Category Archives: Dark night of the soul

The Holy Saturday (or Gethsemane) experience; the soul’s dark night; the chrysalis phase of faith, or the struggle of emerging from the chrysalis; Psalm 88

Coping with our faith crises

Posted on August 11, 2016 by

One of the problems with the usual model of spiritual or religious development we’ve inherited is that it too often places the ‘spiritual crisis’ only in the past – ‘I was lost, now I’m found’. So we’re allowed the single … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark night of the soul, Faith, Scepticism and doubt, Stages of faith, The faith journey | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

An experience of divine absence

Posted on June 24, 2016 by

No, this isn’t a post about Brexit, though it does feel strangely appropriate under the circumstances. In the past I’ve written about an experience of grace, a time when I felt a deep and unexpected sense of God’s goodness towards … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism/agnosticism, Dark night of the soul, Scepticism and doubt, The faith journey | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

More things to hold onto in hard times

Posted on February 8, 2016 by

Picking up from where we left off last time… 4. There is always hope “Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.” When we’re in the midst of the dark night it can … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark night of the soul, Suffering | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Things to hold onto in hard times

Posted on January 29, 2016 by

Last time I was suggesting ways we might respond to times of global trouble such as now. But what about responding to the times of trouble in our own personal lives? I keep coming back to suffering, because it bothers … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark night of the soul, Suffering, Tragedy | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Music, sorrow and hope

Posted on April 12, 2014 by

This is kind of a Good Friday post, but I’m putting it up a bit early as I’ve got other things planned for Good Friday… Tragedy transfigured – Concierto d’Aranjuez One of my favourite childhood pieces of classical music was Joachim … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark night of the soul, Good Friday, Music, Suffering, Tragedy | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

On shutting out the light

Posted on February 11, 2014 by

I am the great sun, but you do not see me, I am your husband, but you turn away… (Charles Causley) Last time I was asking how we’d respond if the worst were to happen. Would we hate God forever? … Continue reading →

Posted in Anger at God, Dark night of the soul, Grace, Hell, Love of God, Salvation, Suffering, Tragedy, Universalism | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

When the very worst happens

Posted on February 5, 2014 by

In recent posts I’ve been looking at questions around God’s leading and speaking, and God’s plans for our lives. But what happens when everything appears to have gone completely wrong, awry, off course? What are we to do when the … Continue reading →

Posted in Anger at God, Dark night of the soul, Divine intervention, Evil, Love of God, Suffering, Tragedy | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The nightmare after Christmas – the dark side of the Nativity

Posted on December 28, 2013 by

One of the things I do for work is to schedule ‘on this day in history’ tweets vaguely relating to our broad subject area. We’ve currently got an exhibition on about the artist J.M.W. Turner, and so I’ve been researching … Continue reading →

Posted in Christmas, Dark night of the soul, Evil, Incarnation, Mental health, Psychology, Tragedy | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Life as tragedy and comedy

Posted on November 10, 2013 by

I didn’t originally intend this as a reflection for Remembrance Sunday, but I happen to be posting it today and it seems strangely appropriate… If all the world is a stage and each of us merely players, what kind of … Continue reading →

Posted in Church calendar, Dark night of the soul, Future, Love of God, The faith journey, Tragedy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments