Hello, Merry Mystics! Here’s a song that’s more mystical than merry.

This Sunday, I’m teaching my congregation about St. John of the Cross. We’ll read his poem “The Dark Night,” and I’ll summarize some of his extensive commentary about the “dark night of the soul.” I think most of us have had times when God feels distant—I know I have. (So did Jesus, according to the crucifixion stories in Mark and Matthew. And so did the author(s) of a number of the Psalms, like 10, 22, and 34.)

Anyway, I wrote this song to go with that teaching.

Well, actually, it sounds sort of rational when I put it that way, but the truth is that the idea for the song came to me first, out of the blue, while I was looking out the window on a flight at the start of a week’s vacation. When I got home again, I planned the sermon to go with the song.

The song is called “The Dark Night (I Miss You, My Friend)”. I’ll put sheet music for it in our Free Stuff area.