Dark Night of the Soul: St. John of the Cross (Book I, Ch. III & IV)

Chapter III
Of some imperfections which some of these souls are apt to have, with respect to the second capital sin, which is AVARICE, in the spiritual sense.
- Many can never have enough of listening to counsels and learning spiritual precepts, and of possessing and reading many books which treat of this matter, and they spend their time on all these things rather than on works of mortification and the perfecting of inward poverty of spirit which should be theirs.
- They burden themselves with images and rosaries...they put one down, now they take up another.
- Others you will see adorned with medals and relics [wearing these supersititiously thinking they will become holy just by wearing them instead of using them for their true purpose of devotion and in the true sacramental nature]
- I condemn the curiosity and multitude of these things, inasmuch as it is quite contrary to poverty of spirit. True devotion must issue from the heart, and consists in the truth and substance alone of what is represented by spiritual things; all the rest is attachment and affection proceeding from imperfection, and in order for one to pass from this to any kind of perfection, it is necessary for such desires to be killed.
- I know a person who for more than ten years made use of a cross roughly formed from a branch that had been blessed, fastened with a pin twisted round it; he had never ceased using it, and he always carried it about with him until I took it from him; and this was a person of no small sense and understanding.
- [Those of advanced spirituality] set their eyes only on being right with God and on pleasing Him. Thus with great generosity they give away all that they have, and delight to know that they have it not, for God's sake and for charity to their neighbor, no matter whether these be spiritual things or temporal.
- It befits the soul to contrive to labor, in so far as it can, on its own account, to the end that it may purge and perfect itself, and thus may merit being taken by God into that Divine care wherein it becomes healed of all things that it was unable to itself cure.

Chapter IV
Of other imperfections which these beginners are apt to have with respect to the third sin, which is LUXURY

- Some have many imperfections which may be described as spiritual luxury, not because they are so, but because the imperfections proceed from spiritual things. For it often comes to pass that in their spiritual exercises they are powerless to prevent it, there arises and assert themselves in the sensual part of the soul impure acts and motions, and sometimes this happens even when the spirit is deep in prayer. This can proceed from three causes.
1. The first cause from which they often proceed is the pleasure which human nature takes in spiritual things. For when the spirit is moved to pleasure and delight in God, the sensual nature, which is the lower part, is moved to pleasure and delight of the senses because it cannot [yet] possess and lay hold upon aught else, and therefore it lays hold upon that which comes nearest to itself, which is the impure and sensual.
- For example, this happens often in Communion, for when the soul receives joy and comfort in this act of love, because this Lord bestows it, the sensual nature takes that which is its own likewise, as we have said, after its manner. But when this sensual part is renewed by the purgation of the dark night, it no longer has these weaknesses.
2. The second cause whence tehse rebellions sometimes proceed is the devil, who, in order to disquiet and disturb the soul, at times when it is at prayer or is striving to pray, contrives to stir up these motions of impurity in its nature. Therefore, not only do persons become lax in prayer (for fear of these impurities), but some give up prayer altogether...since the devil attacks them then more than at other times, so that they may give up spiritual exercises.
- He succeeds in portraying to them very vividly things that are most foul and impure, and at times are very closely related to certain spiritual things and persons that are of profit to their souls, in order to terrify them and make them fearful; so that those who are affected by this dare not even look at anything or meditate upon anything, because they immediately encounter this temptation. And upon those who are inclined to melancholy this acts with such effect that they become greatly to be pitied since they are suffering so sadly; they believe it to be clear that the devil is ever present with them and that they have no power to prevent this.
3. The third source whence these impure motions are apt to proceed in order to make war upon the soul is often the fear which such persons have conceived for these impure representations and motions. Something that they see or say or think brings them to their mind, and this makes them afraid, so that they suffer from them through no fault of their own.
- There are also certain souls of so tender and frail a nature that when there comes to some spiritual consolation or some grace in prayer, the spirit of luxury is with them immediately, inebriating and delighting their sensual nature in such manner that it is as if they were plunged into the enjoyment and pleasure of this sin...the same thing happens to such souls when they are enkindled with anger or suffer and disturbance or grief.
- Some of these persons make friendships of a spiritual kind with others, which oftentimes arise from luxury and not from spirituality; this may be known to be the case when the remembrance of that friendship causes not the remembrance and love of God to grow, but occasions of remorse of conscience. When the friendship is purely spiritual, the love of God grows with it.
- But, when this lvoe arises from the vice of sensuality aforementioned, it produces the contrary effects; for the more the one grows, the more the other decreases, and the remembrance of it likewise...and again comes a certain remorse of conscience.
- Our Savior said in the Gospel: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (Jn 3:6)
- When the soul enters the dark night, it brings these kinds of love under control. It strengthens and purifies the one, namely that which is according to God; and it removes and brings the others to an end.

