Dark Night of the Soul
Lord, my greatest affliction is that I cannot live in this valley of tears without committing sin. You alone, my God, can free me from this sorrow. Infuse in me, O Lord, the will to live only for you, so that when the time comes, you will find me worthy to live united with you for all eternity. Amen.
Thomas à Kempis • The Imitation of Christ: (Original translation as heard on the Hallow App)
The dark night is a profoundly good thing. It is an ongoing spiritual process in which we are liberated from attachments and compulsions and empowered to live and love more freely.
Gerald G. May • The Dark Night of the Soul
the dark night of the soul is “happy,” “glad,” “guiding,” and full of “absolute grace.” It is the secret way in which God not only liberates us from our attachments and idolatries, but also brings us to the realization of our true nature. The night is the means by which we find our heart’s desire, our freedom for love.
Gerald G. May • The Dark Night of the Soul
The Divine Romance: Collected Talks and Essays on Realizing God in Daily Life – Volume 2
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The sixteenth-century Saint John of the Cross coined the phrase “the dark night of the soul” to refer to a time of grief, doubt, and spiritual crisis, when God seems shadowy and distant.6