Dark Night of the Soul

By: St. John of the Cross

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

Part poetic masterpiece, part mystic treatise, The Dark Night of the Soul, by 16th century Carmelite monk St. John of the Cross, addresses the feeling of being forgotten by the Presence of the Almighty that every Christian desirous of walking more closely with God must pass through in order to learn to walk by faith and not by sight.

Spiritual persons suffer great trials - by reason - of the fear which they have of being lost on the road, thinking that all spiritual blessing is over for them and that God has abandoned them since they find no help or pleasure in good things. Then they grow weary, and endeavor to concentrate their faculties with some degree of pleasure upon some object of meditation, thinking that, when they are not doing this and yet are conscious of making an effort, they are doing nothing.

Perhaps one of the most widely recognized of the mystical writings, St. John's classic Dark Night of the Soul is not only practical theology but a beautiful balm of healing to anyone whose heart has ever echoed the words of Christ, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?"

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I've wanted to read this for a long time...

I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting, but I'm glad I read/listened to it. If you're Christian, it's a good way to measure where you are on your journey.

Excellent and challenging

I purchased the paperback version displayed with the audiobook and found the poem online so at some point I can reread/hear and study aspects of this poem in more depth.

Guide for Mystical Live

Would you listen to Dark Night of the Soul again? Why?

This book has been my companion for many years, the aduio book now travels with me in the car.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The only characters in this book are God and your soul.

What does Michael Kramer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He brings a true understanding of the nature of St. John of the Cross, who can be very hard to read. Mr. Kramer's narration helps the listener to grasp the complex subject without any rush and torrent of words.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, for this is a book that must be taken in slowly and thought about.

Transformation

The transformation journey of St. John of the Cross. The nuns requested that he expand upon his beautiful mystical poem Dark Night. This piece of literature is his response. A classic work describing the interplay of spirituality and soul before the appearance of psychology.

Well read, not well organized.

The reader did a fine job on an old text (that might be difficult to process by audio only). The layout of the chapters is not well organized, and in a way made the listening feel longer. It would have been helpful to have had the chapters in line with the actual reading.