One of my favorite songs actually comes from a 16th century Spanish mystic, St. John of the Cross. It comes from a pretty amazing treatise titled, “the dark night of the soul.” Now, I’m not sure if you know this already, but I always find it interesting to think about, but mysticism isn’t about smoke-filled rooms with crystal balls or anything. At its core, mysticism is comes from the old greek mysikos: that which is hidden. It eventually picked up a — as some find surprising — religious connotation: A spiritual-centered allegorical, an examination of the mysteries of faith.
And the ultimate goal of religion, I believe, is to find the path to God, perfect-self awareness, Truth…Logos, as it were.
St. John of the Cross, in exploring the soul and its relation to God and the spirit, ended up writing a beautiful poem titled, The Dark Night of the Soul that revolves around a bride, the soul, searches for the groom, God. She fears at the darkest of night, that she has lost him. Spiritually, Mystically, the concept of The Dark Night has grown to mean those moments similar to a crisis of faith where there is intense doubt or conflict about one’s decisions and one’s path. It’s a beautiful poem and the original Spanish version is just stunning. The piece goes from 16th century mystic’s poem to 20th century singer’s song thanks to Loreena McKennitt’s interpretation of it.
And I guess I bring this up tonight because…in the end, there is comfort in the sound of it all. The crisis, however long it may last, however dark it may seem…there’s a beauty in the thought that my doubts, that my fears, were so similar as to a Spanish friar in the 1500s. And, at the end of the day, if we all share dark nights of the soul, if we all have the same doubts and fears, then couldn’t that be turned around to say that none of us are truly alone? That all of us are truly loved, adored, and appreciated? Isn’t that, then, the light that shines more surely than the mid-day sun?
Lyrics below:
Loreena McKennitt – The Dark Night of the Soul
Upon a darkened night
the flame of love was burning in my breast
And by a lantern bright
I fled my house while all in quiet rest
Shrouded by the night
and by the secret stair I quickly fled
The veil concealed my eyes
while all within lay quiet as the dead
Chorus
Oh night, thou was my guide
oh night, more loving than the rising sun
Oh night, that joined the lover
to the beloved one
transforming each of them into the other
Upon that misty night
in secrecy, beyond such mortal sight
Without a guide or light
than that which burned so deeply in my heart
That fire t’was led me on
and shone more bright than of the midday sun
To where he waited still
it was a place where no one else could come
Chorus
Within my pounding heart
which kept itself entirely for him
He fell into his sleep
beneath the cedars all my love I gave
And by the fortress walls
the wind would brush his hair against his brow
And with its smoothest hand
caressed my every sense it would allow