It is not an uncommon phenomenon: Just at the moment when we are trying the hardest to draw closer to the Lord, spending more time in Advent prayer and the devotions of the season, we are met with a spell of aridity. All of the spiritual masters write of such periods, whether it is John of the Cross’ “dark night of the senses,” or Teresa of Avila’s “second mansion,” or more simply, a loss of the desire to pray. If you’re experiencing this in the holidays, you are not alone.
