Dark Night of the Soul, part 1

I realize I've been going through something called "Dark Night of the Soul," originally written by St. John of the Cross who was a monk who lived from 1542-1591. Though this isn't something that has do do with apologetics, you may be interested in this anyway. Good discussion material! I'm going to copy this down from a book I have (though you can find another translation on the internet too). It just gives short excerpts from the whole work.

Introduction (just a part of it)
It was in confinement that his most famous work, The Dark Night of the Soul, was written. It describes the work of God upon the soul--not through joy and light, but through sorrow and darkness. The concept of the "dark night" has become an integral part of understanding the spiritual journey. Though he died four centuries ago, John of the Cross continues to exercise a significant influence on Christian spirituality.

Section 1: To Purify the Soul
. At a certain point in the spiritual journey God will draw a person from the beginning stage to a more advanced stage. At this stage the person will begin to engage in religious exercises and grow deeper in the spiritual life.
. Such souls will likely experience what is called "the dark night of the soul." The "dark night" is when those persons lose all the pleasure that they once experienced in their devotional life. This happens because God wants to purify them and move them on to greater heights.
. After a soul has been converted by God, that soul is nurtured and caressed by the Spirit. Like a loving mother, God cares for and comforts the infant soul by feeding it spiritual milk. Such souls will find great delight in this stage. They will begin praying wiht great urgency and perseverance; they will engage in all kinds of religious activities because of the joy they experience in the activities.
. But there will come a time when God will bid them to grow deeper. He will remove the previous comforts and consolation from the soul in order to teach it virtue and to prevent it from developing vice. The following sections deal with the seven capital sins. In each of the sins, it becomes clear how the soul has begun to misuse its spiritual comforts and why God must take it away in order to purify the soul from these imperfections.