Surviving the Dark Night of the Soul - Explaining the Faith

well good morning everybody from around the world this is a great great day to join with us it's a little bit cold but sunny here in Stockbridge I'm father Chris aylar and welcome to the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy you know for a long time you've been hearing me talk about going back to Seminary and the joy I had in seminary you've heard me say and when I did it when I went to Seminary had this real motivation to share this with everybody share my notes and we've done a lot of good talks on teaching uh history Inquisition in the Crusades we've done things on Divine Mercy in the sacraments but now I really feel it's time to get into moral theology moral theology is a huge part of a priest's formation and teaching it we had four semesters just in moral theology in addition to the other classes that we had and today cracked out the Seminary notes with the help of one of our theologians here went back and we're going to be talking about a critically important topic The Dark Knight of the soul and also the senses and tell you what it's about and are you going through it you know we have to look at the difference between depression and The Dark Knight are they the same are they similar are they different and what you need to know to survive it so let us begin with a prayer in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit amen Heavenly Father we ask you son the Holy Spirit down upon us for all those who are struggling in a dark night whether it be a struggle with their faith a struggle with their prayer life or even if it is from the evil one in the form of depression we ask Lord that you help us to survive to persevere and mother Mary that you guide us always to your son and we ask this through Christ Our Lord in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit amen well thank you again everybody as I said tonight is The Dark Night of the or today is The Dark Night of the soul but it's also The Dark Night of the senses okay so as you can see now this feeling that everybody will get of spiritual emptiness being abandoned by God why me God where are you my prayers don't feel like they're doing anything are they being answered does God care about me he's got so many other things to worry about this is all natural and this is a a process in the spiritual growth you know why are things dry why have I lost consolation in prayer I don't feel that warm and fuzzy what's happening um I seem to get nothing in prayer let's look at our next slide well I want to start right off the bat with the big hitter Mother Teresa all right Mother Teresa when the world looked at her face it saw Joy pure joy simple joy but then in 2007 10 years after her death her letters her private letters came out and it was scandalous to the world ah Mother Teresa didn't have faith Mother Teresa didn't believe the entirety of her public Ministry and during this entirety for the for the whole length of it here she was this founder of the missionaries of charity she endured unceasing feelings of desolation and abandonment by God now the media Twisted that and turned it against the church saying see your own one who you call a saint has no faith actually it took more faith for her to get through that dark night than anything 40 Years of it and so we're going to talk about what that is now she said I am told God lives in me this is her own words I am told God lives in me this was 1957. and yet the reality of darkness and coldness and Emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul how do we explain this I bet you have gone through this at one time or another I have we all have all right so for some as I said this became a scandal but for those familiar with what we're going to teach you you are getting an entire semester of moral theology right now because like I said cracked open the notes went back to the books talked to theologians we have here at uh at The Shrine we are going to show you that that if you're familiar with the stages of spiritual growth you'll realize what Mother Teresa went through was actually an extreme testimony to her holiness how is that possible that's the Paradox okay now in those times of desolation she lived what John of the Cross turned the Dark Knight of the Soul okay now this was the title from a poem he wrote kind of interesting isn't it he wrote a poem now every Christian on their way to God must pass through a dark night you will not avoid it so we might as well put our seat belts on buckle up and figure out how to survive it and how to grow from it all right it is necessary all right it is necessary every Fallen human being and we all are has disordered desires and attachments we all struggle Satan knows how to get you he knows your Achilles heel for some it's Pride uh and and need for attention others it's sensuality and lust for others it's greed and envy whatever it might be Satan will strike now we have this is this is what's important because this is the result of Fallen nature this is why we need baptism to get rid of original sin but it doesn't baptism does not wash away your human nature we still have it we still have concupiscence now we love what we shouldn't love or we love what we should but in the wrong way all right we seek our own Comfort our own pleasure our own will we value what we want more than we value what God wants and this this society today is telling us do what feels good this was the errors that have come out of the 60s you know it's funny because my dad always talks about the glory of the 60s I'm like well maybe I'll give you the first half of the decade but after the second half of the decade we started getting into a rejection of God and and radical feminism and and this this this sexual Revolution it began I don't want accountability I don't want responsibility I want to do what I want when I want how I want and it became a self-focus we all do something wrong even if it's only in our hearts I knew a great priest never saw him acting properly never saw him see anything improperly but he shared with me that his heart Bears really anger and and even some struggle with hatred towards certain people I was shocked but I admired his for his honesty I'm like well you're better than me because mine just come out of my big mouth at least you keep yours in your heart and so we we have to work on this now we can't do wrong and stand before God this is where all the other face besides the Catholic faith have some form of understanding of that but they think that we Catholics are just saying Oh The Works are going to get you into heaven you have to do good we can't even say we want to do good and then stand before God that's a shocker because I keep thinking okay God I'm okay because you know my heart you know my heart my heart is really in the right place it's just my stupid mouth and my dumb actions but you you understand God you know my heart my heart's in the right place I just get emotional sometimes or I say something stupid no even if we can't even want to do the right thing but do in our heart the wrong thing and give stand before God a correct prerequisite for seeing God face to face is that every attachment to sin every attachment both in our lives and in our hearts must be broken if we don't do it on this Earth then you have to do it in purgatory so just with the Dark Knight of the soul is everybody Purgatory on Earth it's Purgatory on Earth that's the beauty of it but that's why we fear it I don't want to go to Purgatory I'm afraid of it but if I could do it here on Earth they tell us the Saints tell us it's way easier way easier no matter how much the struggle is it is easier here so in a way as I said it's Purgatory on Earth if we want to become Saints we have to desire God's will this is the biggest hurdle I told you before I've told this to everybody when I interviewed with the marians we talked about the three Evangelical councils poverty Chastity and obedience those are three vows because the god of poverty overcomes the god of the world of money I'm sorry the vow of poverty overcomes the god of the world of money the vow of Chastity overcomes the god of the World of Sex and the vow of obedience overcomes the god of the world of power and so I remember it was either brother Leonard or father Larry God Rest both their souls did ask me I remember which one do you think you will struggle with I said Oh by far Chastity father and he looked at me it was father Larry and father Larry looked at me and he shook his head and he says no it won't I said well I'm glad you think that he said it'll be obedience because all of us want to do our will all of us you will get the grace to live a celibate life if you're called here truly and it shocked me later when I now totally feel comfortable climbing into that bed alone every night but obedience surrendering my will in every word deed or action now that that's a challenge and it's not just religious who are called to it you are you are and so let's look at this we have to desire God's will not out of fear of hell that's the first stage put out a love of God so this is the important Point some of that breaking