The night is nearly over, and daylight is close at hand, said the Apostle Saint Paul to the Christians in Rome (Rom 13:12). According to Saint John of the Cross, midnight was the thickest and deepest part of the night: at an equal distance between the evening twilight and the dawn. Nevertheless, when Night is very advanced, then the time for dawn to make its appearance is near; it will be the moment for the Morning Star to shine with its intermittent and brilliant twinkling for all to see: until the day dawns and the day star rises in your hearts (2 Pet 1:19).

            Until then, Night goes on for the time being. The Church has to struggle in darkness, contemplating how her children, filled with bewilderment and anguish, suffer because they do not know where their Lord has been placed: They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him (Jn 20:13). It is true that their ears can still perceive the promise that He made them, that the Gates of Hell would never prevail (Mt 16:18); but it is not less true that they see with fear that darkness continues its relentless march to the Abyss of Nothingness. Undoubtedly, the Church exists, but where and how to find her? Some people indeed say that “here” is the true one; others affirm that the true Church is a totally different one. And all this happens because in more remote times the Church was visible; now, to the contrary, the faithful have been told that she has been diluted in the whole of a Humanity which, in turn, has become Christian without knowing it.

            Things being thus, the sheep keep on looking earnestly at their Shepherds, but they do not hear the whistle that would lead them. Consequently, the sheep finally think that they are being led by strangers: But a stranger they follow not, but fly from him, because they know not the voice of strangers (Jn 10:5). And the sheep cry with bitter moaning and sad lamenting because they cannot see yet the return of their Lord. In the meantime, the bride of The Song of Songs also sobs, longing for the presence of her Bridegroom:

                                   I opened the bolt of my door to my beloved,

                                   But he had turned aside, and was gone.

                                   I sought him, and found him not.

                                   I called, and he did not answer me.[1]

                                   I sought him, and I found him not.

                                   The watchmen who keep the city, found me:

                                   Have you seen him, whom my soul loves?[2]

            Have you seen him whom my soul loves?... The sheep kept asking doggedly. Finally, they were told that they could look for Him anywhere, because all ways lead to, and end up in, the same place. The sheep, though, knew well that the paths which lead to the same place are precisely those that end up in No-Where Land.

            But then, what to do and how to live without Him? Where should one search, when darkness does not allow finding any path leading to Him? Has He, by chance, definitively gone away from them…? And the bride, once again, laments that she cannot find Him in the midst of the Night which everywhere surrounds her:

                                   At night he left for the distant mountain range,

                                   At night he followed the road around the bend,  

                                   At night I was left in foreign lands and strange,

                                   At night I was left alone without my friend.

            Nevertheless, He had told His sheep that He would be with them to the consummation of the world (Mt 28:20). Therefore, the bride, full of hope, continues her indefatigable search, for she is convinced that she has not been abandoned and that, at long last, both shall meet again.

                                   Show me, O you whom my soul loves,

                                   Where you feed, where you lie in the midday,

                                   Lest I begin to wander

                                   After the flocks of your companions.[3]

            Many people, though, are puzzled at her searching, and they ask her in surprise, while she answers them:

Shepherdess, whither go you?

Searching through hillocks and the vast green valley?

I seek him whom I love true.    

In the sheep pen I left the flock behind me,

and I am searching anew

for the place where my Loved One rests peacefully.

If by chance you saw him pass,

show me, please, his footprints on the road and grass.

            It is true that night is nearly over, but it does not seem to be over just yet. Until them, those who love the Lord and suffer because of His absence are earnestly waiting for His return.

            Nevertheless, if the night is nearly over, that is a definite sign that the day is at hand; likewise, winter is followed by spring. Besides, as Gandalf, the hero of The Lord of the Rings, said, not all tears are an evil. In the end, we will find that the Bridegroom had his reasons to leave the bride in the desert; after all, to them that love God all things work together unto good.[4]

            Indeed, the longing from the waiting and the nostalgia because of the absence augment the strength of Love. If is it true that he loves much who waits for a long time, then no one shows greater Love than he who suffers and gives up his life for the beloved person (Jn 15:13). All explanations become illuminated under the light shed by the sparkling dawn. They that were faithful to the Master shared more deeply His Cross and, through it, His Death; and all that happened so that the elect had a greater Love. If light comes after darkness, then the Day follows the Night; it will be the moment to exclaim:

When Night has shed her mantle of mystery

and daybreak dawns, followed by a rosy sky,

I run to the flowery meadow eagerly

to be with my Beloved, and he with me.

for sweet dawn has come at last and brings a sigh;

And the time for love has arrived finally.