CHAPTER- 1

DARKNESS IN ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS

Introduction
In the awakening of the world to the thrill of the Renaissance of the 16 th century, John of the Cross flashes Gods light to us. Juan de Yepes Alvarez was born in 1542 at Fontiveros, Spain. He had great sufferings as a child and later as a Carmelite Friar. He is undoubtedly one of the greatest mystics who ever lived. When john of the Cross speaks of dark night of the soul, he is speaking of a purifying passage that an individual undergoes, which transforms one kind of life into another. I.i. Dark Night The experience of the dark night is an important stage in the contemplative journey towards mystical union with God. The experience of the dark night is the place of mystical union. Therefore the experience of it is incommunicable. Generally speaking, every person who is brought to mystical contemplation passes the experience of the dark night. John of the Cross gives a vivid explanation of this dark night in his work. The dark night that has two books. In the first book he explains how this experience is brought about in our sensory part and the second book concerns at oneself, but a sense of rejection and alienation. The experience of Darkness has its primacy in Jesus on the cross. Jesus who in Ascent makes of darkness a healing place cries out, why have you forsaken me? Why are you not here? The key issue in the crucifixion is not asphyxiation or traumatic shock, but the presence or absence of the Father. Johns cry in Toledo is not, what must I do? But where have you gone? Where have you hidden, beloved? The issue is the presence or absence of Christ. 1. The Brides breathless quest for the hidden spouse, Where is he? 2. If you see Him, tell Him, I need Him.

3. I shall not stop, until I find Him. 4. Tell me, have you seen Him. 5. To the beloved, please no more messages- you be the messenger and the message. 6. Mere news of you is not enough. 7. Let me see you- no one else will do. All the above statements echo Night in its intensity. The experiences of the Beloveds absence, which the soul suffers in this state of spiritual betrothal, are a cause of great affliction. At times, they are such that no pain can compare with them. The reason is that, since her love for God in this state is great and strong is the torment of love in His absence. So she involves the south winds, Holy Spirit, who will dispel winters chill, increase her love and wake up the fragrance of virtue in the soul. But here, main aim in doing this is that the son of God, her Bridegroom, might rejoice himself with the experience of the dark night in the spirit. For a soul to attain the state of perfection, it has ordinarily to pass through two principal kinds of night, which spiritual persons call purgation or purifications of the soul and here we call them nights, for in both of them, the soul journeys, as it were, by night, in darkness. The night can be divided in to two. The first night or purgation is of the sensual part of the soul, which is treated in the first stanza. On a dark night, kindled in love with yearnings-O happy chance? - I went forth without being observed, my house being now at rest. And the second is of the spiritual part; of this speaks the second stanza, which follows in the poem Dark Night. For a soul to enter into dark night, the primary source is of God Himself. Kindled by the fire of love which God has put in, one is able to make a journey, putting aside all her other possibilities of life. We cannot, by ourselves can succeed in avoiding all our sensual desires. To enter into dark night first of all one has to deprive oneself of desire for all the worldly things, which she or he might have possessed in his life journey. Secondly faith is the weapon which one must have to travel to this union with God. And the third has to do with

the point to which it travel- namely God, who equally, is dark night to the soul in this life. These three nights must pass through the soul- or rather; the soul must pass through them- in order that it may come to Divine union with God.1 In the book of the holy Tobias these three kinds of nights were shadowed forth by the three nights, which as the angel commanded were to pass, are the youth Tobias should be united with his bride. In the first, he commanded him to burn the heart of the fish in the fire, which signifies the heart that is affection to and set upon the things of the world; which in order that one may begin to journey toward God, must be turned and purified from all that is creature, in the fire of the love of God. Andin this purgation, the devil fleece away, for he has power over the soul only when it is attached to things corporeal and temporal. On the second night, the angel told him, that he would be admitted in to the company of the holy patriarchs, who are the fathers of the faith. For passing through, this is self privation of all objects of sense; the soul at once enters into the second night and abides alone in faith to the exclusion, not of charity, but of other knowledge acquired by the understanding, which is a thing that pertains not to sense. On the third night, the angel told him that he would obtain a blessing, which is God; who by means of the second night, which is faith continually, communicates Himself to the soul in such a secret and intimate manner that he become another night to the soul, in as much as this said, communication is far darker than those others. And, when this third night is past, which is the complete accomplishment of communication of God in the spirit, which ordinarily wrought in great darkness of the soul, there then follows its union with the Bride, which is the wisdom of God. Even so, the angel said likewise to Tobias that, when the third night was past he should be united with his bride in the fear of the Lord; for when this fear of God is perfect, love is perfect, and this comes to pass when the transformation of the soul is wrought through its love. These three parts of the night are all one night; but after the manner of night, it has three parts. For the first part-sense- beginning of night, the second- faith- midnight-total darkness. And third part close to the night- which God- which part is now near to the light of day.2

