Dark Night of the Soul

Marie over at Spirituality and Mysticism has posted a insightful meditation on the need to go through dark times--times that take away our comfort and security--in order to mature.

I think this is one of the ideas behind Lent that so many don't see. "Giving something up" is not some sort of futile exercise in suffering for its own sake, but it is to help us begin to let go of our comforts and lean on God.

The modern tendency to chase away all distress at any cost, is a false spirituality--one of the so-called "angels of light" which are really demons in disguise set to give us the false security of comfort in this life, inhibit our spiritual and personal growth, and prevent us from becoming holy enough to enjoy the Presence of the Perfect God in the next life.

If we are always spared from all discomfort, we will never make the necessary changes to advance spiritually and personally; we will remain an infant, demanding that our needs be met at the cost of our own, and others' spiritual growth.

This idea of the necessity of suffering, although unpopular in many circles today, is an ancient one. Mystics in many religions have recognized the necessity of suffering to change and growth.

Ancient myths talk about the need sometimes to "descend into the underworld", to live in darkness for a while, to sit in ashes so as to move to a deeper place inside of life; the mystics talk about "dark nights of the soul" as being necessary to bring about maturity; Ignatius of Loyola teaches that there is a place for both "consolation" and "desolation" in our lives; the philosopher, Karl Jaspers, suggests that the journey to full maturity demands that we sometimes journey in "the norm of night" and not just in "the norm of day"; the Jewish scriptures assure us that certain deep things can only happen to the soul when it is helpless and exposed in "the desert" or "the wilderness" and that sometimes, like Jonah, we need to be carried to some place where we'd rather not go "in the dark belly of the whale"; and, perhaps most challenging of all, we see that Jesus was only brought to full compassion through "sweating blood in Gethsemane" and then dying a humiliating death on the cross.

The entire original is worth reading, especially during Lent.

Christianity is one of the ancient religions which recognizes the reality and necessity of suffering in an imperfect world.

All things work together for good, for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.

~Romans 8:28