As incredible as it may seem to many people, the truth is that in the midst of the serious crisis that the Church is suffering, and while confusion and iniquity are spreading more and more all over the world, there are still people who sincerely search for Jesus Christ, for they consider that He is the only hope left for Christians –and for the whole world.

            In the first part of this editorial, we saw that the last verse of the Proclamation of Isaiah ends with a strange exclamation: Come back! Come here!  Undoubtedly there are many who would like to come back; also there are many who, being immersed in the anguish which all of us are suffering, are longing to find again Jesus Christ, and, therefore, they keep searching for Him. This is how the Song of Songs puts it: I will rise now and go through the city;//in the streets and in the squares,//I will seek him whom my soul loves.//I sought him but I could not find him!//I came upon the watchmen—//those who go on their rounds in the city://”Have you seen him whom my heart loves? (Song 3: 2-3)

            And the Proclamation says to all: Come back! Come here! For the search for the Bridegroom means one must tirelessly travel the roads, time and time again, perhaps retracing one’s steps and starting all over again. And one needs to call out to Him, to get Him to come as soon as possible, as the impatience and urgency which always accompany love demand. And the Spirit and the Bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who is thirsty come (Rev 22:17).

            The haste and urgency of love impel the bride, not just to run but even to fly in order to reach the Bridegroom. And her effort is usually met with success, for the Bridegroom, who is even more desirous than the bride to be one with her, allows Himself to be overtaken. And not only that: as one can deduce from the law of reciprocity in love, He himself also seeks to overtake the bride, as Saint Paul says: For which Jesus Christ has laid hold of me (Phil 3:12). The urgency and haste of love affect the Bridegroom too, for He is even more in love than the bride. That is why he comes leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills…like a gazelle or a young stag (Song 2: 8—9). And His impatience, too, is greater than hers: Come to me, my beloved,//my lovely one, come…//My love, hiding in the clefts of the rock,//in the coverts of the cliff,//show me your face,//let me hear your voice…(Song 2: 10.14).

            The Bridegroom loves the bride to the very end, totally, absolutely and infinitely: Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end…(Jn 13:1) So that the love with which thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them (Jn 17:26). In the Song of Songs, the Bridegroom and the bride search for each other; but in the New Testament, it is above all the Bridegroom who goes in search of the bride, passionately and ready to face any risk. For the revelation of the love of God, which starts in the Old Testament, reaches its paramount heights in the New: Behold, I stand at the door and knock…(Rev 3:20). What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it upon his shoulders rejoicing…(Lk 15: 4—5) Jerusalem, Jerusalem!...How often would I have gathered your children together as the hen gathers her young under her wings, and you would not! (Mt 22:37; cf Lk 13:34).  I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer (Lk 22:15; cf 12:50). It could not be different, nor could one imagine it being otherwise.

            Closing consideration:  Is there anyone who still believes all this…? That God has loved us in Jesus Christ to the end…? Is there anyone out there who is already tired of the lies of this World and of the overwhelming emptiness of Modern Pastoral practice…? Are we sure that there is someone…? Since the answer is absolutely affirmative, let us continue talking about what we hitherto have missed so much: the love of God and the love for God; in one word, the only thing which can bring rest to our anguished and tired hearts.