“The Lord intends to dwell in the dark cloud.” (1 Kings 18:12)
In dark consolation, the soul is afflicted by darkness of understanding and knowledge, dryness in prayer or in the course of doing good works, or both—that is, they suffer spiritually, in their intellect, imagination, memory, and feelings—while at the same time they are drawn interiorly toward God, who consoles them with spiritual joy, which resides in the will.
“Docta ignorantia” or “learned ignorance” is a type of dark consolation, which I have described as follows:
The light of God appears as darkness to the soul because the soul in its existential imperfection is unable to see God in His utter perfection. “That which is light in God and of the loftiest clarity is dense darkness for the soul.” [Saint John of the Cross, The Dark Night of the Soul, II, 16]
Yet this vision of God, however imperfect, is already knowledge of God, powerfully drawing the love of the heart. Cardinal Nicolas of Cusa uses the expression “learned ignorance” or “docta ignorantia” to describe this knowledge of God in darkness. “There is, therefore, in all such love, by which one is carried into God, a cognition, even though one remains unaware of what it is one loves. Thus there is a coincidence of knowledge and of ignorance, or a learned ignorance.” [Edmond Vansteenberghe, Autour de la Docte Ignorance: Une Controverse sur la Theologie Mystique au Xve Siecle (Munster: Aschendorff, 1915), 112, in Christian Spirituality: High Middle Ages and Reformation, edited by Jill Raitt in collaboration with Bernard McGinn and John Meyendorff (New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1987), pages 171-72]
https://oddsandendsgonzalinhodacosta.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-four-types-of-consolation-and.html
The “darkness” of Saint John of the Cross stands for obscurity. God is obscure to the soul because of God’s infinite mystery.
Darkness is a way of apprehending God in faith and loving God who is known in the darkness of faith. This way has the character of trial in faith, love, and many other virtues. That is why darkness in the spiritual life is a way of journeying toward God and growing in the love of God.
https://oddsandendsgonzalinhodacosta.blogspot.com/2024/01/year-of-prayer-2024.html
There are two types of darkness in Christian spirituality—desolation and consolation.
Desolation is the darkness of separation from God resulting from sin, and it admits of varying degrees.
It is the darkness David experiences after his adultery with Bathsheba, and when afterwards, to prevent its discovery by her husband, Uriah the Hittite, David arranges the murder of his loyal soldier.
Your wrath has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me. My only friend is darkness. (Psalm 88:17, 19)
Saint Ignatius of Loyola accounts for the darkness of desolation in the Spiritual Exercises, 322:
“Because we have been tepid and slothful or negligent in our exercises of piety, and so through our own fault spiritual consolation has been taken away from us.”
Consolation, too, is darkness—because God is a mystery, he is essentially inaccessible and fully incomprehensible even when he somehow reveals himself to us.
He made darkness his cloak around him; his canopy, water-darkened storm clouds. (Psalm 18:12)
“Dark” consolation, which varies in severity, is caused by God not as punishment but as a test of the soul. See Spiritual Exercises, 322:
“Because God wishes to try us, to see how much we are worth, and how much we will advance in his service and praise when left without the generous reward of consolations and signal favors.”
Advancing despite being afflicted by this darkness is, paradoxically, accompanied by its own particular consolation. Saint John of the Cross describes his own singular experience of dark consolation in his poem, “Dark Night”—see, for example, verses 1-5:
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THE APOPHATICISM OF THE CLOUD OF UNKNOWING
ReplyDeleteThe theology of The Cloud dovetails readily with the tradition and charism of Carthusian spirituality. Contemplative and apophatic, The Cloud is suited to monastic or hermetic life.
According to the author whose precise identity is lost to history, God is, as it were, a “Cloud of Unknowing,” because God’s essence, which is infinite, cannot be adequately known or fully loved.
“The first time you practise contemplation, you’ll only experience a darkness, like a cloud of unknowing. You won’t know what it is. You’ll only know that in your will you feel a simple reaching out to God. You must also know that this darkness and this cloud will always be between you and God, whatever you do. They will always keep you from seeing him clearly by the light of understanding in your intellect and will block you from feeling him fully in the sweetness of love in your emotions. So, be sure to make your home in this darkness. Stay there as long as you can, crying out to him over and over again because you love him. It’s the closest you can get to God here on earth, by waiting in this darkness and in this cloud.”—The Cloud of Unknowing, Chapter 3
The Cloud teaches us that God, who is infinite, is known and loved in the darkness of mystery, and that this knowledge and love does not fully satisfy the heart, which must prepare for the union of knowledge and love with God in the next life.
Why is the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing often said to be a Carthusian?
To be continued
Gonzalinho
THE APOPHATICISM OF THE CLOUD OF UNKNOWING
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In the first place, the focus of The Cloud is on contemplative spirituality, especially about apophatic prayer.
“He sees himself as a spiritual director who is entirely loyal to the teachings of the church and in particular, the doctrinal formulae as articulated by St. Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas. It is also clear that he hails from either Nottinghamshire or Leicestershire in England because of the dialect of English that he wrote in. He comes across as a man who is not without a sense of humour and who is at times scornful of certain theologians who are too caught up in theorising.
