Things that go bump in the night.
Don’t jump to conclusions.
Since Bl. Teresa of Calcutta’s ‘trial of faith’ has gained such notice recently, many people have once again become aware of the so-called ‘dark night of the soul’ as it relates to contemplatives. Having said that, it has long been popular amongst religious people to suggest they are in a dark night when they meet with any type of aridity or discouragement in their spiritual life. In many cases I think this can be attributed to a misunderstanding or ignorance concerning the dynamics involved in the very real phenomenon of the two nights, the night of the senses and the night of the spirit.
In a sense, it may be presumptuous for a soul to attempt to self-analyze itself, or another, as suffering the effects of the dark night. Unless the person is under good spiritual direction with a priest, who knows his mystical theology of course, I can’t see how someone may claim such a thing. Nevertheless, ’spiritual’ people like to throw this term around whenever they encounter any sort of purifying trial in their spiritual life. Everyone needs to remember that the spiritual life does not consist in unending consolations and satisfactions, but in keeping the commandments, the fulfillment of one’s duties in one’s state in life, seeking God’s will and exercising oneself in charity - all for the honor and glory of God. This is what constitutes a generous and holy life.
“The night of the senses is common and comes to many, these are the beginners.”- John of the Cross
I’m fairly certain that most lay-people (myself included!) have barely begun to be beginners in the spiritual life - as far as the contemplative life is concerned. By definition, the night of the senses implies a generous mortification of the appetites and denial as regards the gratification of the senses. When a person with many attachments, or even addictions, finds himself spiritually desolate and without consolation, I think it is a mistake to term this an experience of the dark night.
When Teresa of Avila writes about beginners in prayer, she writes that in the beginning (when a soul begins to practice mental prayer or meditation), as the soul accustoms itself to spending long periods in meditation, the soul oftentimes will feel little except agitation and distraction, or simply dryness. She explains this is because the soul, still filled with self, cannot help but feel the difference between itself and the One with whom she is attempting to converse. (Of course she counsels that we ought to persevere in this prayer since it is through prayer that we will find healing and freedom from our sins, faults and attachments. Nevertheless, this is not necessarily the dark night.)
“The night of the spirit is the portion of a very few.”- St. John of the Cross
What I’m trying to say is this: More often than not, in the average Christian’s experience, this thing we like to refer to as the dark night can be attributed to our nature. Self-indulgence, worldly cares, sin, and inordinate attachments often can be the cause of our spiritual distress or lack of faith. Likewise, depression and emotional instability can also be a major factor.
In her Autobiogrphy, Teresa of Avila wrote about how exhausted she was, physically, mentally and spiritually in trying to maintain friendship with the world and friendship with God through the practice of prayer. She wrote, “Prayer is incompatible with self-indulgence.” At this stage in her life, she knew the necessity for absolute asceticism in her life, yet continued her friendship with the world, and her indulgence in vain trivialities.
Voluntary disquietude.
Certainly St. Teresa was without serious sin in her life, and ever faithful to the minimum requirements of her state - yet she suffered this disquietude of soul. I believe her example illustrates for us that what we like to call the ‘dark night’ may often be more a matter of a troubled conscience, or some aspect of seeking oneself in God. Our sufferings may emanate more from ourselves - our selfish self-indulgence, which may provide us with a purely natural explanation as to the source of the problem. Yet even this can be purifying and sanctifying, provided we are humble and keep trying, trusting in the mercy of God.
“If then the light within you is darkness, how deep will that darkness be!”- Matthew 6. I doubt the Lord was referring to the “dark night of the soul” here.
September 11th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
Nicely said, Terry.
To be human is to be dry. I’m just recovering from over two weeks of misery. One would think that this inactivity would provide a wonderful opportunity for “offering it up” and garnering indulgences galore.
But in actuality, during that time, I barely finished one rosary and not much else. What a dismal prayer life I have when I am ill.
Not that it is that great otherwise.
