The Ascent of Mount CarmelChapter III. Faith, the dark night of the soul. Proofs from reason and the Holy Scriptures

Faith, according to theologians, is a habit of the soul, certain and obscure. The reason why it is an obscure habit is that it makes us believe the truths which God Himself has revealed—truths surpassing the light of reason, and beyond the reach of all human understanding. Hence it is that the excessive light of the faith is obscure darkness to the soul, because it subdues that which is great, and destroys that which is little, as the light of the sun puts out all other lights so that they appear not, and subdues our power of vision. As the sun blinds the eyes and robs them of the vision which it gives, because its own light is out of proportion with, and stronger than, our power of sight, so the light

F2 of faith, by reason of its greatness and the mode in which God communicates it, transcends our understanding, which in itself reaches only to natural knowledge, though gifted with the power of obeying in that which is supernatural when it is the will of our Lord to bring it to a supernatural action. The understanding, therefore, can of itself know nothing but in a natural way, the beginning of which is in the senses, and in no other way. For this end it retains the forms and species of objects either in themselves or in their resemblances; for as the philosophers say, knowledge results from an object and the faculty. Ad objecto et potentia paritur notitia.

2. If a man were told of things he knows nothing of, and the like of which he has never seen, no light could be thrown on them, so far as he is concerned, any more than if they had never been spoken of in his presence. For instance, if you were told that there is in a certain island an animal which you have never seen, and no description of it were given you, so that you might compare it with other animals, your knowledge of it, or what it resembles, is not greater than it would have been if you had never been told of it. I will give another illustration which will make the matter still more clear: if you tell a person blind from his birth that one object is white, another yellow, he would never understand what you mean, though you may speak to him for ever, because he has never seen such colours or anything like. them, so as to have any opinion on the subject. The word colour only will remain with him, because that reaches him through the ear, but the form and figure thereof escape him because he has never seen them not exact in all points; faith tells us of things we have never seen, of things of which we had no previous knowledge, either in themselves or in aught resembling them, and to which we never could have attained but by revelation. The light of natural knowledge cannot inform us of these things, because they are out of proportion with our natural senses. We know them because we have heard of them, believing that which the faith teaches us, subjecting thereto our natural light, and making ourselves blind before it: for, as it is said by St. Paul, ‘faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.’¹ Faith is not knowledge that entereth in by any of the ‘senses, but rather the ascent of the soul to that which cometh by hearing. Faith, therefore, { far transcends the foregoing illustrations: for not only does it not produce evidence or knowledge, but, as I have said, it transcends and surpasses all other knowledge whatever, so that perfect contemplation alone may judge of it. Other sciences are acquired by the light of the understanding, but that of faith is acquired without it, by rejecting it for faith, and it is lost in its own light. Therefore it is said by Isaias, ‘If you will not believe you shall not understand. iF ~ 2

4. It is evident that faith is dark night to the soul, and it is thus that it gives it light; the more it darkens the soul the more does it enlighten it. It is by darkening that it gives light, according to the words of the prophet, ‘If you will not believe,’ that is, ‘if you do not make yourselves blind you shall not understand ’—that is, you shall not have light, the high and supernatural knowledge. ' 5. The faith was foreshadowed by the cloud which divided the Egyptians from the children of Israel at the entrance of the Red Sea. ‘It was a dark cloud enlightening the night.’* How wonderful a cloud !—its darkness illumines the night. Faith, then, which is a dark cloud, obscure to the soul—and night also, for in the presence of faith the soul is blind, without its own natural light—enlightens with its own obscurity, and illumines the darkness of the soul, so that the master becomes like the disciple. For man who is in darkness cannot be rightly enlightened except by darkness, as the Psalmist saith, ‘Day to day uttereth speech, and night to night showeth knowledge.’ t The ‘day’ is God in everlasting bliss, where it is perpetual day, who communicates and reveals His Word, the Son, to the blessed angels and the holy souls, who are also now day, so that they may know Him and rejoice in Him. ‘Night,’ which is the faith in the Church militant, where it is still night, showeth knowledge to the Church, and consequently to every soul, which is also night, because it does not as yet enjoy the clear beatific vision, and because in the presence of faith its natural light is extinguished. The teaching set before us here then is, that the faith, which is dark night, illumines the soul which. is in darkness, according to the words of the Psalmist, ‘Night shall be my light in my pleasures,’ } that is, in the pleasures of pure contemplation and of union with

God, the night of faith shall guide me. The soul, therefore, must be in darkness that it may have light, and be able to journey on this road.