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Journal
of
Spiritual Formation
&
Soul Care Copyright 2011
by
Institute
of
Spiritual Formation
2011,
Vol.
4,
No.
1,
27-42 Biola University, 1939-7909
Two
PERSPECTIVES
ON
SPIRITUAL DRYNESS:
SPIRITUAL DESERTION
AND THE
DARK
NIGHT
OF THE
SOUL
DAVID
C.
WANG
University
of
Houston (Houston,
TX)
Abstract:
St.
John
of the
Gross' work.
The
Dark Night
of
the Soul,
and
Joseph
Symonds' work. The
Case
and
Cure of a Deserted
Soul,
offer
two
compelling treat-
ments
on
the subject
of
spiritual dryness. Moreover, these works represent
two
spiri-
tual traditions
(the
Discalced Garmelites
and the
English Puritans respectively)
which offer distinct
but
viable perspectives
on the
Ghristian life. This paper seeks
to
answer
the
following question: What
is the
degree
of
similarity between St. John
of
the Gross' understanding
of
the dark night
of
the soul and Joseph Symonds' under-
standing
of
spiritual desertion?
A
secondary question
is
also addressed: What
is the
value
of
these resources
for
pastoral care today? Although notable differences exist
between
the two,
their degree
of
similarity
is
significant considering
the
disconnec-
tion between
the
spiritual traditions that each represent. Moreover, these works are
invaluable
resources
for
contemporary pastoral care.
INTRODUCTION
The fact is, as the Puritans recognized equally with traditional Catholic
piety, there is a period of lone darkness and struggle in the experience
of most serious Christians, and the more outstanding the spiritual ge-
nius,
the more intense the gloom.'
St. John of the Cross' work. The Dark Night of the Soul, and Joseph
Symonds' work. The Case and Cure of a Deserted Soul, offer two com-
pelling treatments on the subject of spiritual dryness that were written
roughly within the same time period (late sixteenth century and early seven-
teenth century, respectively). Together, these works represent the wealth of
' Gordon Wakefield, Puritan Devotion:
Its
Place
in the
Development
of
Ghris-
tian Piety (London: Epworth Press, 1957), 23.
27
28 Journal of Spiritual Formation
&c
Soul Care
thought and experiences of two celebrated spiritual traditions, the Dis-
calced Carmelites and the English Puritans, which flourished during a time
of renewal for the Western church—notably, one grew out of the Protestant
Reformation while the other grew out of the Counter-Reformation. Each
author developed and articulated an understanding of the nature, purpose,
causes, and treatment of certain manifestations of spiritual dryness that
was informed by Scripture, a robust doctrine of sanctification, and human
experience. This present paper will seek to answer the following question:
what is the degree of similarity between St. John of the Cross' understand-
ing of the dark night of the soul and Joseph Symonds' understanding of
spiritual desertion? In addition, a secondary topic will also be addressed:
What is the value of these resources for pastoral care today?
For the sake of brevity, each individual work will not be summarized
separately. As such, it will be assumed that the reader is already familiar
with either or both works. An abundance of literature has grown out of St.
John of the Cross' life and works while relatively sparse attention has been
given to Joseph Symonds' The Case and Cure of a Deserted Soul. In light of
this,
the author has presented a detailed discussion of Symonds' writing
elsewhere.-^
SPIRITUAL DESERTION AND THE DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL:
THEIR DEGREE OF SIMILARITY
To
begin,
it is
important
to
note that
spiritual
desertion
and the
dark
night
of the
soul
are not
interchangeable
concepts—they
are not
ultimately
the
same
phenomena.
Such
an
understanding
would
be a
gross
oversimplifi-
cation,
trivializing
the
rich
and
distinctive
nuances
of
each
perspective.
With
that being
said,
there nevertheless
exists
a
significant
degree
of simi-
larity
between
Joseph
Symonds
and St.
John
of the
Cross
in
their
under-
standing
of
certain
kinds
of
spiritual
dryness—so
much
so
that
one may
have
trouble
reconciling
the
fact
that
their
representative
spiritual
tradi-
tions
were
at
such
odds
with
each
other.
In
many
ways, the
teaching
and
testimony
of
Joseph
Symonds
and the
teaching
and
testimony
of St.
John
of
the
Cross
parallel
each
other
in
their
expression
of
devotion
to God.
This
congruence
is
particularly
evident
in
their
shared
view
of the
Christian
life
as a
journey,
the
glory
of God as the
human's
chief
end, the
imperfect
com-
fort
of the saints, the
distinction
between
certain
forms
of
spiritual
depres-
sion
and
melancholy,
and
God's
relentless
and
persistent
love.
^
David
C.
Wang,
"The
English Puritans
and
Spiritual Desertion:
A
Protestant
Perspective
on the
Place
of
Spiritual Dryness
in the
Christian Life," Journal
of
Spiri-
tual Formation
and
Soul Care
3, no. 1
(Spring 2010): 42-65.
Wang: Two Perspectives on Spiritual Dryness 29
I. The Christian Life as a Journey
Both the English Puritans and the Discalced Carmelites envisioned the
Christian life as a costly, lifelong journey which began at the time of conver-
sion and did not end until the final consummation of the Kingdom of God.
