Dark night of the soul, and its necessity
Outline of the Dark Nights
The whole of spiritual advancement is the individuals efforts to purge his soul of selfishness, thus allowing a greater participation in God, specifically Christ. This pattern occurs in the “dark night of the soul”, which is the unitive stage of spiritual advancement, detailed into four sub stages.
Through the purgative and illuminative stages, the student has attained virtue, but this virtue is not yet perfect; it contains unknown and hidden selfishness, even selfishness hidden in virtue and religion. The dark nights of the soul purge and reform this hidden selfishness, for the purpose of final divine union. The four dark nights are the unitive stage broken down into detail.
Spiritual advancement may be broken down into our own efforts, which are the active nights, and the passive nights, (from our view point). The passive nights are God’s efforts to include us into the next level of spiritual advancement. Both phases are termed “nights” because we have limited understanding of what is happening.
The full course of spiritual advancement is not really an option. We may do it in this life or the next, but the no go alternative is Hell. Furthermore, in afterlife Purgatory, purgation is much more difficult, and no merit is gained.
Few people begin the discipline of spiritual advancement with a goal of divine union with Christ, and in this life…but to get there one must transit the dark nights of the soul, and there are four in total: {60}
— Active night of the senses
— Passive night of the senses
— Active night of the spirit
— Passive night of the spirit
The dark nights of the soul are well termed; human perfection is well laid out in lists such as the ten commandments, or a list of virtues. But when advancing past such lists, into divine perfection and union, the student enters into unknown territory, hence the term “dark night of the soul”.{61} This figurative ‘darkness’ arises because: 1. the will must push ahead of the intellect, and the intellect was the students previous guide; 2. the denial of all selfishness (even hidden), leaves the senses of the soul ‘blinded’ from its previous emotional guides and rewards; 3. the goal is union with God himself, who cannot be fully envisioned.
The dark nights of the soul are necessary because our end point is divine union with Christ, and to attain this union every shred of selfishness must be eliminated, even selfishness which is hidden in our virtuous and religious actions. The student is unaware of hidden faults, or the limitations placed on the soul by even legitimate attachments. But every soul in Heaven has passed through this purgatory.
The Pharisees of Jesus’ time had reached the pinnacle of virtue and religion…or so they thought. How could they know that they had only reached the midpoint, and they would have to detach from their hard earned satisfaction in virtue and religion, and make divine union with God. They had legitimate satisfaction in their hard earned virtues, but this is exactly what had to go. If our goal is divine union with Jesus Christ, then stopping our spiritual advancement by resting short of Christ, even in religious satisfaction, is a mistake.
The student need not give up family, friends or job, only his attachment to them. Once this attachment is broken, he resumes an even greater love for family and virtue, but now as a member of Christ. Jesus Christ himself spoke of this.
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even their own life, such a person cannot be my disciple.”
The trials given and the effort made are not exclusive to the dark nights of the unitive stage. At every moment of our advancement we are called to detach from the accidents of this life, but in the unitive, this is our primary effort. The dark nights are simply specific titles given to our specific efforts in the wide realm of detachment.
Few people would dare to aspire to divine personhood with God, yet this is Catholic doctrine. Since this divine union must be made in this life or in Purgatory, it is quite correct that this doctrine be clearly stated.{62} We do not live our lives with Jesus in Heaven; we make divine union with Jesus Christ in this life (or the next) and live as a member of Christ in Heaven; Heaven being the very person of Christ.{63} Pope Benedict made repeated statements that Heaven is the very person of Christ.
Pope John Paul II said of the dark nights;
“It is totally sustained by grace, which nonetheless demands an intense spiritual commitment and is no stranger to painful purifications. But it leads, in various possible ways, to the ineffable joy experienced by the mystics as “nuptial union”, [divine union with God].
These higher levels of spiritual advancement cannot be obtained by rewards or satisfaction of this world, not even spiritual self satisfaction; this would be working against divine union which requires that we forego all traces of selfishness and ultimately even self being, (we become members of the single, divine person of Christ). Christ is now the many individual members who constitute the body of Christ.
An extreme example of the dark night may be found in the book of Job. Job was scrupulous and perfect in his obedience to the decrees of God, and was richly rewarded. God sought to advance Job’s soul by stripping him of his good fortune, leaving only faith in his life. He was to maintain faith and virtue, simply for the sake of God.
Job had no part in sin, now he was tasked with eradicating even legitimate self interest. It was a necessary process, if Job was to advance past the limitations of spiritual satisfaction. God called Job to purify and deepen his faith beyond its attachment to the health and wealth, and spiritual self satisfaction that he enjoyed.