of your attachments my attachments we do ourselves this is where non-catholics miss the boat we are responsible for some of it ourselves however however you know and it's important we learn to avoid Vice and pursue virtue we we have to give our efforts but most of that breaking only God can do but you got to invite him in all right let's look at our next slide The Dark Knight of the Soul this is what it says here The Dark Knight of the Soul comes just before Revelation when everything is lost and all seems Darkness then comes the new life and all that is needed so what is The Dark Knight The Dark Knight of the soul is in part how God breaks Us in those attachments all right seemingly it what what it seems like to us is that God has withdrawn all spiritual consolations right the little Comforts and supports that we typically get we want to go into prayer and we want to just be ah and you know we see religious come here most of the Gospel I remember my dad talking about sister Alice Marie when he was young and and had the Immaculate Heart of Mary sister of priests pray for them he he said that she would tell them that the sisters that came and had this grandiose idea that they were just going to sit and pray her all day ah and just be filled with consolations she said they never made it and we see the same thing in the Marian Falls when we come down you know what faustina I'll get the faustine in a minute but do you know that she lived for six years in the convent before Jesus ever spoke to her ever appeared to her and they were miserable when Saint faustina first came she said what have I done I've made a mistake I've come to the wrong place you know why because she was given menial tasks she too thought I want to spend the whole day in prayer filled with glorious consolations I want God to just inflame my heart with this brightest amount of Love well that came but for six years she didn't get it for six years she peeled potatoes manned the door worked in the garden she she said what am I doing with all these these menial tasks I want to be I want to be a saint I want to be living in the chapel with all these consolations uh she had to get ready for that and how she got ready for that was through those surrendering of her will through the breaking of the attachments and working and menial tasks to survive I think that's the greatest message you can give to an incoming postulate we got our postulates with us here so Alex Paul and Philip God bless them now we'll get to Saint faustine in a minute now here's the thing you feel like that God has withdrawn all constellation the little Comforts and supports that typically come from pursuing a relationship with God feel God and following an almost crushing sense of abandonment to come upon you it's awful he purifies us and our desires and prepares us for the next stage coming in your growth it's kind of like cancer you got to cut out the cancer before you can start to live again all right so you know it's Unique to each person it's it's different for each person it's it's you know and in fact it's tough It's not just dry it's not just dry enough I don't feel anything in prayer it's it's not just that but people find themselves actually persecuted persecuted for the faith I have good friends here that are trying to stand up for the truth they're trying to make it a big impact in the diocese and meeting with difficulties with priests and and some and even the hierarchy so they're facing afflictions and persecutions and all the calls for help God why aren't you doing something seem to go unanswered right to them it feels like God has let them down to some of them now some don't they have that strength and perseverance all the way through no God is with me no matter what I'm going to get beaten down but it depends on where you are in your spiritual growth if you know God is with you and you know you're going to get beat down but you get up every day you're more advanced in your spiritual life but if you're sitting there saying why God why me you're growing all right all right now why are you letting me deal with my own cross here Lord you said you would help me carry it he will when you're ready all right so others experience a dark night through Temptations all right so for me I I feel okay Lord you've gotten me through the first one I I don't feel you're not with me I know you're with me but man do I get nailed by the second one Temptations impatience gluttony you know Pride these are all things that can nail us anger chastity purity unbelief now unbelief I would put in that first category but you can still be tempted later and so we have to stay close to the sacraments I mean it's funny because Father Anthony has a regular sign on his door father Chris come on in for confession because we got to stay close to the sacraments right okay then those are who experience The Dark Knight mainly through desolation desolation all right no matter how much they pray it doesn't seem to make any difference it doesn't seem to do anything it doesn't seem to come and then lastly there are some poor souls that get all three they get a combination of the trials The Temptations and the abandonment so where are you in that that level God knows all right now let's talk about Dart night of the soul but there's also Dark Night of the senses you've probably heard this is important right The Dark Knight of the soul is not the beginning I started with that because that's the term everybody knows but the Dark Knight of the Soul doesn't come at the beginning of your journey to God actually there are three primary ways stages if you will to grow in Holiness this is the Carmelite tradition you've heard me say this before all right the first is the purgative the purgative way this is where you want to be good simply to avoid health I I you know you're not thinking as much about God you just want to avoid the punishment those people are the people say you know what I wish if I die there was just nothing afterwards because then I could a lot need more comfortable doing what I want to do now but I'm really afraid of this hell thing so they start to come back to being good out of love of their self now surprisingly it's enough to save you there's enough salvation in that act Redemptive because of Christ to save you but that's not where you want to be that's like the first stage all right the second is the illuminative way now all of a sudden we want to be good because there's something good for us not just avoiding punishment like purgative but an illuminative I want to be good because I want that Gloria Heaven man I want to I want to be able to go to heaven and lay around all day I want to be able to go to heaven and not have any of these worries I want to be able to go to heaven where every single day is like my birthday this is what I want there's something good in for at me now you're getting closer that illuminative way is now I want something good well what you have to learn yet is what is goodness itself God so you're getting there and so the the Third Way is the unitive way now here we we do good not for ourself not to avoid punishment not to get a reward simply out of love of God this is the true test of a marriage if you truly do what is good for your spouse you are in you're working in that way sacrifice no matter what I always use my appearance as the example my I grew up watching my dad we always did his will we went where he wanted we moved where he won I get it but one of the reasons I believe God let my mom get sick is I've never seen a transformation so beautiful as I've seen in my father my father lives now 24 7 for my mom complete his will is gone he doesn't do what he wants to do he doesn't go where he wants to go he's 100 for my mom and I found out that my mom's been doing better but she had a very bad bowel mistake went everywhere three o'clock in the morning and my dad was up with her all night got her into the shower three o'clock in the morning taking care of her that's a level of charity that that he wouldn't have had had my mom not gotten sick so this is why sometimes God allows these Dark Knights my my parents are going through a dark night and so this is what's important now near the end let's go back to the purgative let's go back to the beginning near the end of the purgative stage there is a dark night between the purgative stage and the illuminative stage a time of trial and affliction where it feels the soul feels nothing in prayer God doesn't really care anymore this let's go to our next slide and this is what we call the Dark Knight of the senses so when you go the purgative stage I want to avoid how I want to do good just because I want to be punished before you get to the illuminance stage you got to have this thing called Dark Knight of the census this is where we mortify the flesh this is where we we detach from the flesh and then after the illuminative stage before we get to the unit if we have Dark Knight of the Soul where we detach the things of the spirit that's the Dark Night of the Soul so let's go back purgative stage we we start doing good you all here are at least in the purgative stage I guarantee it every single person