Because they avoided the pitfall of overemphasizing either the point of con-
version or the point of Christ's return, they were able to devote much of
their attention to the process of living as a follower of Christ during the in-
terim period. During this period, it was jointly assumed that the Christian
remained in a state of tension between the available glimpses of union with
God in this life and the perfect union that was to come. Spiritual desertion
and the dark night of the soul may thus be understood as masterful at-
tempts to articulate this tension in a manner that edified and encouraged
believers to persevere towards the goal of their journey.
Representing the English Puritans, John Bunyan saw the Christian life
as a journey that required one to navigate both rugged and hazardous ter-
rain on the way to the Celestial City.^ This should not come as a surprise,
for the Puritans saw all of Christian experience as a recapitulation of bibli-
cal history, which included many accounts of both triumph and tragedy
among the children of God."* Because God is the supreme author of the bib-
lical account, spiritual desertion was understood as a divinely-ordained
event that was ultimately designed for the glory of God. Moreover, ac-
counts of God's people dwelling and traveling in the wilderness abounded
in Scripture and the Puritans were quick to draw inferences.
To the Spanish Mystics of the Discalced Carmelite Order, the Christian
life was seen as a steep ascent to the summit of Mount Carmel. The notion
of purgation fit well with this model, as purging oneself of all unnecessary
baggage was a necessary endeavor before one could successfully reach the
summit. Mount Carmel represented a land of paradox and challenge to
them; its varied terrain included gardens and fountains as well as deserts
and caves.^ This image of an individual ascending up a mountain in many
ways paralleled the Puritan image of Christian's journey to the Celestial
City in Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress.
The vision of the Christian journey employed by St. John closely fol-
lowed the "three ways" of Catholic devotion: purgation, illumination, and
union. The vision of the Christian journey employed by Symonds, on the
other hand, similarly followed three ways, but these were justification,
sanctification, and glorification.'' Although the former approach placed
greater emphasis on union with Christ near the end of the Christian life
^
John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's
Progress
(New York: Penguin Books, 1964).
••
Gordon Wakefield, Puritan Devotion: Its Place in tbe Development of Chris-
tian Piety (London: The Epworth Press, 1957), 27.
' John Welch, When Gods Die: An Introduction to John of the Cross (New
York: Paulist Press, 1990), 14.
' Wakefield, Puritan Devotion, 160.
30 Journal of Spiritual Formation & Soul Gare
while the latter emphasized the same near the beginning,' both ways simi-
larly viewed the Christian life as a lifelong process with divine union as its
highest end.
In the case of Symonds and St. John, it is important to note that the dif-
ference between the two perspectives is one of emphasis, not of substance;
for Symonds would agree with St. John that a more perfect union with God
may be available to the believer near the end of the journey while St. John
would likewise agree with Symonds that a genuine and persisting relation-
ship with God was established near the beginning of the journey. In fact,
this difference in emphasis may provide a medium to synthesize the two
bodies of teaching: namely, in authentic bouts of spiritual depression one
may draw strength and encouragement both from the divine union that has
been formerly established as well as the divine union that will be actualized
in the future.
To Symonds, union with Christ was the fruit of justification and per-
sisted throughout one's life despite an encounter with spiritual desertion.
Even though desertion involved a deeply vivid experience of a broken fel-
lowship with God, Symonds consistently oriented his admonition towards
the truth that the deserted remained in union with God even though it did
not seem that way. For instance, he noted the distinction between one's
sense of grace and one's received influence of grace to argue that God's
grace may still be at work even when his comforting presence was with-
drawn: "One may want inward comfort, yet not be deserted in respect of
the influence of grace; the tenure of grace and peace is not the same; a man
may lose the sense of grace, and yet retain the life of it. Though he be more
happy that hath grace and peace, yet he may be as holy that hath grace
without peace?"'
Symonds' emphasis on the believer's existing union with Christ was
also keenly evident in his suggested cure for spiritual desertion. However,
before he offered specific directives concerning how the deserted were to
conduct themselves, he first reminded them that recovery was indeed possi-
ble by virtue of the fact that Christ was already in them: "You have power
to seek it [recovery]; though much deadness be upon you, yet if you be in
Christ, you have a spirit of life in you . . . reason doth much in many with-
out grace, much more may you."'
Symonds' first direction was to go directly to Christ for help: "Go to
Christ, and beg of him to cause a spirit of life to come into thee."'" Carry-
ing out such an admonishment would not have been possible if one did not
previously attain some measure of union with Christ. Second, Symonds
' Wakefield, Puritan Devotion,
160.
' Joseph Symonds,
The
Case
and
Cure
of
a
Deserted Soul:
A
Treatise Concern-
ing
the
Nature, Kinds, Degrees, Symptoms, Causes, Cure
of, and
Mistakes about
Spiritual Desertions (Edinburgh: Robert Bryson, 1642), 21.
' Symonds,
The
Case
and
Cure of a Deserted Soul,
195.
'" Symonds,
The
Case
and
Cure of a Deserted Soul,
352.
