God of All,

Like most people, I have some fear
of the dark.

Sometimes in our spiritual life we may find ourselves faltering into midnight blackness.

Without spiritual light, we are unable to see where we have come from, and where we are going. We grope in blindness and despair.

There seems to be no safe way ahead,
and the path behind is shrouded
in hopelessness and depression.

In these dark periods of life, we sometimes stumble, and we sometimes fall.
We feel frozen, alone and afraid to move.

In the Dark Night of the Soul we can arrive at a point in the road where we cannot see how to move forward.

We cannot turn back into the darkness behind,
but we fear obstacles lurking in the shadows: traps, pitfalls, canyons of darkness.

Lord of Light, please give me light now!
Show me a bright path to You
in Your glory, God of All Lights!

I pray all this to You, my Jesus,
in hopeful trust.

Amen.