There Is a Longing
There is a longing in our hearts, O Lord,
Theologically, "There Is a Longing" operates in the register of honest lament and petition, drawing on the deep biblical tradition of crying out to God from the midst of need — a tradition most fully expressed in the Psalms of lament. The refrain's acknowledgment that human hearts long for God to "reveal yourself to us" and for "oneness" with God is profoundly Augustinian in spirit ("our heart is restless until it rests in thee"), and it resonates with Lutheran theology's insistence that authentic prayer begins in the recognition of human need and dependence before God. The text avoids triumphalism and instead dwells in the honest tension of faith that has not yet seen all its hopes fulfilled. The strophic verses function as a catalogue of human need — justice, freedom, mercy, wisdom, courage, comfort, healing, wholeness — that mirrors the intercessory tradition of the Great Litany and the Kyrie. In Lutheran liturgical theology, this kind of comprehensive intercession belongs to the prayer of the Church, and the text's movement from need to petition to the plea for divine nearness ("be near, hear our prayer, O God") reflects the Law/Gospel dynamic in prayer: the Law's exposure of human insufficiency opens the space into which the Gospel speaks God's nearness and saving presence. The final verse's invocation — "Lord, save us, take pity, light in our darkness" — is particularly resonant with Lutheran themes of grace alone and the God who comes to us in our darkness. For Lutheran worship planning, the hymn functions beautifully as a prayer of intercession or as an Advent/Lenten meditation on eschatological longing. Its Catholic origin presents no theological barriers for Lutheran use; indeed, the text's emphasis on divine initiative (God revealing Godself) and human neediness aligns well with Lutheran anthropology. The absence of explicitly Marian or intercessory-saints language makes it thoroughly compatible with Lutheran piety, and its tone of earnest petition reflects the Lutheran understanding of prayer as bold confidence before God rooted in God's own promise to be near.
History & Background
"There Is a Longing" was composed by Anne Quigley in 1992 as both text and tune (LONGING), published by OCP (Oregon Catholic Press). It emerged from the renewed interest in contemplative and petition-centered hymnody that followed the Second Vatican Council, as Catholic composers sought forms that combined congregational accessibility with genuine theological depth. The refrain structure — a repeated ostinato-like invocation followed by strophic verses — reflects the influence of the Taizé movement and the renewed emphasis on meditative prayer in post-conciliar Catholic worship. The hymn gained rapid acceptance in the broader Catholic repertoire and was quickly adopted in ecumenical settings due to its universal themes of human longing, petition, and trust in divine nearness. Its inclusive language, its frank acknowledgment of human need, and its simple but haunting refrain made it suitable for a wide range of liturgical moments, particularly Advent and Lent, when the Church dwells in the tension between longing and fulfillment. It appears in major Catholic and ecumenical hymnals published from the mid-1990s onward. The text reflects a pastoral sensibility shaped by the lived experience of communities navigating suffering, social justice concerns, and spiritual hunger. Its use has extended well beyond Catholic parishes into interdenominational settings, retreat houses, hospital and campus ministries, and ecumenical worship services, where its direct address to God and its catalogue of human needs resonate across confessional boundaries.
Hymnal Appearances
- Gather 3rd Edition — 582
- Worship IV — 722
Bulletin Note
Text and music by Anne Quigley, © 1992, OCP. All rights reserved.
Preaching Connection
This text gives voice to the unnamed ache that the Law reveals and the Gospel addresses — the longing for God's presence that lies beneath every human striving for justice, wholeness, and freedom. Preachers can use it to open the congregation's awareness of their own deep need before announcing the Gospel's word that God has indeed drawn near in Christ.
Catechism & Confessional Connections
- Of Justification Augsburg Confession
Themes
longing petition lament divine nearness intercession justice healing Advent waiting Lenten prayer human need contemplative prayer trust