watching is at least in the purgative stage because you wouldn't be watching if you didn't now some are more advanced but all of you are at least in the purgative stage you've had a conversion you want to do good even if you're only here because I want to find out how to get away from hell now hopefully we'll get you higher but but you're at least at that level next before you can get to the illuminative where you you want to do good for the sake of there's something good in it for you you got to detach from the ways of the flesh that's the Dark Night of the senses God will do it now here's the thing everybody this first dark night however is not the Dark Night of the Soul it's a Dark Night of the senses in the Dark Night of the senses God purifies us of our attachments of the world the physical things we have to first God has to first start working on the flesh So Physical Comfort physical pleasure sexual Indulgence gluttony of food material possession desire for material success popular Acclaim even consolations in prayer because it's all about me now Sorrows afflict us and things that used to comfort us now in this stage God begins to purify God begins to start working all right now you can do an active part by doing like mortifications fasting and sacrifice yourself but the positive part of Dark Knight of the census is what God does and this is what John of the Cross tells us about the passive part of it there's the active part well father what do I do okay fast pray do sacrifice but most of the work has got to be done by God you just got to let him it's kind of like a surgeon you don't operate on yourself but you go and surrender to the surgeon and even let him put you under the knife this is what this is God is beginning to cut you in the flesh he's not ready for the spirit yet that comes the next stage up with Dark Knight of the soul but we're starting with Dark Knight of the senses so what happens all of a sudden food sex shopping compliments they they no longer seem to really do as much for us anymore what's happening I used to really enjoy this kind of stuff ah the objective things that we think we need are now not as uh you know God's started to show us what's more important thus The Dark Knight through this Dark Night of the census God prepares us now for the illuminative way right a complete growth like uh more of a contemplative life of prayer and at the end of that contemplative prayer of the illuminative way that's the middle stage then we're ready for the Dark Night of the Soul that occurs so we prepare for the top the unitive way all right let's look at our next slide this sums it all up so if you can see the the slide the three stages of Holiness one the purgative way then we go through Dark Night of the senses then we hit the second stage the illuminative way then when we're ready God moves us into the Dark Night of the Soul look out because God's working in you and then you hit the top the unitive way complete Union and doing the will of God all right now during The Dark Night of the Soul so now we're jumping up all right night of the Soul God Roots out our deepest attachments to the spirit now we're talking sin sin not just to the flesh but sin of the spirit all right so God begins to root out our deepest attachments to sin in ourselves now he brings in Desolation and that accompanies the rooting out of all this and it's overwhelming it's crushing God's at work trust more than just a lack of consolation this Dark Night of the Soul plunges the soul into an abyss of darkness and nothing has essentially revealing to us that we are if what we are without God nothing we are nothing without God and preparing us not only to carry our crosses but get a load of this but to love our crosses okay Lord I still got a lot of work to do because I am completely willing to carry my cross but I still don't like it I still struggle with it I'm kind of like the guy you know those those cartoons you see of the one guy all joyful and he's curing this gigantic cross on one hand because Christ is carrying the other part of it and you see the other guy laboring with the chain and he's got a little tiny cross and he's oh oh that's because we don't like our crosses in this stage in the unitive stage we actually start to love our cross whoa that's where we want to get so we love our crosses and we carry them joyfully in Union with Christ so this this is what the bottom line is everybody Dark Knight of the senses is doing without Dark Night of the Soul is loving to do without see the difference in Dark Night of the census I force myself to do without man I'm starving I really want to eat that oh I really want to watch that game ah but I'm giving it up that is The Dark Night of the senses but then when you start to embrace it like brother Alex here brother Alex is awesome in that sense we might ask brother Alex to serve five masses right he'll be like oh boy I can get another soul out of purgatory he does not look at it as a cross he does not look at oh I wanted to go sleep he says oh boy I get to get another soul out of purgatory that's the difference how beautiful all right now he knocks us down but it's different from depression let's look at our next slide this is important is it dark night of the Soul or is it depression what are you struggling with this is important all right depression and The Dark Night of the Soul they appear to be the same thing but they're not all right they're not all right but they're not different either entirely they're they're similar as Saint John of the Cross said depression can go hand in hand with a dark knight whether by making it worse or being the result from The Dark Knight God may give you the Dark Knight and your response maybe as you go into utter depression be careful if God is giving you this grace of a dark night be careful how you respond you can respond either by embracing it and saying okay Lord I don't know where you are I don't feel you but I trust that's Mother Teresa or you can utterly say I'm done with you Lord I'm not going to church anymore none of my prayers are answered my sister has cancer my child you took from me I want nothing to do with you and then they go into depression not it's not on not understandable it is understandable but there's a way out now while clinical depression is triggered by an objectively sad event like I said losing a loved one or a terminal illness or by like even a biochemical problem right The Dark Knight of the soul is purely an act of God whereas depression is caused by external events the passive Dark Night of the soul is strictly from God it's an act of God it is God working in our souls to draw us closer to him now likewise while depression weighs down the body and the soul rendering those who suffer from it unable to do normal activities of life that's depression throughout the Dark Night the spirit stays strong this is why I know some people around here that are like you know what I might get kicked in the teeth but I'm gonna keep getting up I love that I love that and that to me is the beautiful thing if our if our church hierarchy isn't listening if our if our Catholics aren't listening we're going to keep trying we get knocked down but we get back up that's the difference in depression you stay down in Dark Night of the Soul you get knocked down too both depression in the dark night you're laying down you just got knocked down but in the dark night you get up and those suffering through it can perform works of charity service you know they can do it so they remain active and don't experience the same Temptations of depression and like self-loathing even suicide that sometimes the depression brings nor do they lose faith in the midst of The Dark Night They believe they they the belief remains now people think it's evil here's a big misconception people believe that the world suffers from spiritual desolation does it does the world suffer from spiritual desolation yes of course it's in a mess but not because they're going through the dark night it's because there's just no desire for God whatsoever there's a difference don't confuse well gee father really clarified I don't really have a desire to pray I really don't have a desire I'm not feeling god well you know I mean hey this is normal I'm growing in Holiness I don't have to go to church because I don't feel God's presence but you know father Chris said this is all normal no that's desolation caused by the evil one there's desolation caused by The Dark Knight and there's desolation caused by the evil one they're different now the world suffers from spiritual desolation no desire from God but this is bad this is the evil kind the evil one The Dark Knight of the Soul on the other hand is not evil it's good which we should be grateful for all right of course it doesn't always seem that way we don't want to feel abandoned but as I said before neither a surgery right having cancer removed from our bodies isn't fun but we submit to the doctor we go under the knife the sooner we do the better quicker we'll have a healthier life it's the same in the spiritual life all right if we want to be holy we must let him take the sin and detach it from