One Dark Night. An exploration of the Dark Night and its possible application to Apostolic Religious Congregations

Abstract

The dark night, as described by St. John of the Cross is a time of spiritual growth through what seems to be darkness and  diminishment in human terms. Many religious Congregations, especially Apostolic Congregations have been experiencing change,  diminishment and some form of darkness for quite some time and have explored various approaches to understand what is  happening. Some have called this time a “dark night” for religious life and this essay is an attempt to explore the idea. The first part  explores what is meant by the dark night in the writings of John of the Cross and contemporary commentators; first, describing the  dark night and the signs that it is occurring and then exploring the advice given to those in the dark night.
The second part of this work is a more tentative look at a possible application of the image of the dark night to apostolic religious congregations. It will explore, first, how the signs of the night might be seen in the present experience of apostolic religious  ongregations and then try to apply the advice offered those in the night to these groups. There are obviously difficulties in applying an  image which St. John used to describe the experience of individuals to a group, often a large group of varied ages and cultures, but  I believe that some of his advice is very pertinent to a group engaged on a spiritual quest.