Dark Night of the Soul: St. John of the Cross (Book I, Ch. I & II)

BOOK THE FIRST
Which treats of the Night of Sense

On a dark night, Kindled in love with yearnings - oh, happy chance!
I went forth without being observed, My house being now at rest.

- In this first stanza the soul relates how it dies to all things and to itself by means of true mortification, in order to attain to living the sweet and delectable life of love with God.
- A "dark night" is here understood as a purgative contemplation, which causes passively in the soul the negation of itself.
- Herein it extols the great happiness that none of the three enemies - which are the world, the flesh and the devil - could hinder; the aforementioned night of purgative contemplation lulled to sleep and mortified, in teh house of its sensuality, all the passions and desires with resepect to the mischievous desires and motions.

On a dark night

Chapter I
- Into this dark night souls begin to enter when God draws them forth from the state of beginners - which is the state of those that meditate on the spiritual road - and begins to set them in the state of progressives...that they may arrive at the state of the perfect, which is that of the divine union of the soul with God.
- The soul, after it has been definitely converted to the service of God, is, as a rule, spiritually nurtured ad caressed by God, even as is the tender child by its loving mother, who warms it with the heat of her bosom and nurtures it with sweet milk and soft and pleasant food, and carries it and caresses it in her arms; but, as the child grows bigger, the mother gradually ceases caressing it, and, hiding her tender love, puts bitter aloes upon her sweet breast, sets downthe child from her arms, and makes it walk upon its feet, so that it may lose the habits of a child and betake itself to more important and substantial occupations.
- Therefore, such a soul finds its delight in spending long periods - perchance whole nights - in prayer; penances are its pleasures; fasts its joys; and its consolations are to make use of the sacrements and to occupy itself in divine things...but then these souls will often find themselves, spiritually speaking, very weak and imperfect. For since they are moved to these things and to these spiritual exercises by the consolation and pleasure they find in them...[they will find it very difficult once God withdraws such consolations for the purpose of drawing them closer to Himself]
- [Let us take a look at the seven capital sins from a spiritual perspective and see how they affect beginners]

Chapter II
Of certain spiritual imperfections which beginners have with respect to the habit of PRIDE

- As these beginners feel themselves to be very fervent and diligent in spiritual things and devout exercises, there often comes to them, through their imperfections, a certain kind of secret pride, whence they come to have some degree of satisfaction in their works and in themselves.
- They have a certain desire to speak of spiritual things in the presence of others, and sometimes even to teach such things rather than to learn them. They condemn others in their heart when they see that they have no the kind of devotion which they themselves desire; and sometimes they even say this in words, herein resembling the Pharisee.
- In these persons the devil often increases the fervour that they have and the desire to perform these and other works more frequently, so that their pride and presumption may grow greater.
- Some reach such a degree of evil that these persons are wont to reach that they would have none appear good save themselves
- Sometimes, too, when their spiritual masters, such as confessors and superiors, do not approve of their spirit and behavior, they consider that they do not understand them...and that their confessors themselves are not spiritual. And so they immediately desire and contrive to find some one else who will fit in with their tastes...Sometimes they even harbour ill-will against them.
- They occasionally give outward evidence of inward movements - sighs, ecstasies - in public rather than in secret, wherein the devil aids them, and they are pleased that this should be noticed, and are often eager that it should be more noted.
- They are too much embarrassed to confess their sins nakedly, lest their confessors should think less of them, so they palliate them and make them appear less evil, to excuse themselves rather than accuse themselves. Sometimes they seek another confessor to tell the wrongs that they have done, so that their own confessor shall think they have done nothing wrong at all, but only good.
- Some of these beginners, too, make little of their faults, and at other times become over-sad when they see themselves fall into them, thinking themselves to have been saints already; and thus they become angry and impatient with themselves, which is another perfection.
- They often dislike praising others and love to be praised...sometimes even seeking out such praise.
- There are hardly any beginners who, at the time of these signs of favor (consolation), fall not into some of these errors.

- Those who are moving on to perfection progress by means of humility and are greatly edified, having very little satisfaction with themselves; they consider all others as far better...the more they do, the less they are satisfied. All they do seems to them to be naught, and they never notice what others do or do not...they always believe others are better. If men should esteem and praise them, it seems to them strange that anyone should say these good things of them.
- These souls have a deep desire to be taught by anyone who can bring them profit; they are the complete opposite of those of whom we have spoken above, who would fain be always teaching, and who, when others seem to be teaching them, take the words from their mouths as if they knew them already.
- They rejoice when others are praised; they grieve only because they serve not God like them. They have no desire to speak of the things that they do, because they think so little of them that they are ashamed to speak of them even to their spiritual masters.
- They are more anxious to speak of their faults and sins, or that these should be recognized rather than their virtues...This is a characteristic of the spirit which is simple, pure, genuine, and very pleasing to God.
- The imperfections into which they see themselves fall they bear with humility, meekness of spirit and a loving gear of God, hoping in Him.
- God leads into the dark night those whom He desires to purify from all these imperfections so that He may bring them farther onward.