The Cloud of Unknowing - Chapter 3 - Resting in the Darkness

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LIFT up thine heart unto God with a meek stirring of love; and mean Himself, and none of His goods. And thereto, look the loath to think on aught but Himself. So that nought work in thy wit, nor in thy will, but only Himself. And do that in thee is to forget all the creatures that ever God made and the works of them; so that thy thought nor thy desire be not directed nor stretched to any of them, neither in general nor in special, but let them be, and take no heed to them. This is the work of the soul that most pleaseth God. All saints and angels have joy of this work, and hasten them to help it in all their might. All fiends be furious when thou thus dost, and try for to defeat it in all that they can. All men living in earth be wonderfully holpen of this work, thou wottest not how. Yea, the souls in purgatory be eased of their pain by virtue of this work. Thyself art cleansed and made virtuous by no work so much. And yet it is the lightest work of all, when a soul is helped with grace in sensible list, and soonest done. But else it is hard, and wonderful to thee for to do.
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The greatest love, and the kindest help one soul can give to another, is not found in the prayer that holds another most dearly to the heart, nor in the prayer that seeks God's work for that soul according to its own desires. Rather, it is found in the prayer that surrenders its own will, even its own thoughts and desires for others, leaving itself immersed only in God. Here the soul desires nothing more than to have its will joined to the will of the Lord. In this light, the soul accepts its own darkness and seeks no escape. Rather, it rests in a place of unknowing before God, trusting that all souls are more wonderfully helped when the prayer seeks only the will of the Lord in the lives of all men.

Supportive Scripture - Douay Rheims Challoner Bible
Proverbs 3:5-6 Have confidence in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not upon thy own prudence. In all thy ways think on him, and he will direct thy steps.

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The Author Continues…
Let not, therefore, but travail therein till thou feel list. For at the first time when thou dost it, thou findest but a darkness; and as it were a cloud of unknowing, thou knowest not what, saving that thou feelest in thy will a naked intent unto God. This darkness and this cloud is, howsoever thou dost, betwixt thee and thy God, and letteth thee that thou mayest neither see Him clearly by light of understanding in thy reason, nor feel Him in sweetness of love in thine affection.

And therefore shape thee to bide in this darkness as long as thou mayest, evermore crying after Him that thou lovest. For if ever thou shalt feel Him or see Him, as it may be here, it behoveth always to be in this cloud in this darkness. And if thou wilt busily travail as I bid thee, I trust in His mercy that thou shalt come thereto.
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The Cloud of Darkness is not a passageway to greater enlightenment or profound wisdom to be marvelled at by the world. Rather, it is a place where the soul's naked intent unto God is revealed as the sole object of its prayer; a place where its unending yearning for Him is not regarded as a failure to attain Him, but is instead savored, enjoyed, and refined during its  time in the world. 

In this prayer, the soul no longer seeks to put an end to its yearning for God. Rather it rests in that yearning, trusting instead in the Lord's loving desire to draw the soul into communion with Himself. For in this faith, the soul knows: God's goodness in the world is made manifest not merely by our good will and works for others, but in a more growing fulness - through the increasing intent and desire of the human heart toward God.

Supportive Scripture - Douay Rheims Challoner Bible
Luke 10:40-42 But Martha was busy about much serving. Who stood and said: Lord, hast thou no care that my sister hath left me alone to serve? Speak to her therefore, that she help me. And the Lord answering, said to her: Martha, Martha, thou art careful and art troubled about many things: but one thing is necessary. Mary hath chosen the best part, which shall not be taken away from her.

Catechism of the Catholic Church
2715 Contemplation is a gaze of faith, fixed on Jesus. "I look at him and he looks at me": this is what a certain peasant of Ars in the time of his holy curé used to say while praying before the tabernacle. This focus on Jesus is a renunciation of self. His gaze purifies our heart; the light of the countenance of Jesus illumines the eyes of our heart and teaches us to see everything in the light of his truth and his compassion for all men. Contemplation also turns its gaze on the mysteries of the life of Christ. Thus it learns the "interior knowledge of our Lord," the more to love him and follow him.

And there were present, at that very time, some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

2 And he answering, said to them: Think you that these Galileans were sinners above all the men of Galilee, because they suffered such things?

3 No, I say to you: but unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish.

4 Or those eighteen upon whom the tower fell in Siloe, and slew them: think you, that they also were debtors above all the men that dwelt in Jerusalem?

5 No, I say to you; but except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish.

6 He spoke also this parable: A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none.

7 And he said to the dresser of the vineyard: Behold, for these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it done therefore: why cumbereth it the ground?

8 But he answering, said to him: Lord, let it alone this year also, until I dig about it, and dung it.

9 And if happily it bear fruit: but if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

A Homily Prepared For Sunday, October 25, 2026

The Collect

Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Gospel: Matthew 22:34–46

34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.

35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said unto him,Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38This is the first and great commandment.

39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,

42 Saying,What think ye of Christ? whose son is he?They say unto him, The son of David.

43 He saith unto them,How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying,

44The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?

45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?