our souls there's no other way before we can enter to Heaven this has to happen this has to happen and it's better to do it now than in purgatory all right so let's get into something I think is really interesting let's look at our next slide one of the guys I went to Seminary with he was working on his license yet is Ralph Martin I don't know if you've ever heard of him but he wrote the book the Fulfillment of all desires there's a picture of the book that I wanted to show you now he points out that Jesus said it in the most startling way you must be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect good luck all right we can be discouraged when we hear the word perfect because none of us can do it none of us can be perfect we think that Perfection is impossible and it is if you rely on yourself but for God all things are impossible Holiness is not just a matter of how many rosaries we say or what good works we do it's a matter of having our heart transformed to resemble the heart of Christ for love of God and neighbor now let's look at our next slide because this is trees of Avila now let's get into her she puts it Holiness is a matter of bringing our will into Union with God's will and you want to get to there you say I don't I'm not doing it practice mortification go down to the Dark Night of the senses fast deny yourself maybe that comfort that you like or that food you love you know um it's a journey sustained by Grace which is the only way to heaven God's grace gets us to Heaven not our good works but we've got to cooperate with that Grace by doing good works all right it leads to this nuptial Union that we always hear about from John at the cross the Saint Teresa of Avalon all right so John Paul jumped aboard this I'm going to give you the four principles John Paul gave do you know this I bet you've never heard this I'm pulling now right from our theologians Chris Sparks got this for me and this is the four principles that John Paul II identified as basic to your spiritual growth one what's the first spiritual principle you must have if you want to be holy and be a saint one to understand Union with God is unattainable on your own isn't that the first step of Alcoholics Anonymous something like that the 12-step programs to know that you're powerless you're powerless that's the first thing I can't do this on my own right it's a gift that only God can give we are totally dependent on him I'm not going to do this by ourselves all right two second at the same time we must do our part this is where Catholics and non-catholics differ non-catholics want to I mean not all please don't get me wrong but I've met many why are you so worried about this Chris God's in control God's got it all yeah he does but you got to show up look at a good football coach football coach has got the great game plan he's got it all under control all we got to do to win this game guys is show up and nobody shows up you gotta show up you got to play the game you got you got a game and this is life so our effort is indispensable our effort is not sufficient to bring about Union with God but it is necessary necessary but not sufficient we have to be properly disposed you know what if you're not properly disposed God can do nothing else with you it's the same in receiving Holy Communion we're working with Father Matt tomany to tomani to be able to have in our masses now a reading before receiving Holy Communion you must be in a state of grace you can't receive irreverently Paul tells us if you receive this irreverently you bring condemnation upon yourself now that must mean it's more than a piece of bread because if God saw how I eat a piece of bread like a piece of pizza as I'm running between meetings that's quite irreverent but the Holy Eucharist is not just a piece of bread it's the living presence of God it's the body blood soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ so you've got to be properly disposed before you come and receive Holy Communion or you don't come up you go to confession and then you come to Holy Communion this is what we're not teaching anymore it's the same in the spiritual life God is not going to allow you up to have Union with him if you're not properly disposed in a state of grace doing his will now holy communion blessed thank you fully doesn't have to have all the Perfection but you've got to be in a state of grace you gotta be now that's the second the third principle of Holiness for John Paul II we have to realize that much has to change in our life sin needs to go and it has many painful moments of extracting it from us the Bible tells us in Acts 14 22 through many tribulations are we able to enter the kingdom of God all right this is illumination of conscience we have to be aware that we got to to get rid of this sin and four we need to know that all the pain is worth it you have to have hope a desire for Union with God or you're not going to persevere so pray for hope that you have that all right now what we what really holds us back from this wholehearted response of God's call to us and to live a life of Christ is not really our external circumstances we use as an excuse all the time well you know father when the kids are out of the house then I'll be able to do my holy hour a week you know father when when I start the new job or after I get settled in my new job I'll be able to go to church again you know father when we find that new house we've been looking for months when we find that new house then we'll be able to focus on our faith nada external circumstances are not the cause what's the cause is your heart my heart your heart what is in there is it full of junk or is it emptied out like the the the the the the vessels at Cana that's the whole meaning of the vessels that the jars of Cana they're empty that's the whole point then Jesus comes in and fills them with the wine of the Holy Spirit so we got to empty ourselves our sluggishness of heart we like sin we like comfort we got to break that so the source of all unhappiness all misery is sin and its consequences that's the source of all our misery so the sooner that we go under the knife let God cut this out purify us of sin and its effects the sooner we do that the happier we will be and the better person we will be this is the concept of moral theology you're getting an entire course in moral theology right now you don't have to pay for it but please listen to it and at least try to live it right there is only one choice you got one choice no other choice in your life matters now what college you go to not what job you take not even if you become a nun or a priest versus married not even that the number one is you have a choice to either undergo transformation to be predisposed for heaven or to be a lost soul in hell am I continuing to do it my way you always hear me say what is the devil's favorite song you know the angels are musical beings that's why you got to be very careful the music your kids listen to or even you used to listen to I remember Father Mark Baron used to show us this this documentary called they sold their souls to rock and roll about rock and roll people that that claim that they they went to the dark Forces to give them success and stuff and I was like praying please don't let my favorite bands be on there you know Def Leppard and and sticks and REO Speedwagon none of them were thank goodness but a lot of them were the the angels are musical beings so the Fallen Angels use music this is why Sacred Music in the mass is so important because the Fallen Angels hate it so the devil's favorite song Frank Sinatra I Did It My Way I Did It My Way don't fall into that we gotta walk now why does God want us walking in the dark all right this comes from Catherine Doherty um she said faith is to believe without understanding faith is to believe without seeing so when God puts you in the dark you can't see so he forces you to live in faith now like in the world day becomes night very quickly I remember we went to filming it was unbelievable I never really realized it we went to film our EWTN show in our studio downstairs and I went into the studio it was light this is just the other night and we filmed for just a few minutes and I came out and it was Pitch Black that's how fast it happened so like in the world where Davey comes night within minutes God plunges You Into Darkness instantly so that like in the world only extreme Darkness not the lights of the city but only stream Darkness can you actually see what's beautiful like the stars do you ever know in Manhattan can you see the beautiful stars no because all the pollution and the lights and all that from the city and stuff you can't see the beautiful stars of God's creation but you go out to the pitch darkness of Wyoming where I was with the Carmelite monks you see stars like you've never seen before it's actually a clearer vision so God basically says you can't see in the dark you will have to follow me in faith without even knowing and you will believe all right let's watch this video Let's watch this video that explains what is the meaning of the Dark Soul it was an interview done by Brandon Vaught who we had on our EWTN show