Wang:
Two Perspectives
on
Spiritual Dryness
31
counseled the deserted to set their hands on the work of the Lord, arguing
that it was vain to expect God to help them if they were not willing to help
themselves." Third, he urged them to receive eagerly the help of the saints
and also to not neglect the ordinances. Generally speaking, Symonds' sug-
gested cure required a spirited effort on the part of the deserted, as they
sought to exploit all available means of grace for recovery. He believed that
many forms of divine grace still persisted through periods of spiritual deser-
tion. To Symonds, the divine union that was irrevocably established at con-
version sustained this grace.
The teaching of St. John, on the other hand, followed the Catholic per-
spective of the three ways, which emphasized divine union at the end of the
Christian journey. As alluded to earlier, St. John did, however, acknowledge
a kind of divine union that existed for all people, regardless of the stage of
one's journey: "God sustains every soul and dwells in it substantially, even
though it may be that of the greatest sinner in the world. This union be-
tween God and creatures always exists."'^ However, to him, this union was
not the perfect union which he regarded as the goal of the Christian life.
When he used the term "perfect union," St. John was only referring to the
purest union one could possibly achieve in this life, which still paled in
comparison to the consummated union between the saints and Christ at the
end of time.'^ St. John explained that perfect union occurred only when
there was a likeness of love between the individual and God that was estab-
lished through the soul being purged and transformed:
Consequently, in discussing union with God we are not discussing the
substantial union that always exists, but the soul's union with and
transformation in God that does not always exist, except when there is
likeness of love . . . [this union] exists when God's will and the soul's
are in conformity, so that nothing in the one is repugnant to the other.
When the soul rids itself completely of what is repugnant and uncon-
firmed to the divine will, it rests transformed in God through love.'''
In light of St. John's lucid description of the various imperfections com-
mon to beginners (i.e., those who had already undergone a sincere conver-
sion and firmly committed themselves to live completely for God) it was
clear to him that this likeness of love which was necessary for perfect union
was not achieved during conversion. As such, perfect union was only at-
tainable later in the journey, after one had been refined by the purgative
and illuminative processes of the dark nights of sense and spirit.
" Symonds, The
Case
and Cure of a Deserted Soul, 358.
'^ St. John of the Cross, "The Ascent of Mount Carmel," in The Collected
Words of St. John of
the
Cross, trans. Kieran Kavanaugh (Washington, DC: ICS Pub-
lications, 1991), 163.
" St. John of the Cross, The Ascent of Mount Carmel, 114.
'* St. John of the Cross, The Ascent of Mount Carmel, 163.
32 Journal of Spiritual Formation
ÔC
Soul Gare
The dark night of the soul was a period when all experiences of God
and former means to God became void. St. John believed that only in such
a context did the light of perfect union dawn. Referencing Psalm 63:1-2, he
wrote:
"In a desert land, without water, dry, and without a way, I appeared
before you to be able to see your power and your
glory.
"'^
It followed, then,
that St. John oriented his teaching toward the future rather than the past;
one's former ways of relating to God had brought them thus far, but could
no longer bring them further. Instead, a new and different way was being
developed and to progress from that point forward meant that one must
leave former ways behind.
2.
God and His
Glory,
Not
Human Comfort as
the
Chief End
Though the teaching associated with spiritual desertion and the dark
night of the soul drew heavier on different phases of the Christian journey
for encouragement in times of spiritual darkness, both perspectives firmly
held the conviction that it was God and his glory, not human comfort, that
was of utmost importance in the Christian life. To enjoy spiritual consola-
tion for its own sake would have been inconceivable to both Symonds and
St. John. The Shorter Catechism of the Westminster Confession of Faith, a
document which the English Puritans helped produce, summarized it well,
"Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever."'* Symonds
embodied this conviction and believed that the purpose of either the pres-
ence or absence of spiritual comfort was the cultivation of a soul that was
completely subjected to God. Illustrating what such a soul might speak, he
wrote:
Lord, impose, demand what thou will, I count nothing too dear for
thee,
I count the gain of the whole world loss for thee, and will deny
myself for thee; if my heart draw back, draw it on to thee, as far as I am
able to sacrifice myself to thee, I do it.'^
Similarly, St. John solemnly warned against the dangers of making hu-
man comfort a person's chief end. Far from being directed inwards, to
checking up on how one felt, St. John directed people away from them-
selves and encouraged them to look at Jesus. Especially for those who were
currently experiencing the dark night, the key for them was to act against
"
St. John of the Gross, "The Dark Night," in The
Gollected Words
of St. John
of the
Gross,
trans. Kieran Kavanaugh (Washington, DG: IGS Publications, 1991),
388."
G.I. Williamson, The Shorter
Gatechism:
Questions 1-38 (Phillipsburg, NJ:
Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, 1970), 1.
" Symonds,
The
Gase
and
Gure
of a Deserted Soul,
467.
Wang:
Two Perspectives
on
Spiritual Dryness
33
their feelings of comfort or discomfort and cast themselves in faith into the
darkness of God.'^
St. John spoke of the importance of depriving and emptying oneself of
one's appetites for finite things, using the seven capital vices (pride, glut-
tony, avarice, wrath, luxury, envy, and sloth) as his basis for illustrating
how such appetites fostered the development of various imperfections. Of
these seven vices, St. John placed special emphasis in addressing the imper-
fection of spiritual gluttony. Speaking of this imperfection, he wrote:
Many, lured by the delight and satisfaction procured in their religious
practices, strive more for spiritual savor than for spiritual purity and
discretion; yet it is this purity and discretion that God looks for and
finds acceptable throughout a soul's entire spiritual journey."
