An increasing number of baptized emerging adults consider themselves spiritual (spiritual seekers) and religiously un-affiliated. In 2003 the Pontifical Council for Culture, aware of the reality of the human spiritual quest, stated that helping people in their spiritual search by offering proven techniques and experiences of real prayer could open a dialogue with them which would reveal the riches of the Christian tradition. Several statistics presented by research centers and the Church's response to the spiritual quest and thirst of young people have led me to write this treatise and develop a project of spiritual formation based on St. John of the Cross's spirituality of the dark night for emerging young adults in college. The basic methodology that guides the project is spiritual accompaniment and discernment. Over a period of six weeks I meet with a small group of students, once per week for about 45 minutes, to give brief presentations on specific topics of the dark night of the senses and facilitate dialogue and spiritual sharing. A spiritual guide (handbook), based on Book One of "The Dark Night," which contains selected readings, questions for reflection and meditation is given to each student. The spiritual guide helps the students to draw out their spiritual and religious experiences in light of John of the Cross's own experience of darkness and guidance of souls. The students do their own reflection and private journaling as a way to help them enter into dialogue with God and John of the Cross. This method presents a way to clarify their spiritual journey, helps them consider making a decision about their attitude toward religion, spirituality and prayer and see if John's spirituality of the dark night has an impact in their prayer and spiritual life. The students complete two surveys to check their understanding of religion, spirituality and prayer before and after implementation of the project. They complete an evaluation of the content of the sessions and a final evaluation of the impact of St. John of the Cross's teachings in their life. The purpose of the final evaluation is to check if there is any level of appropriation of John of the Cross's ascetical practices for purgation of the senses. It also attempts to see if the students feel any connection with the mystical language of John and would recommend him as a spiritual guide to spiritual seekers. The exposure of John of the Cross's spirituality of the dark night over a period of six weeks was very fruitful. It helped students: 1) identify areas where they need to grow in detachment; 2) foster an awareness of the need for more time to pray in solitude; and 3) reaffirm in some of them a sense of spiritual quest in communion with the Church. On the other hand, the greatest challenges students faced in this project included: 1) difficulty understanding and processing the mystical language of "The Dark Night"; and 2) doing the spiritual exercises found in the spiritual guide since it required moments of silence. In general students see the spirituality of the dark night as an interesting spiritual perspective. It would be worth implementing this type of project with older young adults and for a longer period of time or emphasizing more John's love for God and the salvation of souls than just his ascetical vigor. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]