and um he was interviewing Bishop Baron which there's a lot of things I don't agree there's confusion on universalism and all that kind of stuff but here he just redressed the Dark Knight of the Soul let's watch this video what do we mean when we say Dark Night of the Soul what is that let me start this way Brandon um by a really interesting instinct and we see it all the time when people pray what's one of the physical things they most automatically do they close their eyes right now why is that why would people close their eyes when they pray well for very good reason the eyes order me toward this world so right now I'm looking at picture you on this camera there's lights around me and I'm going to get my car later and my eyes will be looking around to see how to get home and good that's what eyes are for they order me to the conditioned things of this world is God in that realm uh-uh God is not one of the conditioned things in the world he made them yes they're good yes we're not Puritans here we're not playing that game so that's always a danger oh I guess you're closing your eyes because you don't like the world no no no don't go down that path but God is not anything in the world so if I'm going to really come to communion with God to some degree I have to darken the senses I have to go through a Dark Night of the senses John the cross calls in now take the next step I got my eyes and my ears and my hands that order me to this world what else does that well my mind right my mind which uses words and ideas and Concepts and arguments and syllogisms and what's it doing it's making its way through this world so you're a lawyer your doctor you're a businessman you're whatever you are you're using your mind to make your way in a more sophisticated manner through this world so an animal can do it using its senses we do it with both senses and our minds right okay God doesn't despise any of that we're not we're not anti-intellectuals but God is beyond anything that words and Concepts and ideas and syllogisms can give us therefore I close these eyes when I pray Dark Night of the senses and I have to close if you want the eyes of the mind too they have to close because God is beyond what the mind can manipulate control understand right The Dark Knight of the soul and The Dark Night of the senses are about this process of quieting the body quieting the soul so as to open to a graced knowledge of that reality which transcends whatever the senses in mind can grasp so it's you know dark night sounds like such a bad thing but think about this for a second what happens on a really dark night look up and suddenly there look at the stars I I didn't even know they were there look at them the stars now now shine with a particular Brilliance because the other lights have been lowered right if I darken my ordinary way of perceiving now that which stands Beyond this conditioned finite world can begin to shine that's what he's talking about okay so that's a great clip of an understanding of what the Dark Knight of the soul is now let's talk a little bit about Pope Benedict XVI and what he said about John of the Cross now let's look at our next slide this is Saint John of the Cross I'm not going to do a whole thing on him you can look him up online great Saint he was born in the Spanish Town of people don't know this Avila the same town of Saint Teresa of Avila he was born right after the Reformation so God called him for a purpose born in 14 1542 and he became a Carmelite I love Carmelite spirituality some people seem to pick ignatians spirituality I love Carmelite spirituality right behind Mary and spirituality now he was ordained as a priest in 1567 and on check this out I bet you didn't know this this is fascinating on the day of his first mass he met Teresa of Avila wow talk about a gift from God right so he meets her who explained to him her plan to reform the carmelites now in his renewal of his religious profession he took the name of the cross so he was no longer just John he became known as John of the Cross because when he was helping to reform the carmelites he incurred great suffering great darkness and even imprisonment falsely accused so while he was preparing for a journey to Mexico he got ill he died he died at only 49 years old in 1591. now he is considered one of the most important not just Saints but poets he was a poet a poet in Spain and so he wrote four major works the two big ones that I'm getting all this information from let's look at our screen is the ascent of Mount Carmel that's about what we can do the active Dark Knight and then he wrote Dark Night of the Soul which is the passive part of the Dark Knight which is what God does it takes two God what was that uh was it Augustine the postures could probably correct me God created you without you but he will not save you without you God created you without you but he will not save you without you that's the whole basis of the Catholic faith everybody else attacks us you think it's all about you you think it's up no but you gotta cooperate you're only saved by God's grace but you got to cooperate with that Grace all right now both The Dark Knight of the census and Dark Night of the Soul as I said have an active part and a passive part the active part is what we do the passive part is what God does now the active is what we do as I said and and so in this book uh The Dark Knight of the Soul Saint John of the Cross basically described the passive part what God does all right we can't do this I could never live a celibate life going to bed every night alone the rest of my life without God's grace if somebody would have told me in college see God God works interesting ways some people know from the day they were born they're going to be a priest father Thaddeus father Alan Alexander they knew from the time they could walk they were going to be priests then there's others like me if somebody would have told me in college as I was dating and working and earning money that you're going to become a priest I would have cried no no now I I can't imagine doing every day for my priesthood please Lord don't let me screw it up I'm so thankful for my priest I I thank God on my hands and he's every day for my priesthood just don't let me mess it up Lord please don't let me mess it up that's only by Grace there's no way we could live a celibate life without the grace of God we can't do it that is not an active choice the active part of the Dark Knights and just like yeah you know I'm just going to try this for a while see how well I do you're not you got to get into the passive part of the Dark Knight which is God doing it but you got to let him take over all right so now um the purpose of the Saints is to show us that a transformation in Union with God Is Possible in 1990 John Paul II wrote an Apostolic letter called the master of Faith listen to what he said here this is really good quoting John Paul the Dark Knight educates a man so that he is able to discern regarding God's presence or absence this is our most common question where is God he no longer depends on Pleasant or unpleasant feelings that's what our whole society and World tells us today is important do it if it feels good love is not a feeling it's not an emotion love is an act of the will I choose to love you and so John Paul 2 says he no longer depends on Pleasant or unpleasant feelings to guide him for he is rather led by faith even in the dark and by love God remains his loving father in the hour of pleasure or in the hour of pain we got to remember that all right so let's go back here I want to see a couple more things on Dark Night of the census let's we're going to keep building up and why are we going up and down a great question was that it's at the break can you do you follow these in order or can you go through multiple yes God can have you all over this ladder so we're going to go back to Dark Knight of the senses and I talk about Father John Hardin one of my favorite priests God Rest his soul all right so in the active dark night we do voluntary things like penances mortifications um some of our older priests amazing father Casmir cruzanowski who just passed away was 90s late 90s he was in his 90s and still flagellating himself daily what a man what a priest what a guy what a servant of God that's my inspiration if a 90 year old man can do that how dare I complain about a traffic jam and so that's the active then we have the passive the first stage of purification through which God then gets involved you do it God sees your effort and he comes in it's kind of like uh the American Revolution the French were going to help us they had to see us stand up for ourselves and stand up to the brush and also say whoa you know that might be worth it I want to come in and help you got to help yourself God sees that and he rewards that all right so God then comes and leads the souls to Perfection Saint John of the Cross said God establishes the soul in the Dark Night of the senses that he may purify prepare and subdue its lower nature and unite it to the spiritual the higher Nature by depriving it of light that's so weird how could God make us grow by putting us in the