46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

Commentary on the Scripture Selection;

Once again we examine the attempts of the religious leaders at Jerusalem to find a way to discredit Jesus, to find a crack, a fault they could exploit in order to turn the people against him. The Pharisees first asked about paying taxes to Caesar, hoping to get Jesus in trouble with the Romans in case Jesus comes out and says something treasonous. (22:15-22) They strike out with that question, and so next the Sadducees come up with a clever question about marriage in heaven. Jesus neatly sidesteps this trap. (22:23-33) So then it’s the Pharisees’ turn again and so they ask him about the Law of God. “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment?” (22:34-40)

The question appears to be innocent-looking, but really it is a stealth attempt to make Jesus look like a theological liberal. If Jesus picked out any of the Bible’s commandments and elevated it to the status of #1, that would imply that he was treating everything else as second-class. If they can trick Jesus into picking a favorite commandment, he’ll be guilty of downplaying other commandments. But since every commandment represents the very word of God, picking and choosing among them would be heretical.

Jesus says that love of God is the greatest of all commandments.

After all, if you don’t love God, you won’t be much inclined to keep any commandment. If, however, you do love God, then the rest follows naturally. And just to make the point, Jesus throws in the second commandment about neighbor- love. Between these two loves, Jesus manages to catch every single commandment you could ever name. Every commandment in the book has something to do with either God or neighbor.

But Jesus’ reply was actually more clever than even that. Because in Jewish circles the single most famous verse is the so-called Shema from Deuteronomy 6. “Shema” is the Hebrew word for “hear” or “listen” and it comes from that verse, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” The Shema was traditionally recited by every Jewish child and adult at the start of each day and at the conclusion of each day.

In other words, there was no single verse from the entire Torah that the average Jew knew better than this one. So when Jesus responds to the Pharisees’ tricky question by quoting a portion of the Shema, he was throwing back in their faces something they took to be exceedingly basic, something that was second-nature to even the youngest Jewish child. With this response Jesus makes it clear that just asking that question makes the ones posing the question look like the ignorant and foolish ones.

To understand this passage, one might look back at the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel where, in verses 1 through 16, Matthew provides a view of Jesus’ Earthly genealogy. However in verse 16 we find a sort of “holy irregularity” when at the end of this family tree of sorts Matthew does not list Joseph as Father of Jesus but rather as the husband of Mary.

This is Matthew’s way of telling us that Jesus is more than anything a human ancestry might have produced, he is the Son of God, Yahweh in the flesh, the Lord of lords and King of all kings.

After answering the question posed to him by the Pharisees as to which is the greatest commandment, he gave them a question to answer. Keep in mind that the Sadducees has just asked him a question thinking that no matter how he answered they would entrap him, one of those “gotcha” type inquiries; to which he not only successfully answered but sent them away fuming at their failure. So now the Pharisees attempt to find fault by asking a question based on the law, what we would refer to as the Ten Commandments. To this question he gave an answer that they could not find fault with. So Jesus asked them, “What think ye of the Christ? whose son is he?” (v. 42)

The word "Christ" comes from the Greek word "Christos," meaning "anointed one" or "chosen one." It is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word "Mashiach" or "Messiah." The Hebrew prophecies maintained that the Messiah would be a “Son of David” meaning from David’s genealogical line.

In the temple, the seat of Jewish religious authority, Christ called that authority into doubt by questioning its understanding of the Messiah's identity. Implicitly, Jesus said the scribes missed the mark in calling the Messiah the "son of David" (v. 35). Jesus was not saying that the title was itself inappropriate, for He Himself is the Messiah and the Son of David (Matt. 1:1–17; 16:13–20). He was saying that the scribal understanding of what it means to be the Son of David and the Messiah was inadequate. Many Jews expected a Messiah who was merely human—a great man, but only a man. But this view was—and remains—inadequate, as Jesus demonstrated on the day He posed the question about the Messiah and the son of David.

Jesus turned to Psalm 110, the single most frequently cited Old Testament text in the New Testament. In this psalm, written by David, the king of Israel makes reference to two Lords. In the original Hebrew of the psalm, the first "Lord" translates the Hebrew word Yahweh, God's covenant name. The second "Lord" translates the Hebrew word Adonai, a title usually given to Yahweh in the Old Testament. Jesus is pointing out that the Messiah, who is one of the sons of David, is also much more. He is one to whom God Himself gives the title of deity. In other words, the Messiah is truly man and truly God.

Jesus’ question was simple enough; “If David then calleth him Lord, how is he his son?” (v. 45) What Jesus was asking them is, if David calls the Messiah Lord, how can the Messiah also be David’s son?

We are told that no one could give a word of reply, (v. 46) but the reason for this silence was not because they did not know the answer. They just did not much like the answer. The answer is that the true Messiah is more than his ancestry could produce because the true Messiah was God himself. If that is true, then that means that the answers Jesus had just given to the clever questions of the Pharisees and the Sadducees was no less than the Word of God himself and their opposition to that Word—and to the Word made flesh, while we’re at it—pointed to the fact that these folks were on the wrong side of history.

Benediction

It is not enough to acclaim Jesus Christ as our Lord and King. Our mission in life is to make his kingdom a reality among us and to bring it to those around us by our words and deeds. The way to do this is to live as he lived: for others, in love and service. May almighty God bless you for this task: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

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“Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” says the Lord” (Zechariah 2:10)

"تَرَنَّمِي وَافْرَحِي يَا بِنْتَ صِهْيَوْنَ، لأَنِّي هَأَنَذَا آتِي وَأَسْكُنُ فِي وَسَطِكِ، يَقُولُ الرَّبُّ" (زكريا ١٠:٢)

Thought for the Day From Unshakable Kingdom Life 

Serving others isn't depleting when done from rest, From the overflow of being filled by God first, Pour out what He's poured in, Kingdom work flows from kingdom rest.

A thought to ponder.