Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom. (Song of Songs 2: 15)

The Lover asks his "dove" to catch the "little foxes."

In the 16th Century St. John of the Cross wrote a poem that often parallels the Song of Songs. The poem's purpose is to explore how the soul finds its way to reunion with God.

In John's commentary on his poem he explains, "As foxes pretend to be asleep when they are out to catch their prey, so all our appetites and sensory powers are tranquil and asleep until these flowers of virtues rise and blossom in the soul in an exercise of love. At that moment, then, it seems that the sensual flowers of the appetites and sense powers awaken and arise in the sensory part of the soul in an effort to contradict the spirit and to reign."

We can be contradictory creatures. Just as love draws us to self-giving - at that same and very moment - we may also experience a compulsion for self-assertion.

Above is from the Rothschild Canticles. In the upper half, a youth center points to foxes running wild in the garden while addressing two ladies standing at the entrance of a church. In the lower half, the two ladies catch the foxes and a third fox runs between them with fruit in its mouth.