This slim and readable volume of 259 pages is a box of jewels that give lustre to John of the Cross’s masterpiece, his Commentary on his poem, The Dark Night. Following a succinct Foreword by Professor Richard P. Harvey, from San Diego in California, Foley gives us a short Preface, where we are given a taste of his psychological insights that throw light on experience, as the subtitle of his book intimates.
The brief but invaluable Preface is followed by the author’s helpful “Orientation for the Reader”, which gives us the historical context for John’s poem, written just after his escape from prison, and his Commentary written some years later. Further, Foley gives us guidance on reading the poem: we must allow the images to resonate in our souls. The notes referenced in each chapter are found at the end of the book, followed by a useful index.
The chapters in Foley’s book follow those of John’s Commentary, so it is easy to align the two and absorb John’s poetic words. This is not yet another commentary on The Dark Night, but an exposition that gives us a psychological bedrock. It provides meaning and purpose to John’s words and enables us to engage with what he is striving to tell us.
It is a bonus that Foley’s book can be studied without a copy of John’s Commentary to hand. as he gives the reader the appropriate texts from John’s work. In addition, Foley quotes St Teresa of Avila and a host of other writers to elucidate his psychological explanations, such as lines from Charles Dickens’ Scrooge, St Augustine’s Confessions, George Eliot’s Middlemarch. We are thereby grounded in reality.
Each chapter ends with a short “For Reflection” section that further explains John’s meaning and gives the reader a searching question. From the start, Fr Marc engages us in a direct, honest and compassionate manner. To illustrate this, we will look at the chapters in Book One.
Book One
Foley recognises John’s “psychologically and spiritually astute analysis” (p. 5) that aims, not to shame us but to heal us. In particular, he exhorts us to pay attention to our emotional reactions as we read this and the following chapters on the imperfections of beginners. He reveals how John helps us distinguish the emotional from the spiritual, a core theme throughout his book.
The second chapter, Spiritual Pride, hits home in describing the feeling that we have earned consolations through our own efforts, and the next chapter, Spiritual Avarice vividly describes the “spiritual dilettante and the spiritual collector.” (pp. 22 – 27). This longer chapter is divided into subheadings that focus our minds on John’s pattern of thought: for example, The Blindness of Beginners, Dissimulation, Fragile Image, Beginners and Humility. Just reading these headings will strike a chord with the reader, who will find digestible explanations and psychological formulations that make absolute sense of John’s prose.
We move on to the chapter on Spiritual Lust, which is an eye-opener on the link between our mental life, our emotions and our bodies (e.g. high blood pressure and lower back pain). Foley reminds us, “a peaceful mind promotes physical health”. (p. 31). There follows a revealing section on the impact of unwanted impure and sexual thoughts. The temptation arises to abandon prayer as these unbidden thoughts engender fear that they will emerge and distract our prayer. Efforts to suppress them makes it worse, for, as Foley tells us, avoidance is a form of attention. Here, the answer lies in The Cloud of Unknowing: we try to look beyond them – over their shoulder!
The fifth chapter, Spiritual Anger, and sixth, Spiritual Gluttony are made equally comprehensible, with the help of Romeo and Juliet, who are in love with the feeling of being in love. Similarly, a novice can love excessive fasting and be deceptive and lacking in obedience when told to eat more. He or she is in love with the feeling of fasting.
We move on to chapter seven, Spiritual Envy and Sloth. This is an important chapter on the root of sadness: the sadness of envy when others are rewarded, and the sadness of sloth. Sloth, or “acedia”, describes a subtle and complex type of depression where we sink into a black hole of the spirit and loss of self. If we freely choose to succumb to it, we “sink deeper and deeper into depressive sadness.” (p. 67)
Foley points out that Imperfections and corrosive attitudes are exposed in the dark night and may or may not be removed by grace. It is the struggle to overcome them that brings growth in the love of God and love of neighbour. (p. 66)
Aligned with John’s Commentary, chapters eight to fourteen of Book One are given titles such as, Fire of Love, Self-knowledge, Benefits of the Night of Sense and a long chapter on The Trials of the Committed Soul. We then move on to Book Two, the night of the spirit.
Book Two
The night of the spirit, Foley tells us, is not separate from but unified to the night of sense described in Book One. It acts on a different level of our being. Again, Fr Marc faithfully follows John’s chapters, giving each a relevant heading. From One Dark Night (2.1-3), we move on to the Impact of Contemplation (2.4) and the famous image of The Burning Log (2.10). Chapters 16-20 deal with Walking Securely, Secret Wisdom, The Secret Ladder and the Ladder of Love. Again, these titles themselves are alluring; they make one want delve into John’s Commentary and find out more. Chapter 21, Departing in Disguise, and 22, My House Being Now All Stilled, allude directly to John’s poem.
Foley finishes his journey into The Dark Night with a brief but brilliant Conclusion. “Far from the madding crowd”, the soul finds peace. (p. 233)
This book is indeed a treasure chest worth opening and spending some time marvelling at the lustre of the jewels within.
