Psalm 57:8 declares: “Awake, my soul, Awake O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn!” This is a poetic verse, but does it make sense? Normally, we think of the dawn awakening us as the first light comes through our bedroom window. But we never think that we must get out of bed when it is still dark so that we will awake the dawn – that if we do not awake the dawn, the dawn will not arrive.
The Old Testament temple faced east. It did so that it might symbolize the light of God’s presence within the temple. Each day, without failure, the dawning day manifested that God dwelt, in a unique manner, within the temple.
What was prefigured in the Old Testament finds its fulfillment in the Incarnation. In the prologue to his Gospel, John declares that, before the beginning of Creation, the Word was with God and was God. God created everything through his Word: “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:4-5) The Word is the life-giving light that shines in the darkness of sin and death, so that they could not overcome the saving life-giving light of the Incarnate Word – Jesus.
Later Jesus echoes what was declared in the Prologue: “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) If we follow Jesus, who is the life-giving light, we will never walk in the darkness of sin and death, rather we will enjoy the light of unending life. The dawn will have awakened within us, never to be overcome by darkness.
Upon Jesus cleansing the temple, the Jews asked for a sign indicating by what authority he did this. Jesus responded: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” For the Jews, “this” referred to the physical temple before which they were standing. Jesus was not, however, referring to the temple, but to Himself: “But he spoke of the temple of his body. When, therefore, he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.” (John 2:19-22)
Thus, Jesus is the ever living and life-giving temple. To abide in him, the new temple, is again to dwell in his life-giving light – the risen Jesus is the dawning of the everlasting day.
When Jesus was crucified, darkness covered the earth. It appeared that the darkness of sin and death had won the day. Darkness had overcome the life-giving light of God’s Incarnate Word. It is not by chance, however, that Jesus rose from the dead at the dawning of a new day. In His Resurrection, Jesus awoke the dawn.
As John describes it: “Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away. So, she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’” (John 20:1-2)
Although it was still dark, it was Mary who was truly in darkness. She went to the tomb of what she thought was that of the dead Jesus. The tomb was empty, and she concluded that someone had taken the body. What she did not realize was that the darkness of night had given way to the light of the gloriously risen Jesus. The darkness of sin and death could not overcome Him. Again, in His Resurrection, Jesus awoke the eternal day.
Vatican II’s “Dogmatic Constitution on the Church” (Lumen gentium) begins: “Christ is the Light of nations. Because this is so, this Sacred Synod gathered together in the Holy Spirit eagerly desires, by proclaiming the Gospel to every creature, to bring the light of Christ to all men, a light brightly visible on the countenance of the Church.”
As risen, Jesus Christ is the light of all nations. No nation or people are exempt. Because of this, the Fathers at Vatican II, in union with the Holy Spirit, wished to bring this life-giving light of Christ to all of humanity – a light that is visibly seen on the countenance of the Church itself. The Church awakes the dawn of salvation throughout the world for all ages.
Moreover, every member of the Church becomes a light to all with whom they live. In baptism, the baptized are transformed from the birth of sin and death into new Spirit-filled creations in Christ.
This is symbolized in the presentation of a candle. The baptized are presented with a lit candle signifying that they no longer live in the shadow of darkness but have entered the heavenly, eternal light. Likewise, the baptized are to be living lights to the world, by what they say and do. They are to awake the dawn within others.
Eight hundred years ago St. Francis of Assisi died – his transitus, his passing over, from this life into the eternal life. In his day, Francis woke the dawn in a world that had grown cold. He brought the warmth of the gospel not only through his preaching but also by the example of his own life. He became another Christ – a living light for all to behold.
On the occasion of the 800th anniversary of his death, Pope Leo XIV proclaimed a special Jubilee Year to honor St. Francis of Assisi. This Jubilee Year began on January 10, 2026, and concludes January 10, 2027.
As St. Francis longed for his transitus, so all of us should eagerly await our passing over into Heaven. In the meantime, we must strive to awake the dawn.
