Center for Carmelite Studies

Inaugural Lecture for the Endowed Chair of Carmelite Studies

 On the Feast of St. John of the Cross, Rev. Prof. Steven Payne, O.C.D., gave the inaugural (virtual) lecture entitled The Dark Night of the Soul, Yesterday and Today: Revisiting John of the Cross’ Classic Text and Symbol. In his profound and insightful presentation, Fr Payne examined variations on the phrase “dark night of the soul” that appear often today in discussions of major personal and societal challenges. He also spoke about the expression’s roots in John of the Cross’ poem and treatise of the same name, and raised questions about how it is applied (and perhaps sometimes misapplied) in contemporary contexts.You can view the lecture HERE