St. John of the
Cross[i] lived in the latter half of the 16th century. As a friend and
confessor of St. Teresa of Avila he was arrested and imprisoned in the
Carmelite Friary in Toledo where he was treated with incredible cruelty. In his imprisonment he composed a number of
poems which have become classics in contemplative theology. His poetry shows
the influence both of secular love poetry and the Song of Songs. “A nun asked him whether God ‘gave him these
words which were so comprehensive and so lovely.’ John replied: ‘Sometimes God
gave them and at other times I sought them.’”[ii]
He speaks of the
dark night of the soul and his search for God:
Et una
noche oscura,
Con
ansias en amores inflamada,
ļOh
dichosa ventura!
Salí
sin sera notada,
Estando ya mi
casa sosegada.
Upon a gloomy
night
With all my
cares to loving ardours flushed,
(O venture of
delight!)
With nobody in
sight
I went abroad
when all my house was hushed.
The
dark night is not gloomy in the normal sense.
The dark night is not a place of depression or accidie.[iii] This darkness is expressed in Psalm 88 where
the psalmist confesses that he is a man who has no strength; that he is shut in
so that he cannot escape, and the precious knowledge that he is actually
helpless.[iv]
It
is precious knowledge because the discovery of the reality of the dark night of
the soul is the discovery that we are helpless and that we can do nothing
without grace. That is only terrifying
to the soul before the acceptance of helplessness. After that surrender there is only relief,
the relief that is in itself a birth of joy.
It is only there that we find all our yearnings inflamed to loving
ardour; that is indeed an adventure of
delight.
It
is important to note that there is nobody else in sight. The time and occasion provided by solitude is
the necessary bedrock for divine intimacy; but just because solitude can be a
doorway into the presence of God doesn’t mean that intimacy with God is
automatic. Many people live in soul
destroying isolation from others and they are alone and lonely. Padre Fray Juan goes forth to seek the One
Who loves Him in the silence of his house; that is to say that he has quieted
himself like a weaned child quieted on his mother’s lap;[v]
“Hush, my soul, be quiet. Put your trust
in the God of love.”
O
oscuras, y sergura,
Por
las secreta escala disfrazada,
ļOh
dichosa ventura!
A
oscuras, y en celada,
Estando
ya mi casa sosegada.
In
safety, in disguise,
In
darkness up the secret stair I crept,
(O
happy enterprise)
Concealed
from other eyes
When
all my house at length in silence slept.
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