classic Saturday

Today's devotional classic center around thoughts from John of the Cross (1542-1591) (I'm noticing that these saints never seemed to live to be very old!) John of the Cross is best known for writing about "the dark night of the soul".

"At a certain point in the spiritual journey God will draw a person from the beginning stage to a more advanced stage. At this stage, the person will begin to engage in religious exercises and grow deeper in the spiritual life. Such souls will likely experience what is called 'the dark night of the soul'. The 'dark night' is when those persons lose all the pleasure that they once experienced in their devotional life. This happens because God wants to purify them and move them on to greater heights."

John of the Cross writes of God purifying the soul by teaching virtue in areas that are likely to become vices. He writes about seven troublesome areas he refers to as "capital sins" that God often addresses in the dark night:

1. secret pride. There's danger for zealous new believers to become satisfied with their religious works and with themselves. God wishes to move people in God's way and counter this pride with humility so that they will learn to think little of themselves and their religious works and will instead focus on how great and deserving God is and how little they can do for him.

2. spiritual greed. The danger is that a person might grow discontented because they have attached growth to feelings they've received from their devotional life. They focus on the affect and not the substance of devotion. God's 'dark night' helps a person set their eyes on God and not on outward things or inner experiences. The outcome is simplicity.

3. spiritual luxury. God strips people of sensory pleasure and downfall caused by temptations and fears. God helps to quiet the flesh, silence the devil, and tame our fears. The result is peace.

4. spiritual wrath. When the soul begins to enjoy the benefits of the spiritual life and then has them taken away, it becomes angry and embittered. When their delight is absent, they may feel frustrated and anxious, many times at themselves, thinking that the loss of joy is a result of something they have done or neglected to do. God grows patience in this person, causing them to wait for whatever God would give them when He chooses to give to them. They learn contentment.

5. spiritual gluttony. "Consuming" spiritual exercises at great length and in great quantity in order to achieve consolation and pleasure from the devotions. People do these things for themselves and not for God. God's 'dark night' will help the person gain perseverance, patience, and humility. 'The truth is that the feelings they receive from their devotional life are the least of its benefits. The invisible and unfelt grace of God is much greater, and it is beyond comprehension." moderation.

6. spiritual envy. People who fancy themselves spiritual are often not pleased to hear about the spirtual growth of others. Their chief concern is to be praised themselves and thought of as the most spiritual of all. This is contrary to love, and God will work to purge this and replace it with joy.

7. spiritual sloth. Souls sometimes abandon spiritual exercises because they are not yielding any consolation from them. They become angry because they're called to do that which does not fit their needs. They begin to lose interest in God because they measure God by themselves and not themselves by God. As they are, these souls are too weak to bear the crosses that are given to help us grow. If a soul will turn toward God in this dark night, it will in time receive strength from God.

Reading through these, it's clear to me that how we respond to these dry valleys and seemingly absences of God is key. Do we turn from God and further take the reins, being led by our feelings and ourselves? Of do we turn toward God in a posture of faith, openness, patience, and surrender of self? Our responsiveness makes all the difference as God works to conform us into Christ's likeness rather than allowing ourselves to be conformed by the world.