Desire is related to emptiness, not fullness, and it takes different shapes: acute longing as in thirst; a more sustainable ache as in hunger; inexplicable groanings, often barely audible, which form the ineradicable ground of our being. Desire takes such a strong hold of the monastic heart that it moves us to watch in the night, every night, with Jesus and for Jesus. Sometimes we are not exactly sure why we should remain in that empty darkness after the psalms of the Night Office, but one thing we do know: we cannot go away. Our desire is not of our own making. It was conceived in an immense Desire which long preceded and pursued us: 'Do you keep watch? He keeps watch also. If you rise at night before the time of vigil and hasten to anticipate the morning watch, you will find him there. He will always be waiting for you.' (St Bernard, On the Song of Songs)