Showing results for "Dark Night" in Christianity

With His gentle hand He wounded my neck And caused all my senses to be suspended. Part poetic masterpiece, part mystic treatise, The Dark Night of the Soul by 16th century Carmelite monk, St. John of the Cross, addresses the feeling of being forgotten by the Presence of the Almighty that every Christian desirous of walking more closely with God must pass through in order to learn to walk by faith and not by sight.

At the center of The Dark Night of the Soul (La noche oscura del alma) is a poem written by the 16th century Spanish poet and mystic St John of the Cross. Consisting of eight stanzas, each of five lines, the poem outlines the journey in pursuit of divine union, within which the only source of light comes from the soul. This recording in English includes the poem itself and St John's two accompanying treatises (1584-1585), essentially commentaries, which offer line-by-line explanations of the poem. Many modern listeners have found guidance and consolation in this work.

The Dark Night of the Soul explores not only the torments and elations of a soul’s spiritual journey, but also expounds on man’s relationship with God and the natural longing for union with the Creator. Known as a doctor of mysticism, St. John of the Cross uniquely and profoundly delves into the intimidating world of spirituality and Christianity. In this work there are ideas explored that bring light to the deep afflictions of the soul as well as the true exaltation and joy that occurs closer on the path to communion with God.

How do you know God is real? In the emotionally charged, fire-filled faith in which Addie Zierman grew up, the answer to this question was simple: because you've felt him. Now, at age 30, she feels nothing. Just the darkness pressing in. Just the winter cold. Just a buzzing silence where God's voice used to be. So she loads her two small children into the minivan one February afternoon and heads south in a last-ditch effort to find the light.

It's unnerving, isn't it? When our faith feels ungrounded, untethered . . . unreal. When our certainty is adrift, as though an undercurrent has pulled us away from shore into the deep, into the darkness. And if this is you—if you're in a dark night of the soul—please know that you are not alone. (And you are not as far away from safety as you may feel or fear.) The night is not your enemy. In fact, the night is necessary. Revered author, speaker, and mentor Dr. Alicia Britt Chole offers a groundbreaking perspective that reveals spiritual disillusionment as an unexpected friend.

With unassuming honesty and candor, Dr. Mark Chironna openly shares what he learned in his own three-year battle with darkness. Integrating the best of theology with Christ-centered psychology, he offers scriptural and holistic truths that will help lead you out of the murky depths. Though it feels as if this dark night will never end, you can walk through your uncertainty, fears, and tears to find the edge of hope again.

Is there a true seeker among us who has not endured what St. John of the Cross first called the "dark night of the soul" - a crisis, a betrayal, a sadness seeming without end? In The Way of St. John of the Cross, you will meet this towering figure - mystic, poet, healer of souls, and lover of God - and hear how this great explorer of mystical experience left an unfailing map to guide us through the dark nights of our own lives, one that promises eternal joy to all with the courage to follow it.

New York Times Bestseller From the New York Times bestselling author of An Altar in the World, Barbara Brown Taylor’s Learning to Walk in the Dark provides a way to find spirituality in those times when we don’t have all the answers. Taylor has become increasingly uncomfortable with our...