The Bride’s Longing

The Christian life is one of desire and longing, of hope and patience, of now and not yet. The Christian soul is a bride longing for her Bridegroom to come and escort her to their wedding feast and then to bridal chamber where their nuptial covenant will be consummated. The liturgical season of Advent offers us four weeks dedicated to pondering the anticipated advent of Jesus Christ, our Divine Bridegroom, Who will come and carry His Bride away from the miry bog of sin and suffering and into the eternal wedding feast.

This Advent, I long to be still and ponder my bridal identity and what it means to wait with expectant hope for my true Bridegroom to come for me. The Song of Songs and the book of Revelation will be food for my contemplation along with the Divine Office and the Mass readings. In His Word and the Sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist, our Bridegroom gives us a foretaste of the heavenly feast awaiting us – this is the now and not yet of the Christian life. Our Divine Bridegroom is here with us now and the glory and joy that shall be ours is not yet fully known.

On this first evening of Advent 2024, my heart cries out with the Bride of the Song of Songs and the Holy Spirit,

“Come! Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth!”

The ardent longing of the Bride for her Beloved to be present, physically present, to her, now and immediately, so that she might feel the beating of His Heart, taste the sweetness of His embrace, and receive His breath of Life is palpable in this exclamation. Is this the desire of our hearts? Can we sincerely and whole-heartedly surrender all other desires and empty ourselves of all attachments so that this December 25th we can truly receive all our Bridegroom desires to give to us? Will we sacrifice the comforts and idols to which we cling and go to the manager as impoverished and needy as our King came to us?

Jesus, Bridegroom of my soul, I do desire to long for You with the same ardent and urgent longing of the Bride. You know, Lord, all that fills my heart and hands and leaves little room for You. You are Infinite Love and ask only that I offer You the total, free, and faithful “Fiat” of my heart. This Advent, please grant me the grace of expectant hope and ardent longing for You. Help me to open my hands and my heart in an act of surrender to You. Take from me all that crowds my life and leaves little room for You.

“The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come’… and I echo their cry. Come and kiss me with the kisses of Your mouth; fill me with Your love and grace. Amen.

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”
And let everyone who hears say, “Come.”
And let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift. (Rev. 22:17)

Laura Ercolino, Copyright 2024