dark you ever hear of the three days of darkness the three days of darkness many Saints and blesseds are talking about it God may put us in the dark so then we see how we are going to react are we going to trust are we going to live by faith are we going to end up killing each other now he says by depriving it of light and causing it to live by faith is that what we're going to do he gives the grace to detach from the senses so that the Dark Knight of the senses is to detach of the flesh then he gets us up to the illuminative way and then before we can get to the unitive we gotta go through Dark Knight of the Soul that's to detach us of the love of the spirit oh you know I'm holier than that person yeah yeah you know that person only goes to church five days a week I go seven days a week we got to be detached from that too that's Detachment of the spirit Dark Night of the senses detaches us from the flesh Dark Night of the Soul detaches us from spiritual Pride spiritual pride is deadly deadly now doesn't mean we we roll around and condone others in their sin because we don't want to offend them so work of Mercy to admonish The Sinner but we can't feel that we're the judge we judge the action we must judge the action that action is objectively wrong but we don't know this subject of only God does we can't judge the person we judge the action in our society today we can't judge the action because we're called haters they're separating they're not understanding the separation between judge the person and judge the action you have to judge the action it is wrong to have an abortion it is wrong to use contraception it is wrong to receive in a state of mortal sin okay now so this is what's going on this is this is what start night of the sense is Dark Night of the Soul also too I should clarify this if you hear me say Dark Night of the Soul or Dark Night of the spirit through the same thing Dark Knight of the senses is the flesh Dark Night of the Soul or the spirit is is the other the Soul and Spirit mean the same thing it's purpose well not technically every living thing has a soul even an animal has a soul people yell at me all the time yes an animal has a soul yes a plant has a soul every living thing has a soul the difference is only man has a spirit a rational Immortal soul an animal does not have a rational Immortal Soul a plant does not have a rational Immortal soul a human does and that's what's called the spirit so even though we use them interchangeably now the purpose is to detach the soul from the spiritual consolations that the people become spiritually prideful well you know obviously God loves me more than that person because I do 10 more hours of adoration than they do now odds are if you do 10 more hours of adoration yeah probably you are in a better spiritual position but not doing it just so everybody sees your name on the Adoration list and says wow look how holy they are that's the Pharisees so the purpose is detached from these spiritual constellations and embrace not hate the cross all right detached from all self-love even your own virtue we can become prideful in our virtue I remember one brother when we were in a meeting back when I was in formation and this brother outwardly said I just don't understand how anybody can struggle with pornography I don't get it I don't struggle with it okay you're talking to a room full of young men in their 20s not condoning one ounce of pornography horrible will rip your insides and your soul apart but there's a lot of spiritual pride in that statement because although you might not struggle with it then God is going to allow a big old Hammer from another direction to get you because that spiritual Pride instead you need to be looking hey man I get it I can understand what you're going through how can I help you that's the key all right now The Dark Knight of the Soul so that's the Dark Knight of the sense is leading into Dark Night of the Soul Dark Night of the soul the active part we strive for Holiness in our efforts and our Works of Mercy like I said this is what we do now the passage if I said is God takes over now why is it called a knight why do we call it a night well we distinguish it from the spiritual condition of being able to see like you do in the day we call it the night because during the day we can see at night we can't so we rely on faith we don't have light now why do we call it why do we also call it dark and I would just say the night of the Soul because the Dark Knight emphasizes its intensity all right so the purpose of such purification is to cleanse the soul of all self-love both of the Flesh and of the spirit of the flesh the senses Dark Knight senses of the spirit Dark Night of the Soul now this enables the person to be used by God get this this is awesome this enables the person to be used by God for the spiritual welfare of others why since the more holy a person is and the more you let God work on you the more meritorious and just your prayers are and sacrifices that you do for others so you can help be a mini co-redeemer you're not the Redeemer Jesus is the Redeemer but you can help save Souls that's why Jesus told Saint faustina help me save Souls all right next slide and I want to start picking it up here I know I'm running a little bit behind right um let's go to our next slide this is Thomas Dube one of my favorite books that I read in seminary um that first one I shared with you uh uh Martin Ralph Martin I read that book fulfillment of all desires in um Seminary and I want to talk about father Thomas Dube the Fire Within because I also read that when I was in navition all right he studied Saint John of the Cross and Saint Teresa of Avila now here's what he said like hell the feeling of divine rejection is total suffering that is the second night The Dark Night of the Soul but unlike hell individuals in this dark night The Dark Knight of the Soul love God they just can't figure out what the heck's going on all right they know what they do but they find no relief in knowing I know God's with me but I don't feel him so it causes even deeper suffering because when they love God so much they want to please him so much and they feel they aren't or otherwise God would be filling me with all these consolations you see it you see that connection right prayer seems impossible at this point so if you're struggling with prayer if you're getting dryness you might be going through this you might be going through not a loss of faith you might be going through purification in the Dark Night of the Soul this is the whole meaning of this talk people contact us all the time father I don't feel God where is God I'm suffering I'm suffering I'm suffering if you took the time to write the Marian fathers if you took the time to watch this live stream if you're taking the time to go to mass and you're feeling that way now if cousin Joey is just drinking and and and carousing and he doesn't care about God and he says well I don't feel God either it's not the same you may be having the dryness because God has got you on a plan God has got you on a plan this is important prayer may seem impossible and reassurances from your spiritual director seem to be no avail because you don't think they understand you this is important no they don't know what I'm going through you may be experiencing dryness you may be experiencing difficulty no sense of the presence of God because God is the most working on you than he has any time in your life again you can say the same thing about the people riding in the streets I don't feel God either probably not the same reason but you wouldn't be watching if God wasn't working right now Saint John says that the duration depends on what is needed to get your soul ready for final transformation and Union with God the highest level the unitive all right and this will be according to the degree of Holiness that God wants you to give remember when you're in heaven are we all going to be the same no you know the Saints tell us heaven is like a big Stadium all right you could be down on the 50-yard line on the field and have the greatest seats to the closeness of God who's there in the center or you could be way up in the nosebleed seats but everybody in the stadium is happy to be there kind of like the Super Bowl I don't care if I'm in the nosebleed or I'm down I'm just happy to be there each of us in heaven will be like a little thimble some will have a thimble be a thimble this big and some will be a thimble this big but guess what all will be filled you'll be filled to your capacity so the amount that God is in you in heaven may be this much but you're completely filled because your thimble is only this big or it might be this much how you do on this Earth is depending it depends on how big the thimble is that you are in heaven and how much light you radiate you will be seen in Heaven by how much light you you you radiate in Christ by how much light you radiated here on Earth all right so what does all this mean okay so um it may take a lifetime sometimes longer for those of us who end up in purgatory Purgatory if you end up in purgatory means you didn't get the job done on Earth means God