Book Review For The Dark Night of the Soul

        

    Within one's faith, there are moments where one feels connected with the Lord; they understand that he is ever present and never disconnected from us. While the purpose of our faith is to know that God is with us, we do not always feel that way. Sometimes, it feels as if we are isolated and disconnected from the world around us. The Poem by St John of the Cross, The Darkest Night of the Soul, it describes the first steps of purification that one must go through before their final steps within Purification. In this book, St. John discusses the two nights in the darkest night, their roles in purification, and the unity one obtains with god through these nights.

    While this poem may be one of relative shortness, that does not mean that it does not contain deeper understandings within its creation. It must also be understood that The Dark Night is the second night of purification to become unified with God. This night is the hardest because it remains the last stage before one arrives at unity with God. It must also be stated that the dark night does not refer to a singular moment within the time of one's life where one battles the imperfections within themselves but can span over years until one is rid of their imperfection. ST. John of the Cross himself had a commentary regarding the poem. He gave an example regarding a person's spiritual journey and the feelings of passion and success that they feel within their spirituality. [1] There lies a reason for a dark night, which comes from the ego's fault, as we see within the topic of passion. It is because a person chooses within their spiritual life to search for pleasure instead of grace that they fall victim to the ego; for example, one can choose to pray for many hours of the night, but that prayer is lost if the only consultation one is seeking from that prayer is praise from others. This can be seen as an illness as pride takes over life, but not everything can be seen as the darkest night in one's life. It is up to the individual to see themselves on this path; while God will always forgive you, you must choose to embark on this journey. Along with these imperfections, there becomes the preparation for one's senses to be purged during this night, known as the passive night of sense, and the passive night of spirit. 

    The Passive night of sense is the process in which we purge our senses from our physical attributes and accommodate them for the spirit.[2] There can be no unity with God if we do not acknowledge all that is wrong with us. It must be said that the purpose of this acknowledgment does not mean that we should wallow in pity and see our sins as something only holding us back; it is meant to free the commencing soul to become free. With the examples mentioned above regarding the ego, the ego can keep us blind from our sins and the problems that lie within our souls. The passive night of the spirit is God's preparation for our souls to be united with him[3]. The purpose of these processes is for us to be united with the Lord. God is working on us during this night, preparing us, and it is because God is preparing us that we may feel powerless; we're not in charge, and relinquishing that control is not easy. We must never forget that we are flawed beings, we may be created in goodness as all things are, but that does not mean we are perfect, so for the preparation of our soul to be united with God,  these processes are necessary for our unification with the Lord. The purpose of the Dark Night is not for us to feel alone and isolated, knowing all of our flaws; its purpose is that of what it brings after, which is unity. The world is not ruled by evil, and good will always prevail; if we look at the dark night as a single event within our lives, it can stick out as an evil act, but unifying it with the rest of the goodness within the world, shows that it is necessary. 

    The purpose of the darkest night is a great thing to remember. Many people throughout history have found their lives at their lowest point, thinking there is no recovery. While not every experience everyone has maybe the darkest night, it shows us that there is light beyond this darkness. I think it's also a great reminder of our flawed nature; St. John of the Cross's discussion of beginners and their passions helps remind us that we are not reserved from those experiences; they are events that will be experienced within our lives, feeling better than others, believing that we know more than others as well.

    The Darkest Night, while a major event within our spiritual journeys and lives, is a reminder of a greater message that, in the end, there is light in the darkness. There is a constant reminder of God's love in every aspect of our lives; the darkest night is an example. It is also a reminder of the purification of the soul that everyone must go through to obtain unity with the Lord. It is a process that no one wants to go through due to the vulnerability they feel during the moment, but we must open ourselves to this pain and grow from it. The Dark Night of the Soul is a great read concerning meditation in one's life, thinking about their shortcomings and ways to become more powerful than their flaws.

[1] St. John of the Cross, Dark Night of the Soul, 3rd ed, (Image Books, 1959)

[2]“St. John of the Cross.” Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity, vol. 18, no. 10, Dec. 2005, p. 42. at EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,cpid&custid=s9245834&db=aph&AN=20374383&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

[3]Muto S. "Embracing the Dark Night of the Soul," The wisdom of St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Calcutta can help pastors uncover the truth of their essence in God. (2020 Aug) pg.25–31. at https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,cpid&custid=s9245834&db=aph&AN=144704485&site=ehost-live&scope=site