DARK NIGHTS

While not trying to bum anyone out, but to the contrary, trying to encourage us all by the honesty of others in expressing difficult times with faith issues I share a bit of history from Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

One biographer mentioned her long and difficult journey of The Dark Night of the Soul.

“On 17 May 1964, she described the state of her soul with these astonishing words: “To be in love and yet not to love, to live by faith and yet not to believe. To spend myself and yet be in total darkness.”

And again, some years earlier, on 28 February 1957, she wrote: “There is so much contradiction in my soul. — Such deep longing for God — so deep that is painful — a suffering continual — and yet not wanted by God — repulsed — empty — no faith no love — no zeal… Heaven means nothing — to me it looks like an empty place… yet this torturing longing for God.”

In my reading I have found many honest souls who admit to the occasional struggle with their faith. The famous John of the Cross, Teresa of Avilla, John Wesley, Hildegard of Bingen, Henri J.M. Nouwen, Brennan Manning… the list could be much longer

When we have Dark Nights and our soul is squeezed and hurting it is often difficult to see the light. But with those mentioned and by personal testimony… we don’t quit. We come to a place where we can give up enough to allow the Light in to overtake the darkness. We walk on older and wiser. Mother Teresa just kept going. So must we.

“I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” Jesus