MSI Press Blog

  The Dark Night of the Senses is the purification of how we experience God. The Dark Night of the Soul is the purification of how we relate to God at the deepest level of our being. They are related, but not interchangeable. One is the doorway; the other is the interior passage. 🌑 The Dark Night of the Senses This is the first night in St. John of the Cross’s map of spiritual transformation. It happens when: Prayer becomes dry, flat, or strangely unsatisfying Old spiritual consolations no longer “work” The senses — imagination, emotions, spiritual sweetness — stop cooperating You can’t go back to your old way of praying, but you can’t go forward either This night is not punishment. It is weaning . God withdraws the “milk” of spiritual feelings so the soul can grow beyond needing emotional feedback to stay faithful. The person is being moved from sense-based spirituality to faith-based spirituality . It is uncomfortable, but it is not annihilating. It is pruning, not uprooti...

  Sula, parish cat, venerates the cross on Good Friday Good Friday is the most solemn day of the Christian year — the day the Church stands at the foot of the Cross. Catholics do not “celebrate” Good Friday; they  commemorate  it with silence, fasting, and a liturgy unlike any other. It is the only day of the year when the Church does not celebrate Mass, underscoring the starkness of Christ’s death. Good Friday is part of the Triduum, the three‑day passage from the Last Supper to the Resurrection. If Holy Thursday is intimacy and command, Good Friday is exposure and surrender — the moment when love refuses to turn back. The Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion The central act of Good Friday is the  Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion , which has three movements: the Liturgy of the Word, the Veneration of the Cross, and Holy Communion. 1. The Entrance in Silence The liturgy begins without music or greeting. The priest enters in silence and  prostrates himself  — the only...

  For Catholics, the Eucharist is not only a symbol but a mystery of presence. “Transubstantiation” is the Church’s way of saying that, at the consecration, the bread and wine truly become the Body and Blood of Christ — not metaphorically, not poetically, but sacramentally and substantially. Other Christian traditions honor Communion deeply but understand it differently: as a memorial, a spiritual presence, or a symbolic act of unity. Catholics, by contrast, see the Eucharist as the heart of the Church — Christ given to us, not just remembered by us. This belief shapes Catholic worship, spirituality, and identity. It is why the Mass is central, why reverence surrounds the altar, and why the Eucharist is called “the source and summit” of Christian life. It is not meant to exclude others, but to express the depth of the mystery Catholics receive. image and some verbiage provided by AI post inspired by  Being Catholic in Troubled Times  (Dennis Ortman) book description: Thes...