31 — THE NIGHT OF THE SPIRIT

Presence of God. — O Lord, infuse in me greater love and greater courage, that I may wholeheartedly accept Your purifying action.

Meditation

1 — To extirpate the roots of imperfect habits there is necessary that bitter and strong purification which is called the night of the spirit. The purification of the soul begins with the night of the senses which, putting it in darkness and depriving it of every sensible taste, frees it from attachments to creatures and material goods, but is completed only with the night of the spirit which, annihilating it in its spiritual powers, succeeds in destroying in it every imperfect habit. St. John of the Cross notes with much finesse that even after having passed beyond the night of the senses “there nevertheless remain in the spirit the stains of the old man, although it does not seem so to it, nor does it succeed in seeing them” (N. II, 2, 1); they are stains so profound and hidden of which the soul hardly becomes aware.

Here, for example, is a person detached from creatures and earthly goods, advanced in prayer and virtues, a soul, therefore, that has already traversed the stages of the purgative way and the illuminative way, nevertheless, when put to the test, there is easily found in it a certain attachment to its good works — works of apostolate, exercises of penance or devotion — so that when obedience or the service of neighbor obliges it to leave them or to substitute them with others, it is disturbed, opposes a certain resistance and only with much reluctance succeeds in submitting. This happens precisely because there are still in it the roots of imperfect habits and, above all, of pride and egoism, from which derive all other defects and imperfections. What does it avail to suppress defective acts, if in the spirit their root remains? Sooner or later this, cut off at the surface, will put forth shoots in another direction.

No one can be freed from the roots of defects without passing through the painful night of the spirit. Comparing this night to that of the senses, St. John of the Cross says that the difference that runs between one and the other “is that which passes between extirpating a branch, and between pulling out a stain that has penetrated and is old and cleansing one that is fresh and superficial.” Although this is very arduous to do and painful to suffer, nevertheless it is indispensable, because the stains of the old man are removed only “with soap and strong lye” of the purification of the spirit, without which the soul “will never be able to attain the purity of divine union” (ibid.).

2 — If to enter into the night of the senses a good dose of courage is required, because it is a question of renouncing “any sensible taste that is not purely in honor and glory of God” (A. I, 13, 4), to enter into the night of the spirit still more is needed, because it is a question of renouncing no longer material things, but spiritual things. It is a question, for example, of blinding one’s own intellect, of denying one’s own will, of renouncing the affirmation of one’s own personality not only with regard to material goods, but also with regard to moral and spiritual goods. In the night of the spirit the soul must walk in darkness, must be placed in emptiness, not only with regard to the senses, but also with regard to its spiritual faculties. In this night God “strips the powers, affections and sentiments, both spiritual and sensible, external and internal, leaving the intellect in darkness, the will dry, the memory empty, and the affections of the soul in supreme affliction, bitterness and anguish, depriving the soul itself of the taste of spiritual goods which it before enjoyed” (N. II, 3, 3).

So much desolation and so much privation of every thing must not discourage us because it is not ordered to death, but to life and, indeed, to the fullness of life which is the union of love with God. Therefore, the soul that loves is not dismayed, is not frightened; its ideal is divine union and it wishes to attain it at any cost, so that no sacrifice seems too grave to it in order to arrive there. On the other hand, if we intuit at least something of the infinite perfection of God and know even only a little our profound misery, we must agree that no purification, however strong and painful, will ever be excessive in disposing us, unworthy and miserable as we are, to union with Him who is infinite goodness, purity, beauty; nor will the sufferings that such purification imposes on us ever seem unbearable in comparison to the immense good that they must procure for us. “So great is the good that I expect, that every pain is delight to me,” repeats together with St. Francis the soul enamored of God; and this good it awaits even from here below, because it knows that God does not refuse to admit to His union the well-disposed spirit, that is, totally purified.

Colloquy

“O my soul, when, having become better, will you be freed from your passions and your vicious tendencies? When will the root of all evil be dried up in you? When will every trace of sin be cancelled in you? Oh, if you loved your God ardently! If you were indissolubly united to your sovereign Good!

“Good Jesus, tender Shepherd, my sweet Master, King of eternal glory, when shall I appear sound and meek and truly humble before You? When, for love of You, shall I profoundly despise all things here below? When shall I be totally detached from myself and from every thing? For if I were really free from every earthly attachment, I would no longer have a will of my own: I would no longer groan under the yoke of the passions and disordered affections, nor would I seek myself any longer in anything. The lack of this absolute and total detachment is the sole and true obstacle between You and me, which prevents me from launching myself freely toward You. When therefore shall I be stripped of everything? When shall I abandon myself without any reserve to Your divine will? When shall I serve You with a pure, calm, serene spirit? When shall I love You perfectly? When shall my soul, receiving You in its bosom, unite itself delightfully to its Beloved? When shall I launch myself toward You with tender and ardent desire? When shall my negligence and my imperfections be absorbed in the immensity of Your love? Oh! My God, my life, my love, my only desire! My Treasure! my Good! my beginning and my end! My soul longs for Your tender embrace, languishes and faints for the desire of uniting itself to You, of being intimately joined to You with the sweet and holy bond of an indissoluble love! What do I seek in the heavens? What do I desire on earth? The God of my heart, the God who will be my inheritance for eternity” (Blessed Louis de Blois).