As gluttony can he described as a habitual eating to excess, spiritual
gluttony can also be described as an excessive seeking and consumption of
spiritual consolation. St. John observed at least three ways whereby this
vice hindered the spiritual life. First, spiritual gluttony created an aversion
to obedience to God: "Some reach such a point that the mere obligation of
obedience . . . makes them lose all desire and devotion. Their only yearning
and satisfaction is to do what they feel inclined to do, whereas it would be
better in all likelihood for them not to do this at all."^° Second, the sweet-
ness of religious consolation blinded the spiritual glutton from knowledge
of his spiritual poverty and also prevented him from developing a loving
fear and respect for God's brilliance.^' Last, those who were inclined to-
wards spiritual delights were weak and neglectful in following Christ's way
of the cross. St. John explained, "A soul given up to pleasure naturally feels
aversion toward the bitterness of self-denial."^^
Last, it is notable that Jesus Christ stood as a central figure in the
teaching of both Symonds and St. John. To them, Christ was critically in-
volved at the beginning, the middle, and the end of the Christian life; he
was the initiator, sustainer, and even the goal of the journey. Symonds ex-
horted his readers accordingly, writing:
Stand not wasting thyself in sad thoughts of thy misery, but arise and
pray; turn the streams of thy grief towards Christ, he will turn them
into streams of joy . . . Christ is the fountain, let down thy bucket, and
drink and live; go with incitements against yourself in one hand, and
" Ruth Burrows, Ascent to Love: The Spiritual Teaching of St. John of the
Cross (London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1987), 93.
" St. John of the Cross, The Dark Night, 371.
2° Ibid., 372.
^' Ibid., 372.
" Ibid., 373.
34 Journal of Spiritual Formation Se Soul Care
with Christ's promises and thy petition in the other, and thou will be
heard."
St. John similarly exhorts:
A person makes progress only by imitating Christ, who is the Way, the
Truth, and the Life. No one goes to the Father but through him, as he
states himself in St. John. Accordingly, I would not consider any spiri-
tuality worthwhile that wants to walk in sweetness and ease and run
from the imitation of Christ.^"*
3.
The
Imperfect Comfort
of
the Saints
Because both Symonds and St. John envisioned the Christian life as a
costly and lifelong journey, they recognized that from time to time Chris-
tians were prone to despair, to temporarily losing sight of their comfort in
God and the goal of their salvation. However, Symonds noted that not all
periods of lost spiritual comfort were caused by desertion; indeed, many of
them occurred simply due to the fact that the saints presently had an imper-
fect comfort. He explained, "Sometimes it [comfort] is gone, and a day of
gladness is turned into a night of heaviness, so that they complain as the
Church [sic], 'The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into
mourning' . . . [comfort] is mixed with various fears and sorrows, which
like the waters of Marah flow into the soul."^'
In one's progress towards the end of the Christian journey, whether it
was the Celestial City or the summit of Mount Carmel, it was recognized
that both inward and outward affliction would come regardless of any
wrongdoing on the part of the sojourner. Neither Symonds nor St. John saw
spiritual depression as a problem which was necessarily caused by a specific
act of sin or by people not being adequately grounded in Scripture. In fact,
the modern sentiment of an ideal Christian life consisting of sustained con-
tentment and bliss following conversion would have been completely for-
eign to both of them.
Puritans and Carmelites alike struggled with forms of spiritual depres-
sion; they were perplexed and searched for the source of their troubles,
wondering if they had strayed from the true path. As an expression of their
shared pastoral concern for such people, both Symonds and St. John wrote
their respective treatises. It was clearly evident in their writings that both
authors were experienced and adept in the caring of souls. They were quick
to write in the first person, addressing their readers as if they were speaking
directly to them as a spiritual mentor. In their discussion on the imperfect
Symonds,
The
Case
and
Cure of a Deserted Soul,
356.
St. John
of the
Cross,
The
Ascent
of
Mount Carmel,
172.
Symonds,
Tbe
Case
and
Cure of a Deserted Soul,
404.
Wang: Two Perspectives on Spiritual Dryness 35
comfort of the saints, some common themes emerge within Symonds' and
St. John's teaching.
One theme that both authors raised was the matter of self-knowledge.
