Dark Night of the Soul

Rating:
Summary: The Hard Truth
Review: As a man who lived "in the world", rather than removed from it, Father John of Kronstadt is an excellent source for people wanting to know about living a Christian life of prayer. He faced the reality of living in a complex, disorderly world on a daily basis as he ministered to the needs of his parish. Father John teaches the seeker of the hard truth how to face life's challenges with God's support, rather than trying to go it alone. And what is the hard truth? That in facing our sins (anything that separates us from God) and humbling ourselves through a life of prayer, we become more able, not less, to be effective intercessors for our brothers and sisters who are poor in spirit, mistreated, and troubled; as well as more centered, creative, and joyful in our own lives. Father John's counsel offers a way to organize, deepen, and enrich your life. This book is not to be missed by anyone desiring a Christian lifestyle that incorporates all the beauty, mystery, and devotion the Orthodox Christian Church has to offer.

Rating:
Summary: the doctrine of st. john of the cross
Review: By Sister Elizabeth Ruth, O.D.C., Carmel of Our Lady of Walsingham, Norfolk

St. John of the Cross is known as the Mystical Doctor, because in a pre-eminent way he is the director of men on their interior journey towards God. As a spiritual guide and deeply religious man, trained in theology at the best Spanish universities of his day, he was able, as few others, to elucidate scripturally and doctrinally the ways of the Lord.

Primarily, though, he is a poet, and his poetry speaks for itself in deeply symbolic language, the language of love. He is also a man of his country and era. His two poles Toda-Nada, All-Nothing, no doubt were associated for him with the rugged beauty of Castile--the blazing Spanish sky above arid ground, with the sun glinting upon walled cities, the freezing night with brigands concealed in the darkness.

John and Spain speak the language of extremes, just as St. Francis of Assisi was a man of the Umbrian hills set with flowers and vines among shaded valleys. There is a tendency to contrast the harshness of one with the sweetness of the other, but this is to do a disservice to both. Both at heart are similar because they see the way to God as the way of giving all-desiring nothing but him, and letting the rest go: "My God and my All."

In this, Jesus Christ is the model, and there is no spiritual growth apart from the earnest imitation of him. "Be continually careful and earnest in imitating Christ in everything, making your life conform to his," John writes in The Ascent of Mount Carmel, almost as a key sentence. Only in this light can we understand his insistence on the denial of desires.

What he has in mind are all those selfish and self-seeking ways we go about trying to have God and what we want as well. It is not that other people and other things are not lovable and desirable, or that God wants the way to him to be miserable. It is that the only true joy is found in Jesus, and having him we have all else besides.

John's writings sound demanding. He understood in an experiential way that God is not to be had on the cheap. Perhaps in our own day Bonhoeffer's works could be profitably re-read on the cost of discipleship, which John well knew--his had not been an easy life.

In the journey of the soul to God as John depicts it in the Ascent and the Dark Night he points to faith as the guide, and faith is dark to the understanding. We must just trust God and go forward with no assurance apart from his word.

The saint probes the causes of why many begin this journey but make no progress. It is that self-love insinuates itself, and this must be eradicated by persistent effort in action and loving attention to God in humble prayer, no matter if we feel dry or empty of inspiration: John reveals the way of prayer as a way of great self-denial. We must not rely on anything we can see, feel, taste, experience, for God is more than all these. Only dark faith touches and holds him, and in this there is nothing to delight the senses or boost the ego. By purifying the soul of all that is not God, God strips us in order to clothe us anew in Christ. Nothing gives place to the All, sorrow is turned into joy.

In The Spiritual Canticle and The Living Flame of Love, where John treats more explicitly of union with God, he does so in terms of lover and Beloved. In the former he bases his poem and commentary on the Song of Songs, in the latter upon the imagery of the Holy Spirit as flame, wounding and burning as it prepares the soul to be consumed in the fire of love's ecstasy.

But perhaps in his letters most of all we see John as an understanding counselor, warm and loving, yet allowing no compromises. The way of the Christian can only be the way of Christ and his cross, and John puts the Gospel demands before us in all their unadulterated strength.

His is not a path of visions, ecstasies, abnormal phenomena. Rather, he rejects all these as diverting us from the God whom we can only know by faith, not by the "spectacular" which many so-called spiritual people seek. Union is not felt bliss but "the living death of the cross," as he says in the Ascent. God has spoken his final word in his Son, we have no need to seek anything but him as he is revealed to us in his life and teaching. To want other words, other revelations, is to seek self.

..."Seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you." The words of Jesus are as true today as they ever were. Those who want God and seek him singlemindedly will find him to their everlasting Joy--as did St John of the Cross.

Rating:
Summary: Exquisite writing of great spiritual insights
Review: Dark Night of the Soul captures startling insights into the path of holiness and purity---the path of knowing God. St. John of the Cross illustrates the product of his earnest seeking of God in this book that seems to gain wisdom and understanding that are on a level rarely if ever seen in books.

I was literally amazed at how this book explained the events I had experienced on my spiritual journey. Unlike most books that speak of blessings, man's abilities, reaching goals through God, this book focuses on the time in the desert, the purging of man's heart, the dying to all things not of God, the journey in the valley of the shadow of death, and the purposes of God for our soul. It offers the reader a different view of spirituality than the modern books, because like few men or women before him or since, St. John of the Cross shunned the pleasures of the world to gain the fullness of God's presence.

His writing is sometimes difficult to read because it is so heavy with spritual wisdom and assumes a high level of spiritual and theological maturity in the reader. I read more than a few lines several times before I got the point--I read this over several weeks...a chapter or so at a time.

