Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The Dark Night of the Soul (Spanish: La noche oscura del alma) is a phase of passive purification in the mystical development of the individual's spirit, according to the 16th-century Spanish mystic and Catholic poet St. John of the Cross. John describes the concept in his treatise Dark Night (Noche Oscura), a
In the 16th century, Saint John of the Cross famously described it as "the Dark Night of the Soul". The 17th-century Benedictine mystic Fr. Augustine Baker called it the "great desolation". [1] Mother Teresa's diaries show that she experienced spiritual dryness for most of her life. [4]
For Carl Jung, "the rediscovery of the principles of alchemy came to be an important part of my work as a pioneer of psychology". [3] As a student of alchemy, he (and his followers) "compared the 'black work' of the alchemists (the nigredo) with the often highly critical involvement experienced by the ego, until it accepts the new equilibrium brought about by the creation of the self."
Considered to be his introductory work on mystical theology, this work begins with an allegorical poem, Dark Night of the Soul.The rest of the text begins as a detailed explanation and interpretation of the poem, but after explaining the first five lines, John thereafter ignores the poem and writes a straightforward treatise on the two "active nights" of the soul.
The Dark Night of the Soul: A Psychiatrist Explores the Connection Between Darkness and Spiritual Growth (2004) Harper & Row, ISBN 9780060750558; The Wisdom of Wilderness: Experiencing the Healing Power of Nature (2007) HarperCollins, ISBN 9780061146633
The medieval work, The Cloud of Unknowing and John of the Cross' Dark Night of the Soul are particularly well known. In 1215 apophatism became the official position of the Catholic Church, which, on the basis of Scripture and church tradition, during the Fourth Lateran Council formulated the following dogma:
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS. Mobile and desktop browsers: Works best with the latest version of Chrome, Edge, FireFox and Safari. Windows: Windows 7 and newer Mac: MacOS X and newer Note: Ad-Free AOL Mail ...
In later stages, passive trials such as the dark night of the soul (St. John of the Cross) are experienced. In these phenomena, God is said to be purifying the soul, making her (the soul is feminine in Catholic theology) continue on the basis of sheer faith rather than any palpable feeling derived from prayer.