I’ve always been a morning person. That is to say that I enjoy the morning itself, not necessarily getting out of bed. There is nothing quite like going outside when the sun is just coming up over the horizon. The birds are singing and the air is somewhat still. The dawn is a wonderful time after a long time in the darkness. I remember once sitting in the Pennsylvanian woods on a hill in the wintertime waiting for the sun to rise. It was so dark and then the sun began to rise. Anyone who was has been in the dark knows that as soon as there is light you look towards it and inwardly rejoice. The dawn brings the light, but there is still darkness. Life is the same way for the Christian. We live both in the light of Christ, while still in the darkness of the world.  St. Gregory the Great put it well when he said, “Are not all of us who follow the truth in this life both daybreak and dawn? We do some things, which already belong to the light, but we are not free from the remnants of darkness”. Freedom and joy can only be found in the light of Christ, but we still fall into sin and darkness. We feel alone in the darkness and unhappy. I find that in this state it is important to look toward the light of Christ and move towards it. Christ is our hope. Christ has come to earth and we don’t need to live in the dark anymore. The dawn has broken.