They jointly agreed that a potential benefit of spiritually depressive experi-
ences was that it gave people a unique opportunity to develop an awareness
of the depth of their spiritual poverty, their utter need of God's mercy, and
the richness of the grace that they receive from God. Symonds maintained
that the principal purpose of spiritual desertion was instruction; desertion
taught believers knowledge pertaining to their true nature, their sinfulness,
their weakness, and their need of grace. He explained, "So in desertion
when a man is left most in his colors and shape, he may best see what he is
... It [desertion] discovers a man's weakness and emptiness; now a man
shall discern by his deadness, indisposedness, unmeetness to all good; how
great the insufficiency of nature is, and how little he has attained of
grace."^* Elsewhere, Symonds continued, "Thus God for this end some-
times suspends the workings of the Spirit of power from us, that we may see
a necessity of grace, and know where the fountain is, and that all is of God,
that so we may depend upon him, and not rest in ourselves, and ascribe all
to him, and nothing to ourselves."-^'
St. John viewed self-knowledge as the chief benefit of the dark night:
"The first and chief benefit this dry and dark night of contemplation causes
is the knowledge of self and of one's own misery."^* Regarding beginners
who had not yet experienced the dark night St. John observed that they
were prone to walk in contentment, festivity, gratification, and consolation,
thinking that they have derived their satisfaction from their spiritual exer-
cises.
However, when the dryness and desolation of the sensory and spiri-
tual nights began their work people learned to consider themselves as noth-
ing, knowing full well that they could do nothing apart from God." Even
so,
St. John explained that not all knowledge attained through the dark
night had to do with one's lowliness and misery. The believer also learned
of his grandeur and majesty.^" This seemed to reflect St. John's paradoxical
approach to spirituality: an individual truly understood his great value pre-
cisely when he also understood his lowliness.
Despite the light shed by their discussions on self-knowledge, both
Symonds and St. John openly acknowledged the mystery behind why believ-
ers often experience imperfect divine comfort. This was in line with their re-
spective spiritual traditions, as neither the Puritans nor the Carmelites
claimed to be able to understand fully or give a complete account for all oc-
currences of spiritual depression. Even though Symonds and St. John mas-
terfully identified and exposited certain forms of spiritual desolation, both
Symonds, The
Case
and Cure of a Deserted Soul, 134—137.
Ibid., 140.
St. John of the Gross, The Dark Night, 385.
Ibid., 386.
Ibid., 387.
36 Journal of Spiritual Formation & Soul Care
admitted that their treatments were neither comprehensive nor exhaustive
to all forms of spiritual aridity. St. John explained:
[T]he darknesses and trials, spiritual and temporal, that fortunate souls
ordinarily undergo on their way to the high state of perfection are so
numerous and profound that human science cannot understand them
adequately.^'
The role of mystery was central to St. John's spirituality. One of the
reasons he called the entire Christian journey a night pertained to God him-
self,
who according to St. John, was so brilliant that he was necessarily dark
to the limited human mind. Citing an analogy made by Aristotle, St. John il-
lustrated the overwhelming nature of God's luminance: "Just as the sun is
total darkness to the eyes of a bat, so the brightest light in God is total
darkness to our intellect."^-^ Even though he never lost sight for a moment
of the divine immanence, the overpowering impression produced by the
terms he used to speak of God was one of awe and transcendence. E. Alli-
son Peers posited that St. John's superior sense of God's transcendence, as
evidenced by his frequent acknowledgement of mystery, was perhaps what
made his teaching so attractive to people who live in our current context.^^
Towards the end of The Case and Cure of a Deserted Soul, Symonds re-
flected on the frequent and stark shifts between periods of joy and periods
of gloom that were commonly observed in the lives of Christians. Parallel-
ing St. John, Symonds concluded his work acknowledging the mystery be-
hind why saints presently have an imperfect comfort from God:
The experience of all the saints almost contributes to the evidence of
this truth: where shall we find a man that has not met with these rocks
and sands, and has not seen some gloomy days and winter storms,
passing through many changes, sometime rejoicing as the plants in the
spring, in the sight and sense of God's gracious presence; sometimes
again mourning for his loss of God; sometimes lift up to heaven in his
soul. . . sometime again depressed to the deeps of hell and held as with
chains of brass or iron; now quickened, but growing dull
4.
Spiritual Depression
and
Melancholy
Both Symonds and St. John were careful to distinguish between certain
forms of spiritual depression and melancholy, or what people in our current
^' St.
John
of the Cross, The
Ascent
of
Mount
Carmel,
115.
"
Ibid.,
176.
" E.
Allison
Peers,
Spirit
of
Flame:
A
Study
of St.
John
of the
Cross
(London:
Student Christian Movement Press
Ltd., 1943), 152.
^''
Symonds,
The
Case
and
Cure
of a
Deserted
Soul,
6.
Wang:
Two Perspectives on Spiritual Dryness
37
context would understand as clinical depression. Although both authors
clearly held a high view of Scripture, they recognized that Scripture alone
was not the best remedy for certain forms of melancholy, especially those
with physiological causes. To them, the presence of spiritually depressive
symptoms did not necessitate the application of spiritual remedies—further
investigation needed to be made to discern the true nature of the condition
as well as the best course of action.