“Unlike Julian of Norwich, the author of The Cloud has little to say about visions or about meditations on the Passion of Christ. He tries to counterbalance the influence of Richard Rolle’s The Fire of Love, a very popular text at the time, which emphasised intense ecstatic experiences.
“…The biggest influence on the author of The Cloud was Dionysius, who was a 5th century Syrian monk who wrote about mystical theology. The English author in his own writings stays very close to the Dionysian stages of the mystical journey i.e. purgation, illumination and union. Dionysius, reflects the Eastern church’s emphasis on the apophatic tradition, where it is understood that God cannot be directly grasped by the concepts of the mind but rather is perceived by what cannot be known about God. The Cloud author became familiar with these ideas through the Victorines, French Augustinian canons who had a school of mysticism in 12C Paris. They in turn were also influenced by the Desert Father, Gregory of Nyssa who spoke of a cognitive darkness necessary for spiritual illumination. Of course Gregory’s words hark back to the much earlier experience of St Paul, who blinded on the road to Damascus, finally sees the Light.
“Unlike Julian of Norwich, the author of The Cloud is also heavily influenced by both the doctrine of St Augustine e.g. the concept of original sin as well as his mystical experiences and also the precise doctrinal statements in the philosophy of St Thomas Aquinas which became known as Scholasticism.
“…Unlike the re-assuring tone of consolation in Julian’s Revelations of Divine Love, the author of The Cloud warns his intended reader:
“‘Do not willingly and deliberately read it, copy it, speak of it, or allow it to be read, copied, or spoken of, by anyone or to anyone, except a person who, in your opinion, has undertaken truly and without reservation to be a perfect follower of Christ.’
“…For this English author, there are a number of signs that suggest readiness for contemplation. These include, a longing for God, a passion for silence, a reluctance to pray using the usual formulaic prayers. In addition, there can be the distressing experience of being unable to think clearly and the mind feels dulled to the point of feeling ignorant about everything. The common practice of the time of discursive meditation where one reflects on the passion of Christ or scenes from the Gospel must now be left behind.
“Instead we must put between ourselves and all that we know a ‘cloud of forgetting’. This cloud of forgetting allows us to let go of our pre-occupations about ourselves and the world around us. And in front of us we must place a ‘cloud of unknowing’ a willingness to go into the dark to meet God without the ability to see or understand in any conventional sense. We are then invited to pierce this cloud of unknowing with an arrow of love i.e. our love and longing for God. In this process, if we stay true to it over time, we are oned with God. We overcome the separation experienced by the sin of Adam.”
https://dominiccogan.com/the-unknown-author-of-the-cloud-of-unknowing/
—Dominic Cogan, “The Unknown Author of The Cloud of Unknowing,” Dominic Cogan: Mindfulness & Wellbeing Facilitator, n.d.
To be continued 2
Gonzalinho
THE APOPHATICISM OF THE CLOUD OF UNKNOWING
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Another reason why the author of The Cloud was probably a Carthusian is that its composition coincides with the establishment and flourishing in pre-Reformation England of at least nine Carthusian monasteries (they have always never been numerous).
“In 1215, the Fourth Lateran council mandated annual confession and communion for all Christians. This meant that lay people needed a knowledge of their faith that they had never had before. How can you confess something you don’t know?
“To help, English Archbishop Pecham issued a course on the fourteen articles of faith, the ten commandments of the Law and the two commandments of the gospel, the seven works of mercy, the seven virtues, the seven vices, and the seven sacraments. These essentials were covered four times a year in the people’s language.
“This led to a laity with an unprecedented knowledge of their faith who were ready to take on more practices and deeper understanding. The great mystic writers of the 14th century, Richard Rolle, Walter Hilton, Julian of Norwich, and the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing wrote within this developing spiritual culture.
“Around the same time, the Carthusians an order of monks that started in France in the 11th century was growing in popularity in England. By the early 15th century, England was home to nine Carthusian monasteries.”
https://www.wilramsey.com/the-cloud-of-unknowing/
—Wil Ramsey, “Throwback Thursday: The Cloud of Unknowing,” Wil Ramsey: Spiritual Formation in a Digital World, September 26, 2013
Hindsight, they say, is 20/20, and with the long perspective of more than six centuries we can readily conclude that The Cloud well deserves its established place among the classics of Christian spirituality, Roman Catholic in particular.
The anonymous author of The Cloud synthesized centuries of development in contemplative spirituality, especially that of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, the Augustinians, the Benedictines, the Cistercians, and the Carthusians, building on Scholastic theology and the apophatic theology issuing principally from Pseudo-Dionysius.
The author is a spiritual master. He defined contemplative spirituality according to his own characteristic synthesis and wit.
Gonzalinho
The theology of The Cloud of Unknowing (1380) coincides with that of Hugh of Balma, The Roads to Zion Mourn (c. 1241-1297).
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“The Lord intends to dwell in the dark cloud.” (1 Kings 18:12)
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Darkness is not dark for you, and night shines as the day. Darkness and light are one. (Psalm 139:12) Darkness, light—they are the same.
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