In painful stages, Job’s wealth, family, and finally health failed, and all with God’s permission. Job maintained his faith, even though his new home was a dung pile, his robes were now stinking rags, his skin was a field of open sores, and he was even burdened with “spiritual counselors”, (his former friends), who held their moral high ground, by blaming Job for all these misfortunes.
Job was not crushed by misfortune as it came tumbling down on top of him. Job cultivated his faith, even in these new circumstances. It was not easy, but Job ascended out of his former legitimate privileged life, bringing his strengthened, purified faith with him. In the end God restored wealth, family, and honor to Job.
More commonly the casualty is not our material life as Job suffered, but our legitimate material and spiritual attachments. These selfish attachments are likely to be imperfections rather than sin, but even these ‘legitimate’ self indulgences must go. Until now the soul had attained conformity to God by degree, and now over an extended period may attain actual union with God—we become Christ, (CCC 795, 1213).
We again list the four dark nights of the soul, and then consider each in greater detail. In this list, “active” refers to action, thought and will by the student. “Passive” (from our perspective), are all actions originating outside of the student, they are action or denial of action by God, graces of the sacraments, and the prayers of others.
Generally, the two active nights are purgation by the student, while the two passive nights have God deepening our inclusion into him. St. John of the cross could have divided the dark nights of the soul into the active and passive nights only, rather than detailing them as active and passive nights of the senses and spirit. No doubt, from God’s viewpoint things are much less compartmentalized.
First a summary of the four dark nights, then detailed paragraphs on each.
The Active Dark Night of the Senses
The two dark nights of the senses involve our dealings with people (ourselves and others), which use the human virtues. The follow on dark nights of the spirit has the student perfecting his dealings with God.
The active dark night of the senses is not the purgative stage of those beginning spiritual advancement. It purifies the senses, not of obvious selfishness, but of hidden selfishness. This hidden selfishness is tackled only when the obvious sensual failings are conquered.
Those students living the illuminative stage of virtue are legitimate in their actions, but not yet perfect. Jesus speaks of such perfection: absolute forgiveness, poverty (at least in spirit), detachment from even our family and this life. These go beyond the call of duty of salvation alone.
The active dark night of the senses has the student exercising his moral virtues in aridity. Previously God gave sensible reward to increased chastity, generosity, and so on, but not now. Formerly the student had attained emotional joy, and a sense of personal worth in his virtuous actions. God guided the student from a life of sin or mediocrity into a life of virtue and an effective part of this guidance (for the beginner) was the attractive trail of spiritual sweets along the path.
St. John of the Cross writes;
“We call this nakedness [stripping] a night for the soul, for we are not discussing the mere lack of things; this lack will not divest the soul if it craves for all these objects. Desire to possess nothing, in order to arrive at being everything. The love of God is practiced, because the soul is no longer attracted by sweetness and consolation, but by God only, in the midst of these aridity and hardships.”
The student felt good about his acts of virtue, and justly so, but his virtues were to some degree tainted by self satisfaction. Self satisfaction is part of the imperfect soul, and it takes self satisfaction not only in vice, but even in virtue! In the quest for perfection all forms of selfishness must go. The result of every purgatory of the dark night is a higher quality of virtue and faith and a corresponding deeper sharing in the very life of Christ.
The human soul has the character of habit, anything that we do repeatedly forms a more permanent union with the soul. On the positive side, we might practice music every day and perfect this good habit. Our bad habits also ingrain themselves by practice. Likewise our efforts to realign our soul through the either denial of self, or a positive act like prayer, will bear fruit as it becomes a repeated habit. Positive habits breed more virtue, and negative habits produce more vice in our soul.
All four dark nights are purgative. But all along, God also makes deeper union with the student as selfishness is reformed. The two nights of the senses teaches the student how to perfect his human life, the two passive nights teaches the student how to share in the divine life of God.
The Passive Dark Night of the Senses
The passive nights of the senses and of the spirit are both passive from the students viewpoint; God is active.
The most vital part of God’s passive action is making deeper communion with the student. We see that in making communion with God, the student cannot really take the lead, but is responsible for preparing his soul for this union by purgation of selfishness and cultivating a correct disposition.
God’s activity here also involves assigning trials (derived from original and subsequent sin of humanity), withholding sensible gifts, assigning other graces such as the prayers of others. Illness and aging fall into the category of the passive dark night of the senses. All these are passive actions, requiring only a good response of the student.
