The Dark Night of the Soul

John Mark: Dark night of the soul is a somewhat technical idea that was developed arguably first by Saint Teresa and then put into written form by her spiritual directee, Saint John of the Cross. He says as you progress in your deepening life of union with God, there are seasons of life that you go through where God feels more like absence than like presence. St. John actually had two dark nights. So he had the dark night of the spirit and the darknight of the senses. It gets very complex. And it's part of how God works to form and grow and mature the human soul. The performative thing is it can drive you to the ground. Yes.