September 11th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Perhaps it would be a good idea to enlighten the ignorant & misunderstood by giving us the dynamics of the real phenomena of the dark night, especially when you are going to be persumptous in your judgements about lay people (including yourself) and the average Christian’s experience as “barely beginning” to have a spiritual life. So enlighten me. what are the dynamics of the real dark night of the soul?
September 11th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
Terry–
A most excellent post. I’m reading GIFT OF FAITH by Fr. Dajczer (founder of Families of Nazareth Movement) and he talks a lot about what you are writing.
As long as I’m here, might I ask you to pray for BARBARA, a lady who is completing her formation on Saturday to join St. Max. Kolbe’s Militia of the Immaculata? I know how fond you are of Marytown.
Thanks and God Bless
September 11th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
Terry, this was a great post. There is so much confusion about what the “dark night” really means.
In addition to the good examples you have provided, lazy people often use it when they’re bored because they don’t pay attention to their spiritual lives . . . not to mention the secularists who think it’s a synonym for “a bad time in one’s life” — e.g., the person gets fired from his job and says he’s going through a “dark night of the soul” because it stinks to get fired.
This is a very well done and welcome clarification.
September 11th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
I agree. Although I know they’re documented, I’ve never been brave enough to read any of the Saints’ accounts of dark nights.
I imagine the sum total of our life’s anxieties, heartbreaks and sufferings would pale in significance when compared to just one minute of a dark night of the soul….such would be the sense of terror, abandonment and desolation.
September 11th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
Mary, An excellent resource to understand the workings of the dark night is found in P. Marie-Eugene, OCD’s book, “I Am A Daughter of the Church” it is the companion work to his, “I Want To See God.” Both volumes masterfully synthesize the teachings of the Carmelite mystics on the spiritual life. Another resource would be Garrigou-Lagrange’s classic, “The Three Ages of the Interior Life”.
September 11th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Ray - A Carmelite once said, “Prayer is good, suffering is better.”
Richie - I surely will pray. I love the Militia.
Thanks everyone for your comments.
September 11th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
Another keeper post! Thanks, Terry!
September 11th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
Terry,
Great post, and you addressed it well. I’ve often heard people claim to be going to the “dark night” because there are many disasters happening all at once. I’ve had people actually TELL ME I’m going through the “dark night” if I’m having a difficult time.
As someone already noted…that’s not a dark night. That’s suffering. It happens to everyone, and we often bring it upon ourselves. Just average, everyday suffering.
The Dark Night is the sense of complete abandonment by God, a time of purification. Times of aridity in prayer are indeed also times of purification, but that should still never be confused with “the dark night”.
I’ve never experienced the fabled “Dark Night” and quite honestly, the idea terrifies me.
Of course, those who experience this gift are ready for it, and they don’t get to have a “say” other than by their continued actions…in loving and serving God, advancing towards perfection of charity, etc.
This semester I think we’re going to study the Dark Night…after a foundation is laid so that we can better understand when we get to that point.
But I think you’ve already provided the course for me…keep writing, Terry!
September 12th, 2007 at 8:50 am
This really is a good post, Terry, and you do an excellent job explaining the common misconceptions about the “Dark Night”.
I am sure I will never be able to reach the spiritual level of true contemplation (or “contemplative prayer”), which as I understand it, is a prerequisite to undergoing a “Dark Night. For this reason, Teresa of Avila’s Interior Castle and JoC’s Dark Night of the Soul absolutely elude me. I have tried half a dozen times to pick them up and each time, I just can’t “get it”. Sure, I understand the words; I can even pick out some meritorious lines helpful and deeply applicable to my own spiritual life. But for the life of me, I am unable to understand the subtleties between the different phases and steps, or the different mansions, as the soul ascends to the highest communion with God– I just can’t comprehend it. I have been told that it is because I have not experienced it, and I believe that to be true.