The two dark nights of the senses discipline not only the five physical senses, but all human virtue. The active and passive dark nights of the senses both deal with human virtues, rather than theological virtues, which are dealt with by the two dark nights of the spirit.{64}
In the passive night of the senses Christ withdraws consolations which taint the student’s moral virtues. The student advances through these selfish imperfections, and Christ makes his second act which is the incorporation of the student into his very person. In the passive night of the senses, Christ fully includes the student into his own human nature; in the passive night of the spirit Christ fully includes the student into his divine nature.
Selfishness has a greater meaning than emotional attachment. Selfishness is even a legitimate self centered life. One who is married to a career, is a chronic complainer, or who is an alpha male or female, cannot be fully Christ centered. We cannot become Christ if we remain self.
Both of the passive nights involve God’s proactively, so they are passive from out viewpoint. In each dark night Christ withdraws his sensory presence, but not his activity in the soul. Christ’s activity in each dark night is union with himself. Christ deprives us of some joyful expectation, then as the soul advances past these legitimate bits of selfishness Christ is able to deepen his union with the student.
The dark nights of the soul include nothing that was not had from the beginning; aridity, misunderstanding, injustice, doubt have all been experienced by the student. In the dark nights the same trial may take on an increased pain. If the student were previously indifferent to God, a religious insult or accusation now, has much more impact.
The folk saying, “No good deed goes unpunished”, would fit squarely within the passive dark night of the senses. A gospel of “health and wealth”, does to some degree exist…but not in the dark nights. We are to keep and increase our faith in the face of ingratitude, obstacles and persecutions of any degree.
The Active Dark Night of the Spirit
The two dark nights of the spirit involves our relations with God, rather than people. The virtues involved are the theological virtues, which are virtues having God as their end. Only faith, hope and love can drive the student through this terrible privilege, and arrive at divine union. Like all matters of faith, it builds upon itself.
The active night of the spirit involves our activity in faith, hope and love directed to God. Prayer is perhaps the most significant example. Forgiveness is another.
Hope, love, forgiveness all have their strictly human forms, but Christians are to elevate these beyond the human realm, to the divine goal of our life, God.
The active night of the spirit involves the student taking the lead in practicing and perfecting his faith feeling little presence of God — forced into pure faith. The goal here is not to doubt God, but to overcome such doubts and scruples, which always occurred but now with a greater intensity, and in the face of much hard won spiritual advancement over many years.
Observe that the two active nights (senses and spirit) both purge self. In the night of the senses we purge our moral virtues, and in the night of the spirit we purge our theological virtues. In the active night of the spirit we do not purge God, we purge the falsity or selfhood in our participation in God, which we call faith.
When self (separation from God), acts on our moral virtues we think too much of ourselves; when self acts on our theological virtues we think too little of God. Our participation in the human nature of Christ allows us imperfections; our full participation in the divine nature of Christ may contain no elements of self or selfishness. The goal of the active night of the spirit is not just purification of our theological virtues, but to allow Christ to make divine union with us, and this occurs in the parallel passive night of the spirit. Purgation is the means, divine union is the goal.
The Passive Dark Night of the Spirit
The passive night of the spirit is God’s activity in making divine union with the student. In the following paragraph written by St. John of the Cross, he no longer speaks of purgation, but of union into something greater than his own human person.
John writes, “I went out from myself. My intellect departed from itself, changing from human and natural to divine. For united with God through this purgation, it no longer understands by means of its natural vigor and light, but by means of the divine wisdom to which it was united”.
The two nights of the senses, John says, is “common” and “comes to many,” but the night of the spirit, active and passive “is the portion of very few.”{65}
In the advanced stages, the saints report unexpected feelings of abandonment, and dissatisfaction against God, (St. Faustina’s diary, entry 77). This is sin presented to the student in its core form — rebellion against God. This undisguised rebellion may be presented alongside incomplete work from the previous stages, and our guide (in part) is our own imperfect soul, which we are trying to correct. Doing this cold turkey in a convent is easiest, but most people must take the home study curriculum.
The turning point often occurs when the student finally sees the plan for him, and submits. As the student advances to the ultimate perfection and union, the trials may lessen. With his new understanding the student sees the remaining trials as no longer meaningless, but purposeful, the student finally joins in and rapid progress may be made. Near the end, God takes complete command. The student has largely gone as far as he can. God proceeds to strip away the last remnants of self, for the purpose of divine union.