still wanted to work on you but you didn't fully respond and he's giving you a chance at Purgatory that's why Purgatory is Mercy Purgatory is Mercy all right so we mentioned before the road map that will get us there let's show it one more time that brother Mark can show it on the screen all right so we got the purgative what is the purgative conversion getting rid of sin in your life then you get into the Dark Night of the senses this is to purify the flesh which repairs you for the next stage which is the illuminative here you turn to God because it's good I want heaven then we go through Dark Night of the Soul here we have purifying the spirit I'm purified of Pride I'm purified of of spiritual pride and that prepares us for the ultimate unitive Way the spiritual marriage this is what saint faustina focused on all right so um wrapping up here okay so we don't necessarily go through these stages in that order so here's the thing or all at once Saint Teresa tells us sometimes we go through them again and again or sometimes we even experience more more one more than another all right Chris Berg says our Theologian here the Dark Knights are essentially the death of your nature the old man is gone God allows us through the night The Dark Knight to cease living the way you've been living your nature and begin to live by grace only at night can you see the stars as I said all right it takes time for your vision to adjust when you go into darkness right you know when you first walk into a dark room and it's from the light you can't see anything but then as your eyes adjust right you start to see inside the dark room all right now we walk by faith not by sight second Corinthians tells us right so God is close to the soul during the dark nights even if it doesn't feel that way all right so the process let's look at our next slide is the active night of the senses and the passive night of the senses come from his two books the ascent of Mount Carmel and The Dark Knight of the Soul likewise the active and passive Knights of the Spirit come from a scent of Mount Carmel and Dark Night of the Soul all right so the active night of the senses again what we do this means it's our own effort as we said before I'm going to skip across here all the things that prevent us from uniting with God we need to eliminate they have to have a transformation all right a love of God emptying of our soul again this is what Cana did now this way things can't enter our soul to to clog it all right like being attached for instance to the late night news I used to be attached to the late night news I can't even watch it anymore but I used to be attached and then I realized it was keeping me from praying the Rosary so we can make those active choices now let's go to the passive night of the census you did your part God does his part all right God then comes in if you are willing to strip away the old self God will give you the God will give you the tools to do it all right God allows a period of aridity the believer perseveres then there's no consolation all right but the believer begins to experience the presence of God all right and to be able to make this Supernatural moving from the purgative to the illuminative this is deep this deep purification of the passive night and the senses is needed because without it we can't progress all right it stumbles we have sometimes stumbles but this is why it's important the soul needs to be humbled and we start with the flesh surprisingly this is why fasting is so important fasting remember Jesus said in the in the in the Bible that a demon like this can only come out through prayer and fasting all right so we walk the truth all right constellations are good but this has turned out to be a blessing to be in the dark all right next active night of the spirit now we're jumping up to the Dark Night of the Soul again now active what can you do to cooperate with God's grace on a spiritual level because everybody thinks the spiritual is just God Alone no you can do your part Saint John tells us to cleanse the faculties of your understanding your memory and your will you know that's what kills us how we think we understand things our memory the devil can use like a VCR how many times does God pull back in our mind the memories of the past it'll cause us into sin man do you remember when he said that about me man that was 18 years ago but I'm gonna get him back or maybe you had an improper relationship years ago and you want to keep calling it back in your mind the memory will kill you because the devil is Memorex he'll pop that VCR tape in there and he'll replay it over and over and over again you gotta cut ties with that memory and then the will and this is important because when when when our spiritual house has been set in order Satan can't get in all right this is what he talks about in the ascent of Mount Carmel all right so at this time you can't even really meditate in prayer you can only contemplate that's when you know you're growing if you can't really do meditation in prayer if you can't really focus on prayer shut it all down and just go before the Lord in silence and let him talk to you you might think you're failing and actually you're growing powerful stuff all right so I'm going to skip this um [Music] all right um yeah he points out St John of the Cross points out that imperfections of the senses have to be purified before you get to the higher faculties of the spirit understanding memory and will so here's the thing everybody why understanding membrane well okay here's what Saint John of the Cross says you better be distrustful of why the way you understand things that's why we need the church everybody says well no no you determine for yourself what is best the church leads us in what is best so you be distrustful of your own understanding you got to walk by faith next don't get bogged down in past Memories the devil will kill you with them so you got to have hope for the future don't dwell on the past my failures and even enjoy them cut ties what does Jesus say when when you put your hand to the plow don't look back you have hope for the future so you have hope that erases the memory and then being in the presence of God to direct your will to God's will is the memory and the will the will turn it over to God's will this prepares you then for Union with God and that is the passive night of the spirit or the soul this is God putting you in a dark tunnel this is where the big challenges of the Soul come the completion of stripping your soul of the faculties especially again your intellectual memory and your will your understanding as God empties you all right the soul becomes painfully aware of its wretchedness you see yourself as God sees you this causes Agony in some people do you know that the Saints tell us in the illumination of conscience which many say will come you know what the illumination of conscience is prior to the three days of darkness okay the illumination of conscience is where God allows us all to see ourselves as he sees us and he gives us a chance to convert then those will be given the last chance at the three days of darkness the final part of the chastisement but that illumination of conscience you will see yourself as God sees you and it says many will die on the spot I think they're the ones that I don't have any sin I don't have any sin my goodness to me I could go to confession and sin on the way to the bathroom outside the confessional so we we can't think that way we're wretched without God we can't make it without him and this is what God does he shows us this all right it's an illumination feeling forsaken is if one has lost forsaken by God deprived by others despised by others but God is with you final couple paragraphs for home stretch all right only then can the Soul experience profound peace and joy you know this is a total Paradox isn't it I always call God the lord of the paradox a soul is placed in the dark so that it can see a soul is stripped emptied so that it can be filled a soul is humbled so it can be exalted this is the whole meaning now God substantially tells dwell substantially in that part of the Soul which the devil used to have access to now you've shut him out he you god reigns you know Satan no longer can interfere with your communication with with God this is the highest degree of prayer this is contemplation pure faith trusting the essence of Saint faustina until an overwhelming experience of Union with God takes place this is contemplation this is the unitive way so we finish by saying what does all this mean what is all this that I just babbled about this is what it means Saint John of the Cross describes the night of the senses in the ascent of Mount Carmel read that book if you can he describes the passive night of the census God's part in the Dark Night of the Soul now passive means that not everyone enters voluntarily God could throw you in against your will why because he loves you that much the more of the Cross God allows you to share in the more he knows he can count on you sometimes God brings us into the darkness against our will in order for our own good you know the Dark Night of the Soul