The entrance into the Dark Night is often blocked by a fundamental disorientation: we attempt to navigate the "void" without a North Star. St. John of the Cross identifies the first movement toward conquering the appetites as a habitual desire to imitate Christ. However, many people attempt to imitate a projection rather than a Person. We must move past emotional sentimentality and into a rigorous, interiorized study of the Gospels. Without the blueprint of the Word, the soul lacks the necessary coordinates to bring its life into conformity with the Divine.
- Why true union with God is impossible without the mediation of the historical and mystical Christ.
- Understanding spiritual growth through the lens of craftsmanship—moving from external mimicry to internal mastery.
- Identifying why "not knowing" Christ’s reactions in Scripture leads to a breakdown in the active purgation of the senses.
- How to maintain the habit of imitation even when the internal state is dominated by frustration or sadness.
You have the concepts, but you need the tool. When the audio ends and the silence returns, don't go back to "trying harder." Use the "5-Minute Prayer Reset" to stabilize your interior life and prepare for the Divine Physician.
TRANSCRIPT
Hello there. Welcome to this week's episode of Midnight Carmelite. So this week we're going to talk about one of the things St. John of the Cross mentions about how to enter the night. He talks about the active and passive. I'm going to break it down in subsequent episodes because I think this is a confusing topic for people. You'll either have one case where someone will say, "How do I even know I'm in the dark night?" And then another case, you'll have people say, "When I'm in it, what degree am I in?" So not knowing whether or not you are in it is the first one, and then it's figuring out where you are.
John mentions one of the first things that a person who wants to conquer their appetites—which is how you enter—must do. He says he wants you to have a habitual desire to imitate Christ in everything you do. What struck me when I read that sentence was how many of us can honestly say we know how Christ would act in a given situation. Furthermore, the only way to know that is to have internalized scripture, what the saints say through tradition, and magisterial documents that deal with the mystical body of Christ. To imitate Christ means you have to know Christ.
What does that imitation consist of? Let's use a simple example. Let's say you want to be a carpenter. Jesus was an artisan carpenter, but although he was God, he obviously spent time with other carpenters and artisans to learn the craft. In other words, he went through understanding how to do that art. It's through repetition, talking with others, and seeing—and that's the imitation. In any sort of endeavor that humans do, we start by imitating. We start by saying, "Okay, if I want to play basketball really well, how do good basketball players play?" You start seeing what's going on and practicing yourself. That's the first step.
What happens after that is you start to see things in yourself. You realize your limitations in playing basketball or being a carpenter and figure out how to overcome them. In the case of artisan carpentry, do I need different tools? Do I need a different workspace? Do I need to practice how I do things? Same with basketball. Is my shot good? Am I good at rebounds? From imitation, you start to figure out the nature of what you're trying to master. Then over time, you start to see things you wouldn't have seen before that are part of that art. You'll say, "When I'm making a shot in basketball from this angle, based on how I shoot, I'll try to look at this part of the backboard." On the carpentry side, you'll say, "When I'm dealing with this type of wood or tool, this is how I do it. This is what makes it look this way, and this is the process." That goes deeper into that imitation but also allows you to master it.
If we're called to union with God—and all union with God must come through the mediator, which is Jesus Christ—then union with God can only come through the imitation of Jesus Christ. John says the reason and how you do this is by bringing your life into conformity with his. You do this by knowing the Gospels, knowing the Old Testament (because all scripture reveals Christ), and knowing the New Testament letters—St. Paul, Peter, James, John, the whole thing. All of that is so you know Christ and can bring your life in conformity with his. John says you must study his life to do this. Otherwise, you can't imitate him and behave as he would. So we have to study scripture. That's number one.
We have to know how Christ reacted in various situations. If our goal is to live a Christ life, are we familiar enough with Christ? Do we possess the habit of imitating Christ exteriorly and internally? If we're being honest with ourselves, probably not to the degree that we should. Lent is coming to a close, but we need to start studying Christ. In that study, and out of love for him, we must imitate him even if it's hard. What would Christ do here? He'd react this way. I don't want to react that way, but I'm going to do it anyway, even though internally I'm frustrated or sad. I'm going to try and be like Christ would. Most importantly, to even get to that point, you have to spend time with the Gospels at a minimum to know Christ so that you can imitate him. You study him so that you can imitate him, and by imitating him, you will bring your life into conformity with his life. And that's everything. All right, well, that's sufficient for now, and I will see you guys next time.
