VII
LONGING FOR LOVE

Give us, Lord, a fervent desire
to love You; a yearning amid battles
with the Enemy, who never ceases
to pursue us. Man tends be complacent
about his ability to love, but complacency
does not fit with love. Not even in our
fondest dreams can we touch your body;           John 20:17; Luke 24:39.
because in this prodigious work of art
—both miraculous and non-material—
you shy away from physical contact
with this humble world. May our love
be like an unripe grape in the vineyard
of this stony ground, so that in the light
of the brilliant Sun of eternal Glory
it will ripen forever. Be the bread that
makes us hunger for you; be the wine
that makes us thirst for you. While we live
on this earth, may our life be filled with
the desire to love You: may it rest
after a fruitful love, and sleep is not
life, but death. Here in this sad valley
of dreams and bitterness, Humanity
never achieves fulfillment. From our souls,
poor caterpillars, may butterflies emerge
that, in the burning light from your eyes,
will always be reborn. From now on
we strive to reach a higher goal.
                                    Your Bride, the Church,
sings of your passion, and nourishes its hope
with songs, until your image is wrapped
in an aura of beautiful harmony.
Sea shells from forgotten centuries,
psalmodies resound in the cloisters
like dying waves on a timeless beach,
and from all corners of the world came
pleas from the souls asking You,
for the love of God, to rest in peace!