DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL

'Dark Night of the Soul' is a term used to describe a specific phase in a person's spiritual life, and is generally associated with a crisis of faith in the Roman Catholic tradition. It is used as a metaphor to describe the experience of loneliness and desolation that can occur during spiritual growth.

Contents

Details

In popular culture

See also

References

Further reading

External links

Details

The term and metaphysicality of the phrase "dark night of the soul" are taken from the writings of the Spanish poet and Roman Catholic mystic Saint John of the Cross, a Carmelite priest in the 16th century. ''Dark Night of the Soul'' is the name of both a poem, and a commentary on that poem, and are among the Carmelite priest's most famous writings. They tell of his mystic development and the stages he went through on his quest for holiness.
St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the 19th-century French Carmelite underwent a similar 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 generally the crisis is considered to be temporary in nature, on occasion it may be extended: the "dark night" of St. Paul of the Cross in the 18th century lasted 45 years; 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 till her death in 1997, with only brief interludes ^[2].
The "dark night" could generally be described as a letting go of our ego's hold on the psyche, making room for change that can bring about a complete transformation of a person's way of defining his/her self and their relationship to God. The interim period can be frightening, hence the perceived "darkness". In the Christian tradition, during the "dark night" one who has developed a strong prayer life and consistent devotion to God suddenly finds traditional prayer extremely difficult and unrewarding for an extended period of time. The individual may feel as though God has suddenly abandoned them, or that their prayer life has collapsed.
Rather than being a negative event, the dark night is believed by mystics and others to be a blessing in disguise where the individual extends from a state of contemplative prayer to an inability to pray. Particularly in Christianity, it is seen as a severe test of one's faith.

In popular culture

Singer/songwriter Loreena McKennitt used "Dark Night of The Soul" as inspiration for the song of the same name on her 1994 LP ''The Mask and Mirror''.
Author and humorist, Douglas Adams satirized the phrase with the title of his 1988 Science Fiction novel, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul.
"The Dark Night of the Soul" is the eleventh track on the album "Guilt Show" by The Get Up Kids
"In the real dark night of the soul, it is always 3 o'clock in the morning." The Crack Up, F. Scott Fitzgerald
"In the real dark night of the soul, it is always 3am." In My Darkest Moment, Hanoi Rocks.
"Dark night of my soul." Timelessness, Fear Factory
In the X-Files Agent Fox Mulder references "dark night of the soul" in the episode "The Red and Black" when speaking about Scully's abduction experience to Skinner.
"Dark Night of the Soul" is a song by black metal band Mayhem from their album Chimera.
The song "Madness and Death" by pioneering math rock band Nomeansno: "Within the dark night of the soul, there lies a hidden warming glow. If that glow were blue and white, could you sleep dreamless through the night, but if that glow were red and black, would you want your money back?"
First line in Depeche Mode's "I feel loved".
This also is a primary theme in folk singer David Wilcox's song, "If It Wasn't For The Night."

See also

★ Religious experience

★ Christian Meditation

★ Psychology of religion

★ Christian mysticism

★ Kohlberg's stages of moral development

★ Loevinger's stages of ego development

References

1. "A Saint's Dark Night", ''The New York Times'', by James Martin, 29 August, 2007.
2. "Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith", by David van Biema, ''Time Magazine'', 23 August, 2007


★ The chapter entitled "The Dark Night of the Soul" from Evelyn Underhill's ''Mysticism'' at Gnostic.org.

★ Underhill, Evelyn. (re-issue 1999). ''Mysticism'' Oneworld Publications. ISBN 1-85168-196-5.

Further reading

★ May, Gerald G. (2004). ''The Dark Night of the Soul: A Psychiatrist Explores the Connection Between Darkness and Spiritual Growth''. HarperSanFrancisco. ISBN 0-06-055423-1.

External links

★ Text of ''Dark Night of the Soul'' from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library

★ Poem and text of ''Dark Night of the Soul'' From ''The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross'', translated by Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD, and Otilio Rodriguez, OCD, revised edition (1991), ICS Publications.

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★ Online version of ''Dark Night of the Soul''