Emily Rose Meditations

Just as a literal night is bounded by light, is measured in time which seems different than day, and which plumbs depths of a particular flavor unaccessible other ways, the Dark Night of the Soul experiences a unique journey. This chapter is the end of the writing, though it doesn't seem to be a finished treatise. You'll have to ask St John of the Cross about it when you see him in glory.

St John of the Cross explains how a soul must be stripped of its old hangings, assumptions, habits, and ways in order to receive the new, spiritual, godly communication and intimacy of the Divine.

Expounding "in darkness and in concealment," St John of the Cross reasons through the relationship and interaction of good and evil in the soul, alluding often to Job's troubles as evidence for his theory.

St John of the Cross introduces the next stanza, expressing the joy of a soul being so blessed and chosen to experience this dark night, to have the opportunity to meet God more fully.

In this dark night, St John of the Cross says, the soul goes forth on the journey clothed in faith, hope, and charity, which serve to protect the soul from assailants well-recounted in this chapter.

St John of the Cross moves on to the higher steps of this spiritual ladder: Touching God, Boldly vehement, Seizing Fast to God, Burning Sweetness, Complete Unification. Many Biblical references (in host-butchered Latin as well as English) continue apace.

Continuing to call liberally upon the Psalms, Prophets, Historical books, and Gospels, St John of the Cross lays out the first five stages of this ladder which the soul climbs in the dark night. (Which are:) Languishing, Ceaseless seeking, Fervor, Suffering, Desire and Longing.

Pulling on prophets, Psalms, Proverbs, and the Gospel of Luke, St John of the Cross begins to illumine a sketch of this secret ladder of the soul as may have been experienced by our brothers and sisters in Scripture (and how it may manifest in our own spiritual lives).

This chapter expresses the way in which contemplation and living through this dark night of the soul can be indescribable. It is something beyond our senses or natural faculties, and therefore, is difficult to (and perhaps not meant to be) describe.

How can darkness feel secure? How can an obscured pathway provide safety? This long chapter examines these questions from many angles, untangling the seemingly contrary convictions.

This short chapter introduces the meat of the chapters to follow, reminding the reader of the lines to be examined: In darkness and secure, By the secret ladder, disguised -- oh, happy chance! In darkness and concealment, My house being now at rest.

Our soul is freed to experience God more fully and purely when the "members of our house" -- our external senses and desires and internal voices -- are quieted by being "at rest." In the dark night, not only is our soul deprived of usual road signs, but the noise of our spirits and lives are quieted by the experience of the dark night itself.

This night enkindles a burning love in the soul, the contours of which are illumined by biblical examples, especially Mary Magdalene's love of Jesus Christ.

St John of the Cross explains that various moments of the dark night might feel more or less blessed, more or less desperate, more or less loving, more or less dark. Our perception of the experience changes, though God's constance is sure.

St John of the Cross admits that the soul can come to believe or fear that it is beyond help or recompense in this dark night, that all goodness is over forever, but that this surrender can free the soul,

Using the analogy of fire consuming a log (to transform the log into fire itself), St John of the Cross illustrates the painful change which a soul undergoes in this dark night.

St John of the Cross shows through Scripture how it is that the darkness of this night of the soul brings the light which will illumine the path of any who survive it. We come to a deeper, truer sense of peace, of what's important, and of ourselves in God.

St John of the Cross details other afflictions common to the Dark Night -- especially feeling hopeless and lost in a dark spiritual cloud out of which nothing can escape (even prayers!). He also expresses the interplay of light and dark, and how God's light might seem to be dark in our souls.

Using passages from Scripture, St John of the Cross shows the commonality of a Dark Night of the soul, and how our forebears withstood the afflictions (Job 16:12-16, Lamentations 3:1-20, Job 12:22, Psalm 139:12, Psalm 143:3-4, Psalm 30:6).

Though the work of the dark night is God's own presence, the experience may be a lot of pain and suffering, as the "imperfections" and "habituations" are burned away to reveal the parts of us that are willing to face the fullness of God.

This chapter describes how God, who is Light, can be the essence of the Dark Night of the soul. Using everyday experiences -- "blinding" sunshine, for example -- St John of the Cross shows how a Dark Night is also the brightness of God.

In this short chapter we hear more directly about how Divine Love and Divine Wisdom interact with the soul in this Dark Night.

In this and following chapters, St John of the Cross refers often to "the old man," an allusion to 1 Corinthians, where Paul describes a person before they're submitted to God in Jesus Christ. These Dark Nights are how such an "old man" is sloughed off.

St. John of the Cross begins to describe what "imperfections" or struggles those who come into a spiritual dryness ("aridity") may suffer.

Here begins book 2; having covered what "beginners" may experience as a sustained starving of sense, now begins a description and exploration of the Dark Night of the Soul, or spirit -- which St. John of the Cross calls the "second" Dark Night, and it is here that the deep darkness begins.