I ain Mathew, St. John of the Cross and the Seasons of Prayer, in: Mt. Carmel, 50 (2002),9-13 2 E. , Fillison Peers, The Complete works of St. John of the Cross, London, 1933,p.20-21

The night indicates the higher stage of progress of man in his spiritual journey. Here God seems to destroy all man-made outlines and sketches. God initiates in man, the dynamic process of union and transformation. This stage of the spiritual life leaves man in intense and passive purification. The night seen in its progressive purifying perspective, eventually becomes the source of illumination and light to mans eyes of faith. At times, the illumination blinds man causing darkness: as some say, there is in God a deep, but dazzling darkness.3 It must be emphasized that the san Juanist nights are contemplative experiences not ordinary sufferings attendant on human life such as illness, depression, failures, contradictions and blame. These latter purify to some extend when they are accepted with love, but they are not what John is talking about. They may in some cases accompany the contemplative purification, but they are different and distinct.4 St. John of the Cross offers three reasons why he calls these received purifications night. The first is the point of departure in our journey to God. We must deprive ourselves of seeking finite things for themselves, and this is experienced as an empting a night for the senses. The second reason is the means or road to union with God. We travel by faith, by accepting and acting on His word rather than on our own perceptions. This too is perceived as darkness to our merely human ways of thinking. The third reason is the point of arrival, God Himself, who necessarily is dark to our limited minds. He who is purest light is nonetheless a hidden God who dwells in light inaccessible. Paradoxically, He who is endless light is beheld by our minds as darkness because he utterly transcends us. Hence on earth, we must know him darkly, as in an imperfect mirror.5 Why are the passive nights painful? This purification process is a cure of illness and therefore involves a cutting away, a removal of the roots of spiritual maladies, and a separation from the ego centrism that wounds us. The imperfectly redeemed person is so accustomed to disordered pursuits that when he gives them up and is divinely freed from them, he necessarily experiences pain in the process. The correction of a decayed tooth with no anesthetic is painful for a similar reason. St. John of the Cross likewise points out that the
3 4 5

Ibidem Thomas dubay, Fire within, San Francisco, 1989, 160 Ibidem

penetrating contemplative light at first strikes what is closest to us, and that is our faults and miseries. What it discloses hardly gives cause for delight. Hence he speaks of construction and destruction resulting. Though God is purest delight, the beginner is not yet capable of experiencing Him as such. The very fire of love which afterwards is united with the soul, glorifying it, is that which previously assails it by purging it, jut as the fire that penetrates a log of wood is the same that first makes an assault upon it. Because this flame is savory and sweet, and the will possess a spiritual palate disturbed by the humors of inordinate affections, the flame is unpleasant and bitter to it.6 These received purifications of sense and spirit are not optional or peripheral in the spiritual life. John speaks of their necessity a number of times and in unmistakable terms. In a context in which he is discussing our proclivity to self-seeking in all sorts of ways, he goes on to comment7 Until a soul is placed by God in the passive purgation of that dark night, it cannot purify itself completely from these imperfections nor from the others.No matter how much an individual does through his own efforts, he cannot actively purify himself enough to be disposed in the least degree for the divine union of the perfection of love. God must take over and purge him in that fire That is dark for him.8 I.ii. Not Seeing-Absence The dark night penetrates the innermost depths of the person, establishing order among his or her passions. It strengthens and purifies a persons inclination toward God, eliminating or diminishing those that belong to the senses. Regarding the dark night David says, in an uninhabited, waterless, sterile and pathless land I appeared before you, to learn about your virtues and your glory.9 From the aridity or emptiness of the night our soul draws humility of spirit. From here stems the true love of our neighbor, because now we value the latter without passing judgments as we used to do in the past, when we saw only ourselves, not the others, as people filled with zeal. Now we only see our own misery.10
6 7

Ibidem Ibidem 8 Dark Night of the Soul, Book1. Ch:3,No.3. 9 Ps 62:2-3 10 Herbstrith, In Search of God, U.S.A.,1989,p.85.

