The Dark Night of the Soul
In my circles, this phrase, the "dark night of the soul," refers to a time when we are stuck, feeling lonely in the middle of the night, or in a time when our soul feels covered in darkness. It had been used to describe loneliness. How limited the English language is though, that we would only see this interpretation.
The phrase actually emerges from St. John of the Cross, and it is a poem that he wrote in the 16th century. While listening to a podcast today, it was brought to my attention that this writing is more about John's time at night with God and how powerful and good an experience it was. Perhaps this thought process needs to be looked at more. Jesus often withdrew to lonely places while it was still dark, and I think there is a seriously amazing connection that can be made with God through the quite and still of the night. It also can be the time when the best conversations are had, and in many ways, I think it ends up being a double edged sword time. Yes, night is a time in which scary and evil things happen, but it is also a time for potentially fantastically forming times with Our Father and each other.
So, in this light, I really do look forward to more dark nights of my soul.
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2 comments:
How does your Podcast's author substantiate his claim that "The Dark Night of the Soul" refers to being with God at nighttime? After reading the poem, it seems to me that "night" is still a metaphor for time in life where God does not feel tremendously present. According to the Wikipedia entry on the poem, Saint John's dark night lasted for 45 years.
Do not resist the dark nights when they come, but certainly do not eagerly wish for more to come your way.
Good thoughts Stromboli.
The podcast came from John Eldredge.
Did you read the whole poem? It seems VERY long to me, so perhaps either I'm seeing it wrong, or you are a crazy fast reader.
I think though, that respectfully, your thoughts just highlight the limitations of the English language. The way you responded suggests to me that you prefer the dark night of the soul to be a bad thing, where as I could see it both ways. Perhaps there need to be multiple phrasings, because we tend to look at a phrase with one meaning rather than feeling the depth of it.
Apparently St. John wrote both the poem and a commentary for it and its meaning. I think that would be the next step for me to look into.
I feel like there is some need to look into the substantiality of the claim about that interpretation of the work, but I also cannot deny that some of my sweetest times with God have been in the chill of the night when it is just myself and him with silence and the world asleep, unable to tug me from the grip of the Lord. I did try to highlight the double edged sword nature of night and how evil is afoot there as well, but I really believe that God can work in those times if you are to allow him.
I would even say that I do welcome the other interpretation of the "dark nights". Those times are in no way enjoyable, but I think it gives us an opportunity to check our faith, and recalibrate in a sense. It feels a lot like the idea of 'losing our life' to find our life in Christ.
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