St. John wrote of three signs that needed to be present before one could
discern a genuine dark night of the soul. He emphasized that all three signs
must be simultaneously present before an affirmative diagnosis could be
made since melancholy could potentially cause these same symptoms,
though not all at once: "When one is incapable of making discursive medi-
tation on the things of God and disinclined to consider subjects extraneous
to God, tbe cause could be melancholia or some other kind of humor in the
heart or brain capable of producing a certain stupefaction and suspension
of the sense faculties."^^
Similarly, Symonds wrote of spiritually depressive symptoms with nat-
ural causes, distinguishing them from those with spiritual causes. Speaking
to those who suffered from a condition with natural causes, he offered the
following suggestion: "But I leave such with this advice, when they find
their temper to be naturally or accidentally melancholic, to use all such
ways as God hath prepared in a natural way; for as the soul is not cured by
natural causes, so the body is not cured by spiritual remedies."^*
J. God's Relentless and Persisting Love
Another notable commonality between Symonds' teaching on spiritual
desertion and St. John's teaching on the dark night of the soul was that both
contended that God's love was not lost despite what seemed to be strong ev-
idence to the contrary. Symonds argued that spiritual desertion represented
only a variation in the operation of God's love and as such, it was not an in-
dication that God's affection towards the believer had changed. Citing Jere-
miah 31:3, he reaffirmed that God's love remained the same and was an
everlasting love.'*" Moreover, desertion was only a partial withdrawal of
God's grace: "God never denies it wholly to a faithful soul: though some de-
grees of divine help be denied, so that the soul languish in a sort, and sink
into a state of deadness and dullness; yet there is life and that [is] both ha-
bitual and actual."^*
Symonds' conviction concerning God's relentless and persistent love
was deeply rooted in the Puritans' belief in divine election. The covenant of
^' St. John of the Gross,
The Ascent
of
Mount
Garmel,
190.
'* Symonds, The
Gase
and
Gure
of a Deserted Soul, 516.
"Ibid., 13.
'' Ibid., 36.
38 Journal
of
Spiritual Formation
ôc
Soul Care
grace—that commitment
to
save made
to the
believer
by all
three persons
of
the Trinity—was frequently mentioned
in
Puritan paraenetic literature
as a
source
of
comfort
to
believers.^' This doctrine reminded them that their
sal-
vation
was
secure
by
virtue
of the
fact that
it was
grounded from
a
choice
and commitment made first
by God.
Although
the
human will
was
also
in-
volved,
a
person
was not
saved
by the
merit
or
quality
of
their confession
of
Christ.
In
light
of
this, Symonds concluded that God's love
was not
with-
drawn from
the
believer even
in
cases
of
spiritual desertion.
To him, the
critical involvement
of the
divine will
in the
salvation
of man was the pri-
mary
and
most effective source
of
assurance
one
could have
in
times
of
spir-
itual darkness.
St. John similarly believed that God's love persisted during
the
dark
night
of the
soul. However,
he
went even further.
St.
John argued that
the
darkness associated with
the
sensory
and
spiritual nights
was due to a
more
intense inflow
of God
into
the
soul.
God did not
even partially withdraw
himself from
his
children when
he
sought
to
purge them
of
their imperfec-
tions.
On the
contrary,
he
allowed
his
light
to
shine
so
hrightly that
it
over-
whelmed
the
human faculties:
"In
striking
the
soul with
its
divine light,
it
surpasses
the
natural light
and
thereby darkens
and
deprives
a
soul
of all
the natural affections
and
apprehensions
it
perceived
by
means
of its
natu-
ral light
. . .
Leaving
the
soul thus empty
and
dark,
the ray
purges
and
illu-
mines
it
with divine spiritual light, while
the
soul thinks that
it has no
light
and
is in
darkness."'"'
Far
from viewing
it as a
withdrawal
of
divine love,
St.
John described
the
experience
of the
dark night
as a
"wounding
by a
strong
divine love"
and "a
certain feeling
and
foretaste
of
God."'"
SPIRITUAL
DESERTION
AND THE
DARK
NIGHT
OF THE
SOUL:
THEIR
VALUE
FOR
CONTEMPORARY
PASTORAL
CARE
Prior to concluding this paper, I would like to briefly address a second-
ary question: What is the value of spiritual desertion and the dark night of
the soul in pastoral care today? Indeed, both Symonds and St. John make
significant contributions to pastoral thinking about, and dealing with, what
contemporary Christians experience as spiritual dryness. As hopefully evi-
dent from my previous, largely conceptual discussion on the common
themes shared by the concepts of spiritual desertion and the dark night of
the soul, several points of practical application can be made for individuals
currently entrusted with the noble work of caring for and shepherding
souls.
Although it is my opinion that all of Symonds' and St. John's teach-
'' J.I. Packer,
A
Quest
for
Godliness:
The
Puritan Vision
of
the Christian Life
(Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1990), 41.
"o St. John
of
the Cross, The Dark Night, 411.
"'Ibid., 419.
Wang:
Two Perspectives
on
Spiritual Dryness
39
ings
are
exceptionally valuable
and
relevant
to
contemporary pastoral care,
for
the
sake
of
brevity,
I
would like
to
highlight just
one
particularly salient
insight from each perspective
and
briefly discuss their implications
on the
practice
of
pastoral care.
I. Joseph Symonds
and
Salvific Assurance
Even though
the
Puritans believed that some measure
of
assurance
of
salvation
was
available
at the
outset, full assurance
was not
normally
en-
joyed except
by
those
who
have first labored
for it and
sought after
it,
serv-
ing
God
faithfully
and
patiently
for
some time without
it.
According
to J.I.