Life implies a risk. It is similar to a journey in which we must be always prepared for something new. There is no time to build a nest along the way, to get lost while picking flowers.11 The road along the dark night of the soul is hard; still it is sweet for those who know that their blindness will lead them to unexpected horizons. He could not visit new regions if he wouldnt walk totally new ways, leaving familiar ones behind.12 In the dark night of the soul, God acts in the innermost region of the soul through his plentiful grace. At this stage our soul is purified of its ignorance and everyday faults. The dark night of the soul obscures everything. It humbles the spirit and makes it miserable but only to exhort and raise it. It impoverishes and empties it of every possession and earthly affection but only so that it may expand divinely and enjoy all heavenly things.13 The core need that is felt in night is the need of acceptance by, and connection with the other. What most strips the person is not dryness or confusion or revulsion and delights more in her, since for her the point of everything is to make her beloved happy. Being with is heart presence, wanting what He wants, wanting to bring Him joy. Writing from a sum blessed summit, john sees the world pervaded with light- the spirits constant presence. That lets him read rightly the absence felt in the climb. His confidence is arresting: This dark night is an inflowing of God in to the soul, in which God is secretly teaching the soul and training her in perfect love. What seemed to be darkness, absence, rejection, was really a mystery of presence- Presence too close, too personal, too God-like for the persons senses to perceive. Darkness as on the one hand emptiness, on the other hand, it is a situation that can enable more concentration, because it is mysterious. There can be communication in the darkness, but light will always be welcome back, darkness having been a way through into more intense light.14 I.iii. Night of Sense
11 12

Ibidem Ibidem., 86 13 Ibidem 14 I ain Mathew, St. John of the Cross and the Seasons of Prayer, in: Mt. Carmel, 50 (2002),9-13

The image dark night clearly suggests the aspect of purification as we experience it, but we must never forget that transformation is in exact proportion to purification. In the degree that fire dries out moisture it transforms the matter into fire itself. The divine gaze of love, even as it imprints its own likeness on us reveals most painfully our own swarthiness. God draws us out of the state of beginners, delivers us from a miserable, unworthy manner of knowing and loving Him, sets us in the way of the spirit. God changes light into darkness; God seals up the springs of sensible consolations.15 In johns gospel, chapter thirteen, we read of Jesus at supper with his friends on the night he was betrayed. Jesus knew what Judas intended to do and even gave him specific permission to do it. Judas went out on his traitors errand, and the gospel adds simply and with profound metaphorical meaning:Night had fallen. Later Jesus also went out into that actual and symbolic night. What He endured and what happened to Him from then until he came, risen and alive, out of the tomb, is where all those who pass through their individual dark nights find purpose, meaning, hope and power to cling on. The term dark night is an eloquent symbol for the state for the sate we enter when we begin to grow closer to God because he has begun to invade and possess our inner being. The dark night is much concerned with three special processes bringing faith to the heroic level; waiting for God to take action; being cleansed of sin down to the deepest levels.16 Another characteristic of this night is impotence in prayer or just impotence. Impotence in prayer is caused by the fact that the night of faith is the beginning of contemplation. We can find no way out of this chocking fog that has come up on the nada path to immobilize us, hiding every familiar land mark. The thick darkness can seem so impenetrable as to be claustrophobic. It is as if we are incarcerated in a pitch dark dungeon round the unyielding walls of which we continually feel for signs of a door, a window, or even a crack, but without ever finding one. Our very finger tips become insensible in the process. In such a situation, lost and night bound, impotent and dumb, threatened by absurdity and the void, unable to

15 16

Ruth Burrows, Ascent to Love ,India, 1987,p.49-50. Barbara Dent, My only Friend is Darkness, Trivandrum, 1996,25-26

escape from the dungeon, what is on the pilgrim on the nada path to do? Often all he or she can do is wait and endure.17 I.iv. Benefits from the Night of Sense After some years of this difficult prayer, a person becomes aware of having acquired a more thorough, truer knowledge of himself. There is a keener appreciation of the grandeur and goodness of God.18 Humility is deeper and more real. One consequently thinks more highly of others and actually considers them to be better than himself. 19 There is more readiness to learn from others and to obey them, even to obey those who are subjects...Disordered desires have lost much of their strengthMotivation is less self centered and more directed to GodOne is gentler toward oneself, toward ones neighbor, indeed toward the Lord himself a new freedom from the world, ones only real concern now is to serve God better.20 What is remarkable about this growth is not only that it occurs but also that these virtues were growing with comparatively little attention having been explicitly given to them. They have been produced by the divinely infused light and love. St. John of the Cross is thus correct in speaking of these precious benefits and in proclaiming of this night, Ah, the sheer grace!-I went out unseen.21 I.v. Night of Spirit It is hard to pinpoint exactly when the second purification, that of spirit, occurs. There are some indications, however. During this time the soul enjoys a new spiritual freedom and a serene, loving contemplation and delight in prayer. Yet because the entire purification has not been effected, certain needs, aridities, darkness and conflicts are felt. These are sometimes, far more intense than those of the past and are like omens or messengers of the coming night of spirit.22 These omens, however, are short lived, though they can be very disturbing because of their intensity. After a short period of a day or two they usually disappear, and the person returns to the customary serene prayer. What does one experience
17 18

