Dark Night of the Soul
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/* History and description */ added clarity on the most extreme form of dark night
{{Redirect3|Dark Night|For the film of that name, see [[Dark Night (film)]]. For the [[Batman Begins]] sequel, see [[The Dark Knight (film)]]}}
'''Dark Night of the Soul''' is a treatise written by Spanish [[poet]] and [[Roman Catholicism|Roman Catholic]] [[mysticism|mystic]] [[Saint John of the Cross]]. It has become an expression used to describe a phase in a person's [[Spirituality|spiritual]] life, a [[metaphor]] for a certain loneliness and desolation. It is referenced by spiritual traditions throughout the world.
==History and description==
The phrase "dark night of the soul" emerged from the writings of [[Saint John of the Cross]], a [[Carmelites|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]], referred to by medieval Catholic theologians as the Philosopher, for he established justification for the existence of one true God and thus refuted his master, [[Plato]]. 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." <ref name="nyt"> "A Saint's Dark Night", ''[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/opinion/29martin.html?em&ex=1188532800&en=9e59f11fbd412882&ei=5087%0A The New York Times]'', by [[James Martin (Jesuit writer)|James Martin]], 29 August, 2007.</ref>
While this crisis is assured 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 <ref name="time"> "Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith", by David van Biema, ''[http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1655415,00.html Time Magazine]'', 23 August, 2007</ref>. 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 <ref name="groeschel"> "The Mother Teresa I Knew", by Father Benedict Groeschel, ''[http://www.ewtn.com/vondemand/audio/resolve.asp?rafile=snl_09092007.rm EWTN Sunday Night Live]'', 9 September, 2007</ref>.
The "dark night" might clinically or secularly be described as letting go of one's [[Ego, superego, and id|egos]] as it holds back the [[Psyche (psychology)|psyche]], thus making room for some form of transformation, perhaps in a person's way of defining him or her self or his or her 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 ecstacy 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.
==In popular culture==
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 is also been used as a song title by several bands and music artists, including [[Steve Bell (musician)|Steve Bell]], [[Loreena McKennitt]], [[The Get Up Kids]], [[Mayhem (band)|Mayhem]] and by CHH artist shai linne in ''the Solus Christus project''.
==See also==
*[[Religious experience]]
*[[Christian Meditation]]
*[[Psychology of religion]]
*[[Christian mysticism]]
*[[Lawrence Kohlberg|Kohlberg's]] [[Kohlberg's stages of moral development|stages of moral development]]
*[[Jane Loevinger|Loevinger's]] [[Loevinger's stages of ego development|stages of ego development]]
*[[Shamanism]]
*[[Desiderata]]
*[[Daimonic]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
*[http://www.gnostic.org/underhill/mysticism1_0-the-6.html The chapter entitled "The Dark Night of the Soul" from Evelyn Underhill's ''Mysticism''] at Gnostic.org.
*Underhill, Evelyn. (re-issue 1999). ''Mysticism'' Oneworld Publications. ISBN 1-85168-196-5.
==Further reading==
* May, Gerald G. (2004). ''The Dark Night of the Soul: A Psychiatrist Explores the Connection Between Darkness and Spiritual Growth''. HarperSanFrancisco. ISBN 0-06-055423-1.
* McKee, Kaye P. (2006). [http://search.barnesandnoble.com/When-God-Walks-Away/Kaye-McKee/e/9780824523800/?itm=2 "When God Walks Away: A Companion to the Dark Night of the soul."] Crossroad Publishing Company. ISBN-13: 9780824523800
==External links==
*[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/john_cross/dark_night.txt Text of ''Dark Night of the Soul'' from the [[Christian Classics Ethereal Library]]]
*[http://www.karmel.at/ics/john/dn.html Poem and text of ''Dark Night of the Soul''] From ''The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross'', translated by Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD, and Otilio Rodriguez, OCD, revised edition (1991), ICS Publications.
* {{Catholic}}
*[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/john_cross/dark_night.toc.html Online version of ''Dark Night of the Soul'']
[[Category:Christian mysticism]]
[[fr:Nuit noire de l'âme]]