Packer, assurance
was an
aspect
of
faith which normally appeared only
when faith
had
reached
a
high degree
of
development,
far
beyond
its
mini-
mal saving exercise.""^ Symonds explained,
"For
though
the
object
of com-
fort
be
sufficient,
yet the
assurance
and
enjoyment
of it is
deficient,
so
that
the soul
is
comforted, because
it has God in a
measure,
but it is
troubled
be-
cause
it
wants still,
not
being
so
sure
and
full
of him as it
desires."""^
This perspective
on
salvific assurance
is
particularly helpful
in
debunk-
ing unrealistic expectations
of the
spiritual life that currently seem
to be
commonplace. Many
of
these expectations seem
to
follow what
I
consider
to
be
misguided evangelistic techniques grounded
in a
therapeutically-
reoriented understanding
of the
Gospel—which, according
to
Christopher
Lasch,
is a
Gospel grounded
not in the
expression
of
genuine religious
de-
votion
nor the
desire
for
spiritual transcendence
but one
driven solely
by a
hunger
for
subjective peace
of
mind, personal well-being,
and
psychic
self-
improvement
and
security.'*''
It
is
important
to
note that Lasch's discussion
on
therapeutically-
reoriented religion
was not
intended
to be a
critique
of
psychotherapy—for
the process
of
healing that occurs
in
such
a
context often involves hard
work
and
great courage. Neither
was it
intended
to be a
repudiation
of the
rightful place
of
comfort
and
healing within
the
Christian faith. Rather,
he
is presenting
his
observations concerning
the
tendency
of
modern Western
culture
to
view comfort
and
peace
of
mind
as
religion's chief
end.
Philip
Reiff articulated this well: "Religious
man was
born
to be
saved; psycho-
logical
man is
born
to be
pleased.
The
difference
was
established long
ago,
when
'I
believe,'
the cry of the
ascetic, lost precedence
to 'one
feels,'
the
caveat
of the
therapeutic."''^
••^
Packer,
A
Quest
for
Godliness, 181-182.
••^ Symonds,
The
Case
and
Cure of a Deserted Soul,
404.
'*'' Christopher Lasch,
Tbe
Culture
of
Narcissism: American Life
in an Age of
Diminishing Expectations
(New
York: Warner Books, 1979),
33.
•" Philip
Reiff, The
Triumph of the Therapeutic:
Uses
of
Faith
After Freud
(Lon-
don: Chatto
ÔC
Windus, 1966),
25.
40 Journal
of
Spiritual Formation & Soul Gare
As
an
oversimplified application
of
Luther's sola fide, some summarize
the goal
of
the Christian life
as
entry into heaven, which
in
turn was
to be
guaranteed
at
the point
of
one's initial profession
of
faith. Often, this point
is accompanied by promises
of
perfect spiritual
and
emotional bliss that
are
expected
to
follow the conversion experience.
If
such teaching
in
the church
is left without qualification,
it is
particularly amenable
to
both disappoint-
ment and disenchantment. The Puritan belief that salvific assurance
did not
come until
one had
been refined
by
trial
and
temptation
is a
necessary
cor-
rective
to
this gospel
of
cheap grace. Sigmund Freud asserted, "[C]onsola-
tion
... at
bottom,
is
what they
are
demanding
. . . the
wildest revolution-
aries
no
less passionately than
the
most virtuous believers."''*
In
contrast,
Symonds retorts:
"[It is] not joy
that makes
a
Christian,
but
grace;
as it is
the light,
not
the warmth
of
the
sun
that makes
the
day."'"
2.
St. John ofthe Cross and Transcending Meditative Technique
One
of
the reasons St. John envisioned the entire Christian journey
as a
night was
his
affirmation that faith
was
necessary
in
achieving union with
God. To him, faith required people
to
abandon their own thoughts
and im-
ages
of
God with
the aim of
opening
the
self
to
God's limitless nature.
St.
John argued that
the
human imagination
was
insufficient
for
faith
in God
because
it
could
not
fashion
or
imagine anything beyond what could
be ex-
perienced through
the
exterior senses.''*
It was therefore intentional
on
St. John's part that
he did not
teach
any
kind
of
technique
for
prayer
or
meditation,
for
doing
so
would have
en-
couraged
his
readers
to
employ their imaginations.
He
noted that there
were many people who
had in
fact practiced some kind
of
meditative tech-
nique with great spiritual profit until they arrived
at a
point where they
re-
ceived
all
they could
out of
that
way of
meditating
and
needed
to
progress.'" They experienced
a
kind
of
spiritual dryness that frustrated
all
efforts
to
meditate
in the
manner
to
which they
had
previously grown
ac-
customed.
St.
John's
aim in
writing
on the
dark night
was to
help people
who
had
arrived
at
such
a
point
to
transcend their meditative technique,
whatever
it
may have been,
and go on to
develop
a
deeper manner
of
com-
munication with God.^"
'"
Sigmund Freud,
Civilization
and
Its
Discontents
in James Strachey, ed.. Com-
plete Psychological Works
of
Sigmund Freud Series
(New
York:
W. W.
Norton
&
Gompany, 2005),
154.
'" Symonds,
The
Case
and
Cure of a Deserted Soul, 437.
*^
St. John
of
the Gross, The Ascent
of
Mount Carmel,
186.
