The Dark Night of the Soul (Poem) - St. John of the Cross

Although, I have previously posted a version of this poem (click here),  I also enjoy this version which is translated by Josephine Koeppel, O.C.D. from "The Science of The Cross" by Edith Stein (St. Teresa of the Cross):

One dark night, as love's yearning did enflame me
I escaped unnoticed
O happy fate!
I escaped unnoticed
When my house lay at rest so still.

Quite safe within the dark,
Disguised and on a secret ladder,
O happy fate!
In darkness and concealed,
Still my house lay at rest so still.

In this night so full of chance
In secrecy, since none caught sight of me,
Since, too, I was aware of naught
And without light or guide
Save that which in my heart was burning.

And this conducted me
Far surer than the light of the brightest day.
Thence, where for me eagerly was waiting
He whom I know so well,
Aside, there was none who could part us.

O night that was a guide!
O night, more lovely than the rosy dawn!
O night, you that united
The most beloved with her Lover
Transforming the beloved into her Lover.

At my blossoming breast
Which has reserved herself for Him alone,
He gently fell asleep.
Softly I caressed him
The stir of waving cedars brought coolness.

As morn's wind with lightest touch
Playfully began to lift his hair
With gentle hand
He encircled my neck
All my senses vanished.

In silence and forgetfulness
I leaned my head on the Beloved,
All things drained away from me,
Vanished was the fear
Buried neath lilies into oblivion.


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An artistic/musical interpretation of this prayer:

The Great Exchange

One dark night,

fired with love's urgent longings

- ah, the sheer grace! - 

I went out unseen,

my house being now all stilled.

 In darkness, and secure,

by the secret ladder, disguised,

- ah, the sheer grace! - 

in darkness and concealment,

my house being now all stilled.

On that glad night,

in secret, for no one saw me,

nor did I look at anything,

with no other light or guide

than the one that burned in my heart.

This guided me

more surely than the light of noon

to where he was awaiting me

- him I knew so well - 

there in a place where no one appeared.

O guiding night!

O night more lovely than the dawn!

O night that has united

the Lover with his beloved,

transforming the beloved in her Lover.

Upon my flowering breast

which I kept wholly for him alone,

there he lay sleeping,

and I caressing him

there in a breeze from the fanning cedars.

When the breeze blew from the turret,

as I parted his hair,

it wounded my neck

with its gentle hand,

suspending all my senses.

I abandoned and forgot myself,

laying my face on my Beloved;

all things ceased; I went out from myself,

leaving my cares forgotten among the lilies.

Right now,  I am reading the "Dark Night of the Soul" by St. John of the Cross and discussing it with a friend.  Not knowing much about St. John, I did some research on EWTN's website and found a beautiful series on him by Fr. Thomas Dubay called "The Great Exchange".  I highly recommend his section on disordered attachment.

Also, Leonardo Defillips provides on EWTN a one man musical dramatization of The Life of St. John of the Cross that is worth listening to if you are interested in a more vivid account.

For a written biography on St. John, Ethereal Classics provides a clear account of his life.

Series: The Great Exchange

1. Introduction
2. The Personality of St. John
3. The Experience of God
4. Experiences of God
5. The Great Exchange
6. Disordered Attachments
7. Effects of Disordered Attachments
8. Creation and Christian Contemplation
9. Infused Contemplation
10. The Two Nights
11.The Transforming Union
12.The Transforming Union Continued
13. San Juanist Gems

The Importance of Silence

Its no easy thing to bear sufferings joyfully, especially those which are unmerited. Fallen nature rebels, and although the intellect and will are above suffering, because they are able to do good to those who inflict suffering on them, nevertheless emotions raise a lot of noise and, like restless spirits, attack the intellect and will. But when they see that they can not do anything by themselves, they quiet down and submit to the intellect and will. Like some kind of hideousness, they rush in and stir up a row, bent on making one obey them alone so long as they are not curbed by the intellect and will.- Saint Faustina, Divine Mercy In My Soul, Notebook 3 #1152

"As long as a single passion reigns in our hearts, though all the others should have been overcome, the soul will never enjoy peace."- St. Joseph Calasanctius

"In detachment, the spirit finds quiet and repose for coveting nothing. Nothing wearies it by elation, and nothing oppresses it by dejection, because it stands in the center of its own humility."- St. John of the Cross

"A man who governs his passions is master of the world. We must either command them, or be enslaved by them.  It is better to be a hammer than an anvil."- St. Dominic

 The best way to quiet the emotions is to observe interior silence.

"Be still and know that I am God." - Psalm 46:10

"Truly, I have set my soul in silence and peace. As a little child rests in its Mother's arms, even so my soul."- Psalm 131:2

"Silence gives us a new outlook on everything. We need silence to be able to touch souls. The essential thing is not what we say but what God says to us and through us. Jesus is waiting for us in silence. In that silence, he will listen to us, there he will speak to our soul, and there we will hear his voice." - Mother Teresa

Audio talk on silence by Mother Angelica: Silence of Heart and Mind