Questions to Guide Your Reading

The Dark Night of the Soul, by St. John of the Cross

1. What does John of the Cross mean by the term the “dark night” of the soul?

2. If John of the Cross’s idea of the “dark night” of the soul seems vague or obscure to you, think about this.  Have you ever had to say you’re sorry to someone?  Have you ever done something clearly and distinctly wrong, which necessitated that you go to the injured party and say very clearly: “I was in the wrong, and I’m sorry”?  (If you’ve never experienced it, perhaps you should try it some day soon.)  If you have had to make such a humble apology, what did it feel like?  Was it like a kind of “death” inside?  Did it, in fact, involve a kind of “death to self”?  Do you suppose something like this is what John of the Cross has in mind?

3. John of the Cross describes two different nights through which the soul must pass.  What are they?

4. St. John of the Cross is a well-known mystic.  Does his spirituality involve rejecting the things of the body so as to focus on the spirit?

5. What, according to John of the Cross, are the three reasons for which this journey made by the soul to union with God is called “night”?

6. On John’s view, is the “dark night of the soul” the source of unhappiness?  Explain.

7. On this view, is the problem with mankind that we desire too much and should settle for less?

8. In The Dark Night of the Soul, one can find a bit of verse which has been made famous among English-speakers in the modern world by T. S. Eliot, who includes a version of it in his poem East Coker, one of The Four Quartets.  Given what we have discussed above about the “dark night of the soul,” explain the meaning of this poem.