For this reason, I think that both of these books, and most especially the very notion of contemplative prayer and the dark night are more applicable for the cloistered religious, and more helpful to them, than they are for the devout lay person immersed in an active life, job and family. In fact, I think that these books and notions can even be harmful to the average laity who is “just not there”, and should for that reason be only recommended with much reservation and caution.
The practical approach is better for the laity, I think; and another little Carmelite is an excellent guide in that: the Little Flower herself, St Therese, and her “Little Way”, which of course is based on the wonderful classic by Fr. Pierre de Caussade, Abandonment to Divine Providence.
It might be an interesting discussion for your blog, if you have the time sometime, to try to sort the popular and classical spiritual writings according to those which are better suited towards the consecrated religious and those works which are more appropriate to the average devout lay man or woman. I imagine your experience working in that “industry” as well as having lived inside and outside the cloister, you’d probably have some pretty good insight. I would sure love to read the opinions and insights of the usual commenters here (Don Marco, EMV, Cathy and Ray and the rest!) as well.
September 12th, 2007 at 8:51 am
Dang, sorry that got so long! LOL
September 12th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
Terry
I would just disagree with your seeing yourself or others as barely beginning the spiritual life due to not having experiences that are appropo an unusual way of life…the life of contemplation. We don’t hear Christ urging people into any dark nights nor do we hear Paul so urging and he had been taken up to the third heaven (2 Cor.12:2) and so we ought not to covet the experiences which are appropriate to Trappists or Carthusians or Camelites who can afford to not be aggressive about supporting themselves and others in the world…just as they should not covet the charisms of a layman in the world who represents Christ as to honesty at work etc.
Thomas Merton wrote long and well on these states of contemplation and yet toward the end of his life, he fell for a young woman against his vows and acted on it and continued to act on it and it is not clear that he ever really snapped out of it completely. We ought not to confuse these states then with righteousness or spirituality itself. They only take place in few because maybe only a few need them in God’s plan. Merton said that even in a Trappist monastery, not all monks were called to these states.
September 12th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
Terry:
Very informative post. As someone in the very infantile stages of my faith, it is good to learn more on the topic. I think some people who feel they are in the “dark night” are like people who self-diagnose themselves when they don’t feel good instead of seeing a doctor. Just wish spiritual directors weren’t so hard to come by!! I always considered that the “dark night” was rare and only experienced by those much, much further along in their faith than folks like me. The wonderful Carmelite saints who have written on this topic are those I strive to be more and more like, but could never imagine being able to take on the crosses they did. Like Julie said, not something I want to experience!
Now I have to go get the books you mentioned! My father left me a wonderful library, full of the writings of the great Carmelites and many others, but I don’t think I have the books you mention.
September 13th, 2007 at 8:51 am
Excellent, Terry. To embrace the Cross is to embrace the darkness experienced by Christ on the Cross. It is for all Christians. As a Carmelite priest once told me, even sitting in a traffic jam can be a “dark night” experience. It is in the ordinary daily trials as well as in the great trials that we work out our salvation. And we must always be ready to begin again after a fall. As one of the Desert Fathers said, “Today I begin to be a disciple.” “Today” I begin. Staying in the present moment is all important.
September 13th, 2007 at 9:08 am
Elena - you said it better than I did!
September 13th, 2007 at 9:13 am
Just to clarify most people who suffer clinical depression don’t bring it upon themselves. Only one who has truly entered the abyss can understand the full horror of abandonment,terror & despair that a person suffering from depression endures. naturally they need the doctor as much as the Priest. But i beg to differ about such people being on the first rung of the ladder spirituality..the suffering transforms the soul that offers its awful torment to God.Therese certainly suffered from depression & suffered a nervous breakdown whilst very young..this most certainly was ‘part’ of her ‘dark night’.
You really need to experience the darkness of depression that takes one to the brink of suicide..many of the saints felt suicidal..again Therese particularly…you can call it illness if you like..but i’ve benn to depths spiritually some could only dream of. Am i a saint ..NO..but neither have i just got started spiritually..much suffering endured brings amazing progress in the spiritual life..or so my spiritual director attests..
