What is ' A Dark night of the Soul '?

Question

What is ' A Dark night of the Soul '?

Answer 1

It's a term coined by St. John of the Cross, a Spanish saint from the Middle Ages who wrote the Spiritual Canticle, a long poetic work of spirituality.

Modern Christians often speak of it as a "desert experience." It's a "dry time" in your spiritual life in which you feel cut off from the Presence of God. You may have difficulty praying, reading the Word, etc. and feel like you get nothing out of worship. It is often spoken of as a testing time, a time to see whether you can continue to believe what you know without all the emotional "feelgood" factors, if you can believe in the Son even when it's raining, you can't "hear" or "feel" His presence, and everything seems worthless.

Some say that only truly strong souls are ever given the "dark night" experience. I say rather that only those who are strong in their faith come out on the other side with that faith intact. In that sense, it does sift the wheat from the chaff.

The dark night doesn't last forever. The Psalms say it best: "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning."

Or as we say in Protestant circles--today is Friday, but Sunday's coming.

Answer 2

Spiritual void, dryness and desolation. The negative aspect, misery of life.More on it I have given in my answer to Sirius question on the same two days ago.  

Answer 3

An intense spiritual experience where the soul encounters the sin in our life, understanding what it truly is and what it does to our relationship with God and other people. Comparable to what Jesus experienced on the cross, who when weighed with the sins of the world felt forsaken of God and broken in spirit. As heart wrenching and oppressing as it is, sometimes lasting for an extended period of time, it pales in comparision of the joy and estatic communion with God that follows it.

Read about St. John of the Cross and St. Theresa of Avila for more insight into this humble experience.

http://www.ccel.org/j/john_cross/?show=w...

http://www.karmel.at/eng/teresa.htm

Answer 4

I'd think it would be anytime one would allow, soul threatening behaviour, events, help opaque its' inherent Buddha clarity.

That "Dark Night" could possibly feel so comfortable, falsely unburdening that one would be tempted to become murkier and murkier of soul, until no light would break through...and the effort to come back would be impossible. In a great many cases!

Answer 5

Heath Ledger doing a Nike commercial? No, wait, it would be Christian Bale.

Answer 6

Many seekers have mentioned this.It is state of utter confusion. You do not know if you are body or spirit . You are not sure of anything. Everything is in a sort of flux. It is mentioned that at his stage help of a guru is needed to give encouragement to move forward. And this stage settles.   It is a transition from the way we perceives things to a different level and dimension.

Answer 7

St John of the Cross and Thomas Merton described it as a time when all consolation is withdrawn from a person in prayer.  It is also described as a period of spiritual dryness.  A recent book about Mother Theresa of India, indicated that most of her life was spent in such a state..

Answer 8

isn't it a treatise written by Spanish poet and Roman Catholic mystic Saint John of the Cross? It has become an expression used to describe a phase in a person's spiritual life, a metaphor for a certain loneliness and desolation. It is referenced by spiritual traditions throughout the world.

L' âme de la nuit obscure