annihilates anything you believe about yourself that isn't true hear that again The Dark Night of the Soul annihilates anything in you that isn't true like I'm the best running back in the history of the world it's not true I am the smartest man in the church not true Dark Knight of the soul will annihilate anything in you that's not true if you think I'm just fine I I don't need any correction I'm doing just great God will annihilate that God will annihilate it he'll also annihilate anything that you think about God that isn't true that he's holding mercy and you don't have to be accountable to any of your sins that'll be annihilated or that he's only Justice and nothing you could do will please him and you'll never make it to Heaven he'll annihilate that too anything that's not true about you or God will be annihilated in the dark night all spiritual exercises are some way supposed to do that everything is Stripped Away except for your essential self all right your old self gone the new self emerges and when the darkness lifts you have Clarity like you've never had before this is amazing you have a sense of how to live now the rest of your life so the Dark Knight is a metaphor but it can be widely approved widely applied you know the whole world is going through a dark time right yeah but this is more spiritual desolation from the evil one not seeking God this is different in those cases more prayer is needed If You're Going Through The Dark Night the true Dark Knight more prayer is actually not the answer surprisingly Union with God is and sometimes you just do that by not praying at all just being in his presence more prayer doesn't always break us out of it we have to trust God as in control that's what breaks you out of it it is not a spiritual crisis but rather a path you must take to get to heaven we need to cut ourselves off from the bright lights of the world father how do I do that get a spiritual director get a spiritual director in some cases Even After the Dark Knight has accomplished what it it was said to do listen to this this kills me Saint John of the Cross said this I was like God geez Lord I I'm afraid to go through the full Dark Night of the Soul how may not be afraid because when I get through it it's going to be beautiful here's what Saint John of the Cross said in some cases even after the dark night is finished or accomplished its work God will let the Dark Knight continue in the person gee thanks Lord he will let it continue because then it becomes Redemptive for other people God has redeemed you and saved you because you've gone through it you're United with God now he's going to use you to stay in the dark night as a source of Grace for others how incredible now you are a suffering servant so if you are going through this if you're saying father I can't take this suffering anymore I can't take it ask God if this is what he's asking you to do save Souls through it this is Mother Teresa she touched the world I can't I don't have time to show it's just a one minute video but I gotta finish and wrap up here basically Mother Teresa Mother Teresa was the perfect example of this she accomplished that Dark Knight was accomplished in her but God let it continue so she could bring it to souls and she helped I believe millions of Souls all right so now we truly do finish just a few words Saint faustina let's take a look at our next slide saint faustina this is our Saint you know I said early faustina suffered for six years of discontent in the convent before Jesus appeared to her and before she wrote a word Jesus didn't appear to her to 1931. she came to the Convent in 1925. six years earlier and she wanted out people don't realize that she thought she knew what she wanted she wanted a stricter order with more prayer but instead as I said earlier she got menial jobs cutting potatoes watch weeding the garden but she trusted she trusted and persevered then when she was ready after she went through the dark night Jesus appeared to her and gave her Union this was in 1931. Jesus appeared to her when she was ready and she wrote The Diary so I finished now with the last slide Saint faustina's last word she ever wrote does anybody know off the top of your heads what the last word Saint faustine ever wrote were here they are today let's look on our screen this is the last paragraph of the Diary the last word Saint faustine ever wrote today the Majesty of God is surrounding me spiritual union there is no way that I can help myself to prepare better active Dark Night she did her part god comes in for the passive dark night she can't do any more she says this last paragraph summarizes everything we've talked about today there is no way I can help myself to prepare better God did it I am thoroughly unwrapped in God the unitive way my soul is being inflamed by his love transformation that she went through in the Dark Night of the senses in the Dark Night of the Soul I only know that I love and that I am loved that's all that matters not herself but God that is enough for me she is empty God filled her like queena with the wine of the Holy Spirit I am trying my best to be faithful throughout the day to the Holy Spirit and fulfill his demands she's continuing the active Dark Night I am trying my best for interior silence that's contemplation the highest level of Prayer silence before God in order to be able to hear his voice and guess what she finishes with dot dot dot you know what that means in writing that means there's more there's more she moved Beyond human language while writing that sentence in the middle of the last sentence Saint faustina ever penned she ended with dot dot dot meaning there's more she went beyond human language she achieved spiritual union with God wow that is our goal as Saint faustina to help you Ace asked Saint faustina to be with you asking faustina to show you that's why we have the Saints the Saints give us examples that it is possible if Saint faustina went through six years of doubting God thinking she's in the wrong place all of us have too Lord what are you doing with me I'm in the wrong place I'm not supposed to be here talk to Saint faustina and we invite all of you to continue helping to support this message of mercy be a Marian helper if you look up on your screen join our Marian family micrayers.org I don't care if you ever donate a penny I don't it's not what's important what's important is you start receiving these Graces and through the decree of the Holy See you receive the Graces of our prayers our masses our rosaries just like you were a Marian father become a Marian helper takes only a few minutes does not cost anything again I always say if if you can help us in our ministry God bless you thank you but that's not why that's not why you're a mere and helper or a Marion helper to pray for each other to do what faustina did for us to do what Saint John of the Cross and trees of Avila did for us their Grace from their sacrifices and dark nights are helping us to be here you don't think you're here by coincidence you're here by grace because other Saints before you poured Grace on the universe and God gave you a portion of it and that's why you're watching now other people have despaired and we don't want to lose them that's why one of the first things I ever did as a priest was write the book after suicide brother Mark and showed please if you know somebody who is suffering from depression and they've lost faith in God I will send this book for free I I again I don't care about the sale of it I want to get it in the hands of people who will at least be open to God's grace you see that book and you know somebody's struggling with depression call Peter right now he's in the office 413-298-1303 and I'll send it for free if you can pay for it God bless you but I want to get it to those in need and if you've lost a friend or a relative to Suicide I'll send it for free and so all of this is divine mercy and that's why the last thing is understanding Divine Mercy please read about God's mercy let it sink into the heart go from the head into the heart we all have it in the head we gotta push it into the heart then we can be in spiritual union like Saint faustina amen amen alleluia alleluia and may almighty God bless you the father and the son and the holy spirit amen thank you and God bless you hi I'm father Chris aylor the Marion fathers and I want to tell you about a Grace I hope you don't let pass by as a member of the association of Marion helpers you can receive all The Graces of our masses and prayers and penances just like you were a Marian priest or brother by decree of the Holy see it doesn't cost anything and it takes but a few seconds to sign up please visit micprayers.org or call us at 800-462-7426 God bless you foreign

Channel: Divine Mercy

Views: 369,207

Keywords: Dark Night, dark night of the senses, dark night of the soul, depression, John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, purgative, illuminative, unitive, consolation, desolation, explaining the faith, chris alar, Fr. Chris, Father Chris, Marians

Id: __27ewWQz_E

Length: 90min 40sec (5440 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 10 2022