Dark Nights

You have tested my heart; You have visited me in the night; You have tried me and have found nothing; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.

Psalm 17:3

La Noche Oscura del Alma—“The Dark Night of the Soul.” That’s the name of the poem written by St. John of the Cross, a sixteenth-century Spanish poet. Written while St. John was in prison for trying to reform his monastic order, the poem uses “the dark night” to represent the difficulties and trials we experience on the road to heaven.

“Dark night” also describes the isolation we feel during times of spiritual testing. We sometimes lie in bed at night, surrounded by darkness, longing for sleep, but consumed with our worries and questions. The psalmists, especially David, were candid about their literal and spiritual dark nights. David made good use of his sleepless nights, crying out to God for relief and answers (Psalm 22:2; 42:8). And he relied on the natural order of things to remind him that “weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5).

If you are in the midst of your own dark night, use the time wisely. If there are tears, let them water the words you pour out to God, remembering that joy comes in the morning.

Faith is a plant that can grow in the shade, a grace that can find the way to heaven in a dark night.

WILLIAM GURNALL^a