"' St. John
of
the Gross,
The
Dark Night,
376.
'" Marilyn
May
Mallory, Christian Mysticism Transcending Techniques:
A
Theological Reflection
on the
Empirical Testing
of
the Teaching
of
St. John
of
the
Cross (Amsterdam, Netherlands:
Van
Gorcum Sc Gompany, 1977),
113.
Wang:
Two Perspectives
on
Spiritual Dryness
41
Pastoral teaching on the value of transcending meditative technique
may be particularly helpful to those who have too strongly attached them-
selves to a particular style or method of relating to God. Exclusively limit-
ing oneself to particular means may in fact inhibit the integration of one's
relationship with God into all aspects of life. For example, if one grew ac-
customed to communicating with God only through a quiet time (i.e., a pe-
riod of retreat from the activities of the day to pray and read Scripture),
then that person may subsequently have trouble seeking God's guidance
and presence during times when a time of retreat is not possible. Also, St.
John's teaching on transcending meditative technique may be a valuable
corrective to cause-and-effect approaches of Christian spirituality, where
one unknowingly seeks magically to evoke God's presence or action
through refined rituals or prayer techniques.
CONCLUSION
Instead of darkness and not-knowing these people want clear knowl-
edge;
instead of poverty and humiliation they want to possess secrets;
instead of struggle and affliction they want consolations; instead of the
hard labor of acquiring virtue they want sweetness in prayer. They are
bypassing Jesus, settling within the confines of created things, manag-
ing themselves, basically seeking themselves. This is not to enter into
the mystery of the crucified Jesus.^'
One of the greatest benefits of studying topics such as the dark night of
the soul and spiritual desertion is that they return one to the center of the
Christian faith, which, according to Rowan Williams, is that "central and
fruitful darkness of the cross."^^ Christ's death on the cross reminds people
that mystery and paradox lie at the heart of Christianity. Reflecting on the
image of the crucified Son crying to the Father, Williams highlights the mys-
tery of why God allowed himself to be killed by his own creatures and their
religion, and of how he was able to reshape the face of religious life through
acts of meekness, vulnerability, and failure.^^
The problem of spiritual dryness, as it is illustrated by spiritual deser-
tion and the dark night of the soul, similarly returns one to the darkness
and mystery of the Christian faith. Why is it the case, for instance, that the
path toward sanctification and divine union seems to lead one inevitably
through prolonged periods of severe spiritual aridity? Symonds' keen obser-
vation that Christ himself experienced spiritual desertion on the cross helps
^'
Burrows,
Ascent
to
Love,
97.
'^
Rowan
Williams,
The Wound of
Knowledge:
Christian Spirituality from the
New
Testament to Saint John of the Cross
(Cambridge,
MA: Cowley
Publications,
1990),
174.
"
Williams,
The Wound of
Knowledge,
175.
42 Journal of Spiritual Formation
Se
Soul Gare
one visualize this experience through biblical history, but it still does not
reconcile its paradox. Moreover, how is it that God's love for the believer
remains the same during these periods of spiritual dryness, especially in
light of the fact that some successfully persevere and are purged and illumi-
nated while others fall away from the faith altogether? Again, St. John's dis-
cussions on the dark night of the soul and the benefits of detachment are
helpful for understanding the nature and manner by which one is purged
and illumined, but they do not give a full account of those who do not com-
plete the Christian journey.
The topic of spiritual aridity ultimately points one to the reality that
the Christian faith cannot be reduced to a matter of causes and effects. The
consoling presence of God is not something that can be invoked as if by
magic; it is imparted according to divine wisdom and foreknowledge, and it
is received by those to whom God chooses to reveal
himself.
God's judg-
ment against the friends of Job is a stern admonition concerning the folly of
causal thinking, especially when it is applied to the problem of suffering.
Moreover, the topic of spiritual depression also points to the reality that the
crux of the Christian faith is not a matter of personal comfort, satisfaction,
success, or even self-actualization. For if Christ suffered and was persecuted
while he was on earth, how can his disciples expect anything different?
The joint message of Symonds and St. John is this: perfect and unsur-
passed spiritual comfort will indeed come, but not here and now. This is why
the Christian life is most accurately described as a journey. St. John ex-
plained, "This place must remain in darkness until the day, in the next life,
when the clear vision of God dawns upon the soul; and in this life, until the
daybreak of transformation in and union with God, the goal of a person's
journey."^'' Reflecting on the bliss of the life to come, Symonds added, "Thus
two old friends shall renew their friendship, and they that were at a distance,
shall meet in love; he that did depart shall return with kindness, and he that
was forsaken shall be received with mercy; and the ancient joy which was in
heaven at his first conversion, shall be renewed at his restoration."^-'
^''
St. John of the Gross,
The
Ascent
of
Mount
Garmel,
205.
" Symonds,
The
Gase
and
Gure
of
a
Deserted Soul,
528.
Author: David Ghou-Ming Wang. Title: doctoral student. Affiliation: University
of Houston (Houston,
TX).
Highest
Degree:
Th.M.,
Regent
Gollege.
Areas
of
inter-
est/specialization: psychology, spiritual theology,
and
church history.
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