"As a Carmelite monk, the 16th-century Spanish mystic St. John of the Cross was well trained in the systematic theology of St. Thomas Aquinas. In Dark Night of the Soul, St. John's sharply organized mind gives clean shape to his mystical belief in a loving Being somewhere outside the realm of feeling, thought, or imagination, who can only be known through love. Dark Night of the Soul describes the process of purgation, first of senses, and then of spirit, that precedes the soul's loving Union with God. To quote from this book would detract from the coiled power of its tightly focused picture of the soul's progress; suffice it to say that there has never been a better book for discouraged Christians. When you cannot understand what or why you believe, but you find yourself unable to abandon faith, look to St. John for help."

--Michael Joseph Gross


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Audio Files	128Kbps MP3	VBR MP3
Introduction and Prologue	8.5M
Bk. 1, Chs. 0-2: The First Stanza, Beginners and Progressives, and Problems of Beginners with Pride.	18.1M
Bk. 1, Chs. 3-5: Imperfections of Spiritual Greed, Lust, and Wrath	14.3M
Bk. 1, Ch. 6: Imperfections of Spiritual Gluttony	10.6M
Bk. 1, Ch. 7: Imperfections of Spiritual Envy and Sloth	6.0M
Bk. 1, Ch. 8: Explanation of the first line and the Dark Night	6.5M
Bk. 1, Ch. 9: Signs that someone is in the Night of Sense	14.1M
Bk. 1, Ch. 10: How souls should conduct selves in the Night of Sense	7.8M
Bk. 1, Ch. 11: Explains the next three lines of the poem.	9.5M
Bk. 1, Ch. 12: Of the benefits which this night causes to the soul.	15.9M
Bk. 1, Ch. 13-14: Other benefits of the Night of Sense. Expounds last line of first stanza.	21.7M
Bk. 2, Chs. 1-2: Begins to treat of the dark night of the spirit. Other imperfections of proficients.	12.2M
Bk. 2, Chs. 3-4: Annotation of what follows. Exposition of the first stanza	8.9M
Bk. 2, Chs. 5-6: Pain and grief of this night. Other kinds of pain from it.		20.5M
Bk. 2, Chs. 7-8: Afflictions and constraints of the will. More pains of the soul.		20.3M
Bk. 2, Ch. 9: Darkness in the spirit comes to purge and illumine it.	5.2M
Bk. 2, Ch. 10: Explains this purgation fully by a comparison.	9.4M
Bk. 2, Chs. 11-12: As fruit of these constraints the soul finds itself with vehement passion of Divine love. This night is purgatory.	16.5M
Bk. 2, Chs. 13-14: Delectable effects wrought in the soul by this dark night of contemplation. Last three lines of stanza explained.	20.0M
Bk. 2, Chs. 15-16: The second stanza. Explains how the soul walks securely though in darkness.	21.2M
Bk. 2, Ch. 17: Explains how this dark contemplation is secret.	14.0M
Bk. 3, Ch. 18: Explains how this secret wisdom is likewise a ladder.	7.3M