In the Christian's life of prayer, there is a spiritual experience when
the person who began his prayer life well and experience God's nearness
and consoling presence many times, suddenly now enters into an experience
of aridity, dryness or emptiness. St. John of the Cross uses the symbolism
of the "Dark Night" as a way to recognize and identify this spiritual experience.
The "Dark Night" has the person wandering around in the dark seeking God,
his lost Beloved. St. John of the Cross makes even a distinction between
the dark night of the senses and the dark night of the spirit. The night
of the senses involves a feeling of the absence of God. The night of the
spirit is more intense since it involves a temptation to despair and to
give up the spiritual journey since the Christian suffers from his
sinfulness and unworthiness and find the spiritual life too tough.
Three signs to recognize the "dark night"
Though it is best to seek counsel from a good and wise spiritual director
as regards this experience, we can have an idea of what this is through
the three signs that St. John of the Cross gives us that tells whether
the "darkness" we experience in our spiritual life is really the work
of God in our lives:
first sign: people do not find consolation in spiritual matters or the
things of God and they also do not find any consolation in other pursuits
second sign: people's memories are centered on God but they think
themselves backsliding because they find no sweetness in spiritual matters
or the things of God
third sign: the inability to meditate with the imaginations as one
used to do previously
If these three signs described above characterize one's prayer, St.
John of the Cross says that one can feel confident that one's spiritual
experience is a genuine dark night of prayer whereby God is working to
transform the deepest core of one's being.
Kind of prayer needed for the "dark night"
St. John gives recommendations on how to pray when one is going through
the dark night. He says that one should not try to meditate as one
used to, but simply to rest in the presence of God. He suggests a
peaceful and loving attention toward's God's presence - waiting for
Him patiently and with no anxiety. If we persevere in this prayer,
we get used to the darkness. And as we wait patiently upon the Lord,
we become aware that His light is not that far away. We learn not
to rush the Lord for 'what we want', but to wait, and do things
His way, and not our way.
When one feels a need for spiritual direction, he should find one.
A good spiritual director will tell the person if his prayer is
authentic despite the person's doubts. Usually, it is wise not
to trust our own judgments in the dark night but to seek the help
of a prudent spiritual director to help us keep on going in our
spiritual journey. It is the spiritual director who can help us
recognize the particular stage we are in in our "pilgrim climb
of the holy mountain" towards God.
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