I recommend this for readers seeking a closer relationship for God and for those seeking understanding about spiritually dry and difficult times in their lives. No other book I have read offers such a deep description of times when God seems distant and his blessings amiss.

St. John of the Cross inspires one to seek God more fully and in earnest.

Rating:
Summary: a masterpiece marred by a misled translator
Review: Dark Night of the Soul is no doubt a masterpiece, but Mirabai Starr has taken it upon himself to touch it up. Beware of such irresponsible and arrogant work by a translator. A translator trying to cut out the undeniably Catholic view from which St. John of the Cross is intrinsically deriving is likened to a museum curator trying to make Mona Lisa's smile less winsome.

Do read this work of art, but find a different edition. We should all boycott buying stolen work at all costs. Starr has tried to pass off work that is not his own, NOR St. John of Cross' as it originally was.

Rating:
Summary: A Lot to Think About
Review: First of all, I don't understand why anybody would complain about the language of this translation. The work is about an excrutiating and almost indescribable journey, and a book about such a subject should by no means be a light afternoon read. The very language of Dark Night of the Soul calls for intense engagement and is a fruitful exercise in itself. Furthermore, this language has an extraordinarily authentic quality that conveys something of the mystery St John of the Cross is pursuing.

The work also gives so much to think about. I don't know that I agree with everything, but that's fine, and St John himself notes that each journey toward God will be somewhat different. But there is a lot that appeals to me. Truly, the journey toward God can be difficult. Reading about any character in the Bible from Abraham to David to Jesus confirms this. Life is such a strange mixture of the presence of God and the (at least seeming) absense, and persevering toward union with God means getting through these agonizing periods. In this book, St John of the Cross gives great hope as he accounts for those dark times and provides a framework for getting through them. This isn't a light read, and it is certainly a book that needs multiple readings. Nevertheless, it gives you a lot to think about and is ultimately well worth the effort.


Rating:
Summary: Guide to Prayer
Review: Fr. John of Kronstadt has called me through this book to facing the reality of prayer - talking to the God who loves me. Not to be read quickly. Several of us at our church reading it together; good Lenten material.

Excellent guide and encouragement to working on a life filled with prayer.

Rating:
Summary: Avoid
Review: He did not say anything of any value. A better book for those interested in Esoteric Teaching is The Work of a Kabbalist by Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi.

Rating:
Summary: Scholarly but not for the average seeker
Review: Here is the message of "Dark Night Of The Soul": God wants our will more than anything else. To get it, he may allow us to stumble on without any sense of his presence or obtaining any pleasure from our spiritual exercises or even our life. All that will be left us is our decision to continue doing our duty despite not receiving any apparent gain from doing so. According to St. John, this is what pleases God more than anything for then we will serve God solely for Himself and not for any good feelings, sensations, or rewards we might experience by doing so. Whatever the validity of this spiritual approach (and I wonder about the value/point of sanctifying depression in this age of anti-depressants), St. John wrote this detailed book to explore it and did it better than anyone else has ever done. That makes it an important contribution to the literature on spirituality. But it also makes it something that most people will not be able to fathom or have any use for. The hours of daily prayer required by the school of thought that produced this book seem to me excessive and to miss the whole point of the Christian life. Most of us would be driven mad by such intensity-and I don't doubt that some have been. I tend to think that doing our duty is sometimes just work (true) but also sometimes will give a great sense of fulfillment and satisfaction because there are intrinsic rewards that come with being a good worker, spouse, parent, friend, etc. There is little point in getting this book unless you live in a cloister or are planning to do so and only if God is calling you to the depths of contemplative prayer. That leaves out 98% of the human race, including me. This is a dry treatise; admirable without being in the least bit inspiring. It is best left to graduate courses in spirituality or medieval Spanish literature (the poem is reportedly excellent Spanish poetry).

Rating:
Summary: Scholarly but not for the average seeker
Review: Here is the message of "Dark Night Of The Soul": God wants our will more than anything else. To get it, he may allow us to stumble on without any sense of his presence or obtaining any pleasure from our spiritual exercises or even our life. All that will be left us is our decision to continue doing our duty despite not receiving any apparent gain from doing so. According to St. John, this is what pleases God more than anything for then we will serve God solely for Himself and not for any good feelings, sensations, or rewards we might experience by doing so. Whatever the validity of this spiritual approach (and I wonder about the value/point of sanctifying depression in this age of anti-depressants), St. John wrote this detailed book to explore it and did it better than anyone else has ever done. That makes it an important contribution to the literature on spirituality. But it also makes it something that most people will not be able to fathom or have any use for. The hours of daily prayer required by the school of thought that produced this book seem to me excessive and to miss the whole point of the Christian life. Most of us would be driven mad by such intensity-and I don't doubt that some have been. I tend to think that doing our duty is sometimes just work (true) but also sometimes will give a great sense of fulfillment and satisfaction because there are intrinsic rewards that come with being a good worker, spouse, parent, friend, etc. There is little point in getting this book unless you live in a cloister or are planning to do so and only if God is calling you to the depths of contemplative prayer. That leaves out 98% of the human race, including me. This is a dry treatise; admirable without being in the least bit inspiring. It is best left to graduate courses in spirituality or medieval Spanish literature (the poem is reportedly excellent Spanish poetry).

Rating:
Summary: Great... But Still a Bit Mysterious
Review: I read this book thinking (and probably pretentiously so) that I myself was passing through a 'dark night' of sorts. This, however, is dangerous. Reader beware - this book is written by a saint who is also a Doctor of the Church. It tells of the "aridity" and consolations the soul experiences when approaching God. To be honest, I found it quite frighting. I recommend it, but I advise mature handling of St. John of the Cross' words.