THE DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL

By -
It has been reported, that Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, experienced the "Dark Night of the Soul" from 1948 almost up until her death, in 1997. A close friend, Father Benedict Groeschel, apparently claims there were only brief interludes of relief and that the "darkness" left near the end of her life.

St. John of the Cross, a 16th century mystic and Spanish Carmelite priest, endured the "darkness" some 45 years. He wrote a poem: La noche oscura del alma, The Dark Night of the Soul, which follows the souls detachment from the world, to its union with God.

St. Terese of Liseux, the beloved 19Th century French Carmelite, went through a similar experience. Struggling with doubts about the afterlife she reportedly told her fellow nuns, "If you only knew what darkness I am plunged into."

The dark night of the soul is a spiritual crisis on the journey toward God. It is a feeling of intense loneliness and desolation, even in the face of extreme virtue. As the soul struggles to move closer to God, prayer becomes more difficult and there is an absence of peace and joy which leaves the individual feeling abandoned by God.

I experienced a very long, difficult dark night of the soul, although at the time I did not understand the experience. It was an excruciatingly numbing period and no amount of prayer or acts of charity, miracles or Masses could diminish the darkness. Somehow, through the soulful desire to survive, and my deep Love for God, I held on by using the tools of my faith...Until the darkness lifted, and gave way to God's luminous light and his liberating Love.

The great mystics have called the dark night of the soul a gift of grace...A kind of purgatory where the soul is purified and released from worldly detachments. The soul evolves to a higher spiritual level while developing an intimately authentic relationship with God.

So for those who are steadfast in their faith and relentlessly vigil, this painful spiritual crisis can be transformed into an unparalleled feeling of mystical Love and heavenly joy.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SUBLIME AUDACITY!

By -
Image
I have all the signs and symptoms of something I just learned about today...Sublime Audacity. That's right...I have the audacity to believe-that anything is possible-anything at all-with God. In fact, I believe that there is one cure for all the world's ills...and that cure rests with -and in God. In a world of material wealth, individual desires and carefully orchestrated managed care...When people search the world over for the answers that never come, the healings that rarely happen and the hope that always gets dashed by the next person...I believe that there is only one steady stream of consciousness that always gets it right...and that is God. I've personally experienced it time and again and every time I look elsewhere or seek some other solution, I always come crawling back to the staying power of my higher power...Because let's face it...Once we have the audacity to tell anyone-anyone at all that God is responsible for all the good in our lives or the Love that ...
Read more

OUR LADY OF JOY, HANCEVILLE ALABAMA

By -
Image
High atop a hill in Hanceville Alabama, broken hearts are being healed and hope is being restored. Our Lady of Joyful Hope is a community of young men who are finding new freedom through a life of authentic truth. Once lost in the darkness of addiction they are now living in the light of Christ who is transforming them from the inside out...And their families, if they are open and willing, are being transformed right alongside them. Recently, I spent three days with this community, listening to the young men, their parents and to the foundress, Mother Elvira, who flew in from Italy for the anointing of the new community house and the celebration that followed. Mother Elvira's life story is on par with Mother Teresa. She is an Italian nun who heard the call from God to snatch souls from Satan by delivering young men and women from the demonic grip of addiction. She gave up everything familiar, walked straight into the wilderness and wound up becoming a living legacy for desperate fa...
Read more

CONFESSIONS OF FATHER JOE BENSON

By -
As we sat in silence, meditating...I nudged my friend Terri, "What do we have to complain about?!" I whispered. There he hung, pain stricken, vulnerable in his nakedness, sharp thorns cutting into his head, pleading eyes fixed on the heavens. What I thought, on God's green earth, do I have to complain about?! That's probably why they do it...place the life like crucifix dead center-above the altar, just above the Blessed Sacrament, right where you can't miss it...just to remind us-things could be worse, but they're destined to get better-if we keep our eyes focused-on the solution. Another friend-likes to remind me-he's not on the cross anymore...So why do we keep him there? Every one's got an opinion, but to tell you the truth, I need to be reminded of the sacrifice...and every painful moment in between. Puts my problems in perspective...helps me see clearly...gives me strength to proceed. We went to first Friday adoration in the upper ninth ward.....
Read more