Well, some good idea-candy today. I’ve been reading about the sins of mysticism tonight, and I see this:
Purgation is the cleansing stage which begins with self-examination and penitence and leads to a holy life. Sixteenth-century monk, St. John of the Cross, is best known for his description of this stage which he called the “dark night of the soul.” During the dark night the soul of an individual feels abandoned by God, spiritually dry and at the point of despair. John saw this as a way in which God purified the soul by suffering, for only when the soul has been purified is it in a position to experience a rapturous union with God. This purgation involved detachment from the things of the world including material and physical desires; and mortification, the building of new paths to replace the old ones now rejected.
But I wonder. Watch this clip of my favorite preacher, Lord Buckley, and see if you don’t catch him describing the love of God overtaking someone right in the middle of a sinful act.