
Yesterday at 7:19pm ·
Uncluttering my clutter yielded this copy of passages from "Dark Night of the Soul" (La Noche Oscura del Alma) by St. John of the Cross, which I had kept all these years. It was actually posted by a member of an egroup, I don't know whether It was Searchlight or another egroup. Anyway, it led to my discovery and great interest in the life of this saint who suffered a lot in his life as a Discalced Carmelite priest and mystic. In his spiritual crisis, he found such deep meaning that drove him even closer to God in a union described by this saint..
From the website on St. John:
The term "dark night (of the soul)" is used in Roman Catholicism for a spiritual crisis in a journey towards union with God, like that described by Saint John of the Cross.
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, a 19th-century French Carmelite, wrote of her own experience. Centering on doubts about the afterlife, she reportedly told her fellow nuns, "If you only knew what darkness I am plunged into."[1]
While this crisis is usually temporary in nature, it may last for extended periods. The "dark night" of Saint Paul of the Cross in the 18th century lasted 45 years, from which he ultimately recovered. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, according to letters released in 2007, "may be the most extensive such case on record", lasting from 1948 almost up until her death in 1997, with only brief interludes of relief in between.[2] Franciscan Friar Father Benedict Groeschel, a friend of Mother Teresa for a large part of her life, claims that "the darkness left" towards the end of her life.[3]
The term "dark night (of the soul)" is used in Roman Catholicism for a spiritual crisis in a journey towards union with God, like that described by Saint John of the Cross.
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, a 19th-century French Carmelite, wrote of her own experience. Centering on doubts about the afterlife, she reportedly told her fellow nuns, "If you only knew what darkness I am plunged into."[1]
While this crisis is usually temporary in nature, it may last for extended periods. The "dark night" of Saint Paul of the Cross in the 18th century lasted 45 years, from which he ultimately recovered. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, according to letters released in 2007, "may be the most extensive such case on record", lasting from 1948 almost up until her death in 1997, with only brief interludes of relief in between.[2] Franciscan Friar Father Benedict Groeschel, a friend of Mother Teresa for a large part of her life, claims that "the darkness left" towards the end of her life.[3]
MY DAY IS ENDING
Let go of what you have. As the night descends, remind me again that the soul that walks in love neither rests nor grows tired. I know that it is foolish and ignorant to think that I can achieve union with you without emptying my life of all my trivial passions. But I seem forever content to restrict my soul to childish things, of how much spiritual good and abundance I so easily pass up, blinding myself to the difference between what I am content with and the total transformation that you have offered me.
Descend on my soul like a river of peace: to take away my uncertainties, my fear of the dark.
Let go of what you have. As the night descends, remind me again that the soul that walks in love neither rests nor grows tired. I know that it is foolish and ignorant to think that I can achieve union with you without emptying my life of all my trivial passions. But I seem forever content to restrict my soul to childish things, of how much spiritual good and abundance I so easily pass up, blinding myself to the difference between what I am content with and the total transformation that you have offered me.
Descend on my soul like a river of peace: to take away my uncertainties, my fear of the dark.
