The Dark Night - St. John of the Cross
Details
St. John of the Cross (1542-1591) was a 16th-century Spanish mystic and poet, ranked among such great intellectual and philosophical theologians such as St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas. After 1567, when he joined with Teresa of Ávila to institute reforms in the Carmelite order, opponents of the reform had him arrested, imprisoned, and subjected to public floggings. His ordeal lasted for nine months, but it provided the foundational experience for much of his subsequent poetry and spiritual writings.
"The Dark Night" ("Noche Oscura," c. 1577) is his poem and commentary of the same name, a masterpiece of mystical Christian literature. He coined the term "the dark night" to describe a painful series of purifications on the spiritual journey towards union with God. In the first phase (the night of sense), the soul begins to practice self-denial and detachment from worldly desires. In the second phase (the night of spirit), the divine light reveals the soul's own imperfections and sins. During this process, the soul suffers great anguish, feeling abandoned and forsaken, but perseverance promises an ultimate revelation of peace, love, and knowledge of God.
The writings of St. John have influenced centuries of theologians, philosophers, artists, poets, and psychologists. The concept of "the dark night" has been adopted to mean an intense period of personal crisis, emotional hardship, and/or deep introspection. Joseph Campbell states "The dark night of the soul comes just before revelation. When everything is lost, and all seems darkness, then comes the new life and all that is needed." Night-evoking places--e.g., the abyss, a cave, prison, or belly of the whale--are regarded as both tomb and womb, death and renewal, on the way through Campbell's hero's journey.
Dark Night of the Soul:
- Google books
- Librivox 5:01 hrs
Supplemental:
- Understanding the Dark Night of St. John of the Cross, pt. 1 - lecture by Fr. Timothy Gallagher
- Understanding the Dark Night of St. John of the Cross, pt. 2 - lecture by Fr. Timothy Gallagher
- The Great Books podcast episode #368
- The Dark Night of the Soul song by Loreena McKennitt
Extracts:
- "Eloi lama sabachthani!" (Clarel, 3.7)
- "...jetting came a wail / In litany from Kedron’s jail / Profound, and belly of the whale: / “Lord, have mercy. / Christ, have mercy. / Intercede for me, / Angel of the Agony. / Spare me, spare me! Merciful be— / Lord, spare me— / Spare and deliver me!”" (Clarel, 3.14)
This meetup is part of the series In the Belly of the Whale.