Dark Night of the Soul

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"Dark Night" redirects here. For the film of that name, see Dark Night (film).
This article is about Dark Night of the Soul the treatise and expression. For the album by Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse of the same name, see Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse Present: Dark Night of the Soul.

Dark Night of the Soul (Spanish: La noche oscura del alma) is 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.

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[edit] History and description

The phrase "dark night of the soul" emerged from the writings of Saint John of the Cross, a Carmelite priest in the 16th century. Dark Night of the Soul, the name of a poem and its theological commentary, are among the Carmelite priest's most well-known writings. The texts tell of the saint's mystical development and the stages he is subjected to on his journey towards union with God.

The Dark Night of the Soul is divided into two books that reflect the two phases of the dark night. The first is a purification of the senses. The second and more intense of the two stages is that of the spirit, which is the less common of the two. Dark Night of the Soul further describes the ten steps on the ladder of mystical love, previously described by Saint Thomas Aquinas and in part by Aristotle. The text was written while John of the Cross was imprisoned by his Carmelite brothers, who opposed his reformations to the Order.

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, a 19th-century French Carmelite, underwent 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 this crisis is presumed to be temporary in nature, it may be extended. 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 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 "dark night" might clinically or secularly be described as the letting go of one's ego as it holds back the psyche, thus making room for some form of transformation, perhaps in one's way of defining oneself or one's relationship to God. This interim period can be frightening, hence the perceived "darkness."

In the Christian tradition, 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 during this "dark night." The individual may feel as though God has suddenly abandoned them or that his or her prayer life has collapsed. In the most pronounced cases, belief is lost in the very existence of God and/or validity of religion, rendering the individual an atheist, even if they bravely continue with the outward expressions of faith.

Rather than resulting in devastation, however, the dark night is perceived by mystics and others to be a blessing in disguise, whereby the individual is stripped (in the dark night of the senses) of the spiritual ecstasy associated with acts of virtue. Although the individual may for a time seem to outwardly decline in their practices of virtue, they in reality become more virtuous, as they are being virtuous less for the spiritual rewards (ecstasies in the cases of the first night) obtained and more out of a true love for God. It is this purgatory, a purgation of the soul, that brings purity and union with God.

Entering this dark night of the soul is commonly referred to in Buddhism as "raising the Great Doubt".

[edit] In popular culture

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the famous line "In a real dark night of the soul it is always three o'clock in the morning" in The Crack-Up.

Author and humorist Douglas Adams satirized the phrase in the title of his 1988 science fiction novel, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul.

It has also been used as a song title by several bands and music artists, including Steve Bell, Loreena McKennitt, The Get Up Kids, Mayhem and by CHH artist shai linne in the Solus Christus project.

Norwegian band Mayhem named a song of their 2004 album Chimera (Mayhem album) "Dark Night of The Soul".

Bill Murray's character in the movie Groundhog Day makes a reference to "Dark Night of the Soul".

In the final episode of Father Ted ('Going to America'), depressed priest Father Kevin explains to Ted that he is experiencing the "dark night of the soul".

In episode 5371 of US soap series The Bold and the Beautiful, Bridget Forrester (Ashley Jones) and Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang) discuss spirituality and the purpose of human existence through reference and direct quotation of "Dark Night of the Soul".

An album by Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse, and featuring a 100+ page photo book by David Lynch entitled "Dark Night of the Soul" is set to be released in the summer of 2009[4]. The book can currently be purchased along with a blank CD-R[5].

[edit] See also

[edit] 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
  3. ^ "The Mother Teresa I Knew", by Father Benedict Groeschel, EWTN Sunday Night Live, 9 September, 2007
  4. ^ "Dark Night of the Soul". http://www.dnots.com/. Retrieved on 2009-05-15. 
  5. ^ "Book & Blank CD-R with Free Poster". http://www.dnots-store.com/dark-night-of-the-soul-book-and-poster.html. Retrieved on 2009-05-15. 

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Night_of_the_Soul"
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