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Title: Dark Night of the Soul by E. Allison Peers, St. John of the Cross ISBN: 0-385-02930-6 Publisher: Image Pub. Date: 01 February, 1959 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.05 (21 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Mystical work of Art.
Comment: St. John of the Cross is truly a superb Saint and Mystic. Through his writings You can see how your own spiritual journey may not always be easy. If you are looking for a book that will not only inform you of the dark night, but also give you a self evaluation of your own life, then this is the book for you. In parts it may seem that St. John is peering into your soul and speaking directly to you. The wonderful thing about this book is that no one will have the same experence of it. Everyone who reads it will read it in light of where they are in their own lives. the reflection and thoughts of this Holy man will force you to look inside yourself to find what you need to do to reach the Ultimate union with God. St John of the Cross...Pray For Us!
Rating: 5
Summary: Great... But Still a Bit Mysterious
Comment: I read this book thinking (and probably pretentiously so) that I myself was passing through a 'dark night' of sorts. This, however, is dangerous. Reader beware - this book is written by a saint who is also a Doctor of the Church. It tells of the "aridity" and consolations the soul experiences when approaching God. To be honest, I found it quite frighting. I recommend it, but I advise mature handling of St. John of the Cross' words.
Rating: 5
Summary: An eloquent roadmap for excruciating agony
Comment: ~St. John of the Cross is certainly not for those who take God as a pretty little ornament to the more superficial aspects of life, the kind of people who behave, more or less, as everyone else does--all the while encouraging those of us who actually think to "pray" in times of trouble with complacent, self assured smiles on their faces and no knowledge whatsoever of the unfathomable depths they refer to.
And he says as much in "the dark night of the soul". It is little more than a~~ novelty for many, but if one takes it's message to heart one realizes that a "dark night" is not a divorce, loss of a job, a bad day (although any of these could be a trigger for the genuine article) but a prolonged crisis of the inward self which either leads to destruction or rebirth.
Contrary to what John says, however, I would say that most of us experience our "dark night" when we are consciously WITHOUT belief in God. The world is a formless void and bare material reality~~ provides no real pleasure because it is essentially vain, paltry and repetitive; only an unbeliever can, paradoxically, have a "dark night of the soul" in any genuine sense. The deprivation of sensory pleasure and general malaise of this time is not all: a pervasive sense of meaninglessness and terror usually accompany the loss of interest in everything. John talks about believers or 'beginners' who search only for petty pleasure in matters of God, and we can apply this to most believers~~ (at least in the United States). "They might as well not practice at all," John says aptly. People going to TM's and Yoga twice a week for 'relaxation' fit neatly into this category. An exploration of the spiritual is not cute or pure encouragement but deep, painful questioning from which we often emerge with deep confusion, or worse, no answers at all. Anyone who has had a period of what one might term "abstract madness" will know precisely what John is describing in his experience~~ of the night: nothing is certain, there is nothing whatsoever ever to lean on, and even if one does go the mile and still believe in God he is a mere word. "Going into hell alive" is being unable to face a day without a million intuitive questions as to it's reality, importance and ultimate significance. Many I know who have been through this experience end up atheists or nihilists. Others have what they call a spiritual awakening. It is, to a certain extent, relative to temperament,~~ pre-existing subjective inclinations, etc. Our most sincere best wishes should not be for those like St. John who came out the other side but remain in the dark night their entire lives, unable to decide within themselves whether there is an eternal reality or benevolent force in the universe or not. THAT is hell, not struggling belief.~
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Title: Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila, E. Allison Peers ISBN: 0385036434 Publisher: Image Books Pub. Date: 04 January, 1972 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: The Way of Perfection by TERESA OF AVILA ISBN: 0385065396 Publisher: Image Books Pub. Date: 15 June, 1991 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: The Cloud of Unknowing by William Johnston, Huston Smith ISBN: 0385030975 Publisher: Image Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 1996 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: The Practice of the Presence of God: With Spiritual Maxims by Brother Lawrence, Brother Lawrence ISBN: 0800785991 Publisher: Fleming H Revell Co Pub. Date: January, 1999 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius by Anthony Mottola ISBN: 0385024363 Publisher: Image Books Pub. Date: 07 January, 1964 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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