St. John of the Cross

Dark Night of the Soul St. John of the Cross First edition

Dark Night of the Soul is a theological commentary on the poem explaining the meaning of St. John of the Cross' poem of the same name. The book describes its meaning by stanza. Dark Night of the Soul narrates the journey of the soul from bodily home to union with God. The journey occurs during night, representing the hardships and difficulties the soul meets in detachment from the world, and reaches the light of the union with God. The book is divided into two sections reflecting the two phases of the dark night. The first is a purification of the senses. The second, and more intense of the two stages, is that of the purification of the spirit. Dark Night of the Soul is part of four works by John dealing with the "Dark Night of the Soul", when the individual Soul undergoes earthly and spiritual privations in search of union with God. Along with The Ascent Of Mount Carmel , The Living Flame of God, and the Spiritual Canticle, Dark Night of the Soul is regarded as one of the greatest works of mysticism in Christianity. Saint John of the Cross was a major figure of the Counter-Reformation, a Spanish mystic, Catholic saint, Carmelite friar and priest. He was also a reformer of the Carmelite Order and is considered, along with Saint Teresa of Ávila, as a founder of the Discalced Carmelites.