Ibidem.,p.29 .Thomas Dubay, Fire within, San Francisco, 1989,p.166 19 Phil.2,3 20 Dark Night of the Soul, Book I, ch.13 21 Thomas Dubay, Fire within, San Francisco, 1989,p.169 22 Dark Night of the Soul, Book I, ch.1

in the second night?23 The Divine wisdom is not only night and darkness for the soul, but is like, wise affliction and torment.24 Because the whole process of Christic prayer is a gradual transformation into a God likeness, cozy feelings at prayer are gone, and one feels left high and dry, suspended between heaven and earth. There is now a deeper change in our mode of prayer- from human to divine, consequently the change brings a kind of dislocation from what one is used to and comfortable with.25 The clearer and more manifest are divine things in themselves, the darker and more hidden are they to the soul naturally, just as the clearer is the light, the more it blinds and darkens the pupil of the owl and the more directly we look at the Sun, the greater is the darkness which it causes in our visual faculty, overcoming and overwhelming it through its own weakness. In the same way, when this Divine light of contemplation assails, the soul which is not yet wholly enlightened, it causes spiritual darkness in it; for not only does it overcome it, but likewise it overwhelms it and darkens the act of its natural intelligence. For this reason Saint Dionysius and other mystical theologians call this infused contemplation a ray of darknessthat is to say, for the soul that is not enlightened and purged for the natural strength of the intellect is transcended and overwhelmed by its great supernatural light. Where fore David like wise said: That near to God and round about Him are darkness and cloud; not that this is so in fact, but that it is so to our weak understanding, which is blinded and darkened by so vast a light, to which it cannot attain. For this cause the same David then explained himself, saying: Through the great splendor of His presence passed clouds that is between God and our understanding.26 St. John of the Cross uses strong words to describe what the divine infusion of light and love does as it penetrates into the soul: Assails---strikes---disentangles---dissolves---divests--chastises---afflicts---purifies. He calls the whole process an oppressive undoing. The person therefore feels spiritually unclean and wretched. There is an impression of being rejected and abandoned by God. It appears that the person will never be worthy again and
23 24 25

Dark Night of the Soul, Book II, ch.3-8. Dark Night of the Soul, Book II, ch.5, No:2 Thomas Dubay, Fire within, San Francisco, 1989,p.169 Dark Night of the Soul, Book II, ch.5, No:3

26

that the lofty blessings already received will never return. One need s little imagination to grasp how extremely painful this is, for the soul, vehemently wants God and nothing else. This feeling of the divine indifference and rejection are the deepest suffering in the second night.27 Individuals in this second night love God greatly, and they know that they do, but they find no relief in their knowledge. Rather, it causes still deeper suffering, because in loving God so much that they would willingly give a thousand lives for Him, they cannot be persuaded that God loves them. The completion and the cessation of this purification are not abrupt; rather there is a blending of the painful darkness in to the love of union. St. John says that the soul in the midst of these dark conflicts feels vividly and keenly that it is being wounded, by a strong divine love, and it has a certain feeling and fore taste of God.28 He who desires nothing else than God walks not in darkness, however poor and dark he is in his own sight---Do not worry, but rejoice. So, the soul able to sing.29 Nearer my God to thee, Nearer to thee Even though it be a cross, that raiseth me Still all my song shall be Nearer my God to thee, nearer to thee

Friends may depart from me Night may come down Clouds of adversity darken and frown Still through my tears Ill see

27 28 29

Thomas Dubay, Fire within, San Francisco, 1989,p.169 Dark Night of the Soul, Book II, ch.2, No:1-2 Thomas Dubay, Fire within, San Francisco, 1989,p.171

Hope gently leading me, Nearer my God to the, nearer to thee. Conclusion In Dark Night and his other major works, St. John of the Cross helps people to understand his vast and profound mystical doctrine, whose objective is to describe a sure way to achieve holiness, the state of perfection to which God calls all of us. In both its active and passive moments, the process requires our determined effort, but it is God who is the real center, All we can do is dispose ourselves and humble ourselves before the loving work of God in us. In this sense, John is for us a model of humble dedication and of faithful perseverance on the road to spiritual maturity.