Dark Night of the Soul

substance to the shadows

In case you're wondering why the statues of Jesus and Mary have purple shrouds over them, it's because they're in mourning for Lent over Jesus' impending crucifixion. The technical definition of "Dark Night of the Soul" is what Jesus felt as He was dying on the cross, when He cried out, "Oh, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Very religious people and saints, like Mother Teresa, are said to have experienced this same Dark Night of the Soul (in Mother Teresa's case, it's documented in her letters) -- a feeling of God having turned His back on them. Paradoxically, this experience makes them closer to Jesus in that they know what He went through on the cross. For them, as I believe in Mother Teresa's case, this Dark Night of the Soul can last for years. It has become a term, however, that people use to describe general desolation or despair that is not necessarily religious... although such depression can make one feel, that if there is a God, He has turned His back on them! Anyway, this is just my layperson's definition. If a priest, nun, theologian, or anyone who knows better is reading this and I am wrong, let me know :)