Observe that in the passive night of the spirit the student must not only give up self interest and satisfaction in his dealings with God; the student must renounce his very self, which is the only person of self he has ever known. We know how hard it is to reform a bad habit, the passive night has the student absolutely quitting every sin, imperfection and legitimate self interest. The student is stripping his soul away from his self. After the student pummels the self to death, the naked, reduced simple soul may be incorporated into the very person of Christ.
The student becomes a new person, that of Christ. We are called to deny who we have been and who we are; one cannot become Christ if one remains self. Christ sees to the details of how this is actually done, our part is both purgative preparation and positive desire. This mutual desire for union is expressed and perfected in the prayer of union, which occurs in this final portion of this final night.
Remember, if the labels of the dark nights did not exist, it would make no real difference. Such labeling and study are useful in that the student becomes aware of the dark nights and knows how productively respond, for a better advancement of soul.
Here is one more list, it is written by St. John of the Cross, from his book, “The Ascent of Mount Carmel”:
To reach satisfaction in all, desire its possession in nothing.
To come to possession in all, desire the possession of nothing.
To arrive at being all, desire to be nothing.
To come to the knowledge of all, desire the knowledge of nothing.
To come to the pleasure you have not, you must go by the way in which you enjoy not.
To come to the knowledge you have not, you must go by the way in which you know not.
To come to the possession you have not, you must go by the way in which you possess not.
To come by the what you are not, you must go by a way in which you are not.
When you turn toward something, you cease to cast yourself upon the all.
For to go from all to the all, you must deny yourself of all in all. And when you come to the possession of the all, you must possess it without wanting anything. Because if you desire to have something in all, your treasure in God is not purely your all.
The Transforming Union, (Divinization)
The teaching of divinization of the individual appears in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 398,1988), the bible (2Pet 1:4), the writings of several saints, and in the liturgy of the Mass;
“By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity.”{66}
Every person and every thing in creation had its start as a divine dimension (internal idea) of the divine person of Christ.{67} The resultant people, angels, animals, rocks and trees are created for the purpose of reunion into the very divinity of Christ from which they came. This creation and reunion is not pointless, we are to bring with us our virtues won in this fallen world. These will give additional dimensions of love to the body of Christ, even qualities of love that would not be had if we lived in a flawless world. By making divine union of the student to Jesus Christ, God does not merely observe his creatures, outside of his divine person, but actually shares in them. From CCC 1988;
“God gave himself to us through his Holy Spirit. By the participation of the Spirit, we become communicants in the divine nature. For this reason, those in whom the Spirit dwells are divinized.”{68}
The Divine union, also called the spiritual marriage, transforming union or divinization is the final stage of our existence within the divine nature of Christ, who is now the entire body of Christ. This is the wedding feast that Jesus spoke of. It is our divinization and it was intended to occur in this life on earth, (CCC 398).
Because of sin, our first participation in Christ is in his human nature. Once we are completely free of selfishness, we may fully participate in the divine nature of Jesus. Those we call saints have made the effort to purge themselves of self will and have obtained divine union with Christ in this life.
Miracles, prophecy, ecstatic contemplation are all common in the divine union.{69} The divine union may be achieved in this life. It occurs when every attribute under willful control is free of disorder, this allows the willful whole to be incorporated into the divine Christ. The Divine doctor himself conducts this soul transplant as the final stage of the passive night of the spirit. The body, which is not fully under our willful control undergoes death.
This divine union on earth was the original plan for humanity (CCC 398), and everyone was to have attained it in this life, since no sin or death was part of the original plan.
The divine union is also termed “divine, spiritual or mystical marriage”, this is the wedding feast that Jesus speaks of in Luke 14:7-14. At the divine marriage, the groom (Mt 9:15), who is Jesus Christ, will make union with each individual at his entrance into Heaven. Heaven itself is the person of Christ. “Transformative union” was also a commonly used term at the time of St. John of the Cross, and divinization is an idea as old as the church (2Pet 1:4). The divine union occurs in the Unitive stage of the three stage method, and specifically in the passive dark night of the spirit.
Bishop’s will investigate supernatural works occurring in their diocese, but they should investigate as to why supernatural works do not occur in their diocese. Such participation in the divine nature of Jesus Christ is the intended norm for Christianity, (Mk 16:18); but it currently exists as the exception.
We begin our participation in Christ, in his human nature, then later in Heaven in his divine nature. Participation in the divine nature of Jesus Christ can occur in this life, and this was the intended destiny for humanity, from the beginning,