Waiting for Dawn
Bishop Silvio José Báez, OCD on living as sentinels, burning with hope through life's darkest nights
“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning.”
(Psalm 130:5)
This is a beautiful psalm that once again takes up the image of the sentinel and applies it to prayer.
The sentinel spent night and day at his post. When night came, he was eager for dawn because it was easier to face danger during the day—it's when he faced fewer risks. The sentinel is alert to the moment when day breaks.
So for the psalmist, prayer is like entering into the night and living with intense hope for a dawn that's about to break. As if to say, "I wait for the dawn... more than the sentinel."
The image of the sentinel who finds his complete fulfillment only in God, the guardian of Israel who "slumbers not, nor sleeps"—in prophetic literature this image had an extraordinarily rich use. It depicts the prophet who listens and cares for the people; it evokes the sentinel who prays and climbs to the top of the city wall to his guard post. He speaks to the Lord; he reminds the Lord of his promises and does not let him rest. But those who pray like the sentinel also listen to what the Lord has to say.
We need to live like sentinels. We must remain awake in faith and burning with hope, day and night. And as Psalm 130 says, we must always look ahead, waiting for the dawn more than the sentinel waits for daybreak.
— Bishop Silvio José Báez, o.c.d.
Conectados con el Evangelio, 6 September 2020
⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
How do you keep hope alive in the midst of the darkest night?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.
Source reference
Báez, S. J. 2020, Te he hecho centinela de la casa de Israel (Ez 33,7), catechetical video streamed 6 September 2020, translated from the Spanish by Carmelite Quotes, YouTube, viewed 27 July 2025.
Featured image
Sunrise at Masada.
Image credit: © Lorenzo Maimone (silver_soul / Unsplash)