September 13th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Georgette ~ I HAVE to comment on what you said, specifically this:
“For this reason, I think that both of these books, and most especially the very notion of contemplative prayer and the dark night are more applicable for the cloistered religious, and more helpful to them, than they are for the devout lay person immersed in an active life, job and family. In fact, I think that these books and notions can even be harmful to the average laity who is “just not there”, and should for that reason be only recommended with much reservation and caution.”
Part of what you say is true; spiritual direction is needed for many people, but not all. That’s why we see so many people getting involved with Centering Prayer and calling it “Contemplative”. And sadly, they are being taught by religious sisters and brothers! So great discernment is first of all REQUIRED.
But on the other hand, keep in mind that Contemplative Prayer is a GIFT FROM GOD. It cannot be forced. Cloistered religious do not necessarily EVER recieve that gift, although that’s not to say they don’t have deep and true prayer lives.
And there are many of the laity who have been given the gift of contemplative prayer, but it doesn’t come without a certain amout of work, which is to have a well-developed prayer life.
Compare it to this; when you first meet someone, do you expect to learn all their deepest secrets? Or do you cultivate that relationship over time, and one day, that friend determines that you are ready to go to “the next level” and then he or she reveals their heart to you?
God is like that; if we spend only 5 minutes per day talking to Him, we are not privy to His deepest heart. We are not ready to be contained within the Divine Processions, for such an experience would quite literally destroy us. We cannot manipulate God, and He will not manipulate us.
We are ALL called to seek this type of union, but God does not call us all to that union, if that makes any sense.
Vatican II stated pretty clearly that contemplative prayer is indeed part and parces of the prayer life of the laity and we should seek it and not discount it.
And as another note; we must also not worry about analyzing prayer. It’ not important to label our prayer time with God. And in fact, doing so is a distraction and can be prideful. It’s good to know aobut things, but not necessary. Perhaps you have a difficult time with the cited works because God plans to approach you with more simplicity? St. Therese of Avila and St. John of the Cross took a scientific approach as they discused their spiritual theology; that is not what we are ALL to do.
Perhaps you are a contemplative and don’t know it yet. And I daresay there are contemplatives out there who have no idea what gifts God has given them for those gifts are taken for granted.
Don’t give up trying to find union with God…just keep working on the perfection of charity, keep building your prayer life…and if God calls, all you have to do is allow him to take you where he likes. You don’t have to be a bit educated, and in fact, when it happens, you’ll have no sense of self at all because your entire being will be focused upon God.
September 14th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Really good post, Terry. You brought up some very good points.
September 14th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Thanks, Julie, for taking the time to think about and write all this out! You make some very good points and your advice to simply persevere in prayer ,without analysing it, is the best.
I’ve gone the long road in trying to walk the spiritual life, for the last twenty years or so, and after reading much and trying to put into practice the many techniques and advice, I have come to realize that many of these spiritual treatises I have been trying to employ were simply not meant for me– they were written for the cloistered religious, which is not to say that they are not partially beneficial to the “regular” laity, but surely they do not address the active life or the family life as well as others. And by “harmful” I meant that they apply too much pressure to achieve things that the ordinary laity (especially those with families) are not necessarily called to. And yes, contemplative prayer is only an act of God, which we cannot force Him to gift us with, and I do not doubt there are “regular laity” who have achieved it. But to wish for it, and worry about it, I have found is useless and even harmful. In fact, I think that it can be an object of spiritual envy, which can never be a good thing, and for that reason it may be better for many people to not even know about it. If God grants it, then good. At that point He will lead the person to find out more about it. Instead, I have come to realize as you so wisely point out that working on perfecting one’s charity is the main spiritual work. It is simple, straightforward and can have many depths and layers, which God can take us through, perfecting our own souls while we completely forget about them because we are concentrating on serving God and loving others!
Thanks again for your insights! God bless you, always.