For those friends of mine in the Dark Night, I want to share some ideas from the writings of St. John of the Cross. For those who have not been following this series, just click on the tags below.
I want to highlight a few points only.
The first is St. John's insight that God did not reveal Himself to Job in prosperity, but only after Job was in abject suffering. Why is this? Job, like all of us, had to endure the purification of the senses and the spirit in order to meet God as He is. The sacredness of God's Presence is us is continually blocked by our sins and imperfections.
Just as Job had to be stripped of all prior conceptions of God, so too, we must be loosened from old habits of thinking and feeling.
Second, self-knowledge is the goal of the Dark Night. Without the stripping of all false gods on which we depend, even the false god of working in and for the Church, we cannot see our true self, as God sees us.
Self-knowledge blossoms in humiliating circumstances.
St. John referred to the verse in Exodus 33:5, where Moses instructed, through God's Word, the People of God to put off their festive clothing and wear the clothing of penance. Why is this? John tells us that if we continually rely on the outward appearances of prosperity and worldliness, we do not see ourselves as we truly are-full of sin and those particular faults about which I have written here. This is one reason why the Benedictines wear black-as a reminder of mortification and death of the body, allowing for freedom to pursue the life of the spirit.
Third, and this is very important for all people, it is only after the senses are purified that the intellect is free to come to understanding. The intellect is impeded by the senses, which is one of the huge problems with those who seek continual consolations from God. The intellect must apprehend truth, goodness, beauty-those attributes of God Himself and this cannot be done when the intellect dwells upon the senses.
Purification of the senses comes first and then purification of the spirit.
John of the Cross quotes St. Augustine many times, and one of this phrases which is worthy of memorizing is this: "Let me know myself, Lord, and then I will know You."
Such particular faults as pride and vainglory must be struck down in the purification of the senses. When one simplifies one's life with regard to clothing and things, one is virtually left naked before God.
This nakedness provides the basis for God to begin to show Himself in a new way to the person pursuing perfection.
to be continued...