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Seeing Things New as if for the First Time

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   Blue-gray Tanager, La Fortuna, Costa Rica

In heaven we will live as God’s children seeing all of God’s creation as if for the first time.  St. Paul quoted the Prophet Isiah in describing this newness of heaven: 

“What eye has not seen,
and ear has not heard,
and what has not entered the human heart,
what God has prepared for those who love him.”  (1 Corinthians 2:9 and Isaiah 64:3)

We don’t have to go to heaven; however, to begin seeing each moment as a child, with new eyes and a fresh perspective.  We just need to grow closer in our relationship with God, the creator that makes all things new.

Pure in Heart

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Slaty-tailed Trogon, Coopevega, Costa Rica

St Gregory of Nyssa (335 – 395 A.D) wrote the following on the Beatitude – “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” ~ Matthew 5:8.

Bodily health is a good thing, but what is truly blessed is not only to know how to keep one’s health but actually to be healthy. If someone praises health but then goes and eats food that makes him ill, what is the use to him, in his illness, of all his praise of health?   We need to look at the text we are considering in just the same way. It does not say that it is blessed to know something about the Lord God, but that it is blessed to have God within oneself. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.   I do not think that this is simply intended to promise a direct vision of God if one purifies one’s soul. On the other hand, perhaps the magnificence of this saying is hinting at the same thing that is said more clearly to another audience: The kingdom of God is within you. That is, we are to understand that when we have purged our souls of every illusion and every disordered affection, we will see our own beauty as an image of the divine nature.   And it seems to me that the Word of God, in these few words, was saying something like this: In you there is a certain desire to contemplate what is truly good. But when you hear that God’s majesty is exalted high above the heavens, that his glory is beyond comprehension, that his beauty is beyond description, that his very nature can neither be perceived nor be understood, do not fall into despair or think you can never have the sight that you desire.   So if, by love and right living, you wash off the filth that has become stuck to your heart, the divine beauty will shine forth in you. Think of iron, which at one moment is dark and tarnished and the next, once the rust has been scraped off, shines and glistens brightly in the sun. It is the same with the inner core of man, which the Lord calls the heart. It has been in damp and foul places and is covered in patches of rust; but once the rust has been scraped off, it will recover itself and once more resemble its archetype. And so it will be good, since what resembles the good must be good itself.   Therefore, whoever looks at himself sees in himself what he desires. And whoever is pure in heart is blessed because, seeing his own purity, he sees the archetype reflected in the image. If you see the sun in a mirror then you are not looking directly at the sky, but still you are seeing the sun just as much as someone who looks directly at it. In the same way, the Lord is saying, although you do not have the strength to withstand the direct sight of the great and inaccessible light of God, if you look within yourselves once you have returned to the grace of the image that was placed in you from the beginning, you will find in yourselves all that you seek.   For to be God is to be pure, to be free from weakness and passion, to be separated from all evil. If these things are all true of you then God is within you. If your thought is kept pure from evil habits, free from passion and weakness, separated from all stain, you are blessed because your vision is sharp and clear. You are able to see what is invisible to those who have not been purified. The eyes of your soul have been cleansed of material filth and through the purity of your heart you have a clear sight of the vision of blessedness. What is that vision? It is purity, sanctity, simplicity, and other reflections of the brightness of the Divine nature. It is the sight of God.   ~ St Gregory of Nyssa

Love your Neighbor

Alligators, High Island, TX

Alligators, High Island, TX

I always thought that the commandment to love my neighbor as myself was an easy one to obey until I read the words of St. Basil the Great (330 – 379 AD).

 “The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry. The cloak in your wardrobe belongs to the naked. The shoes you allow to rot belong to the barefoot. The money in your vaults belongs to the destitute. You do injustice to every man whom you could help but do not.”  St. Basil the Great  (330 – 379 AD)

After reading and meditating on St. Basil’s words I realize how challenging the commandment to love my neighbor really is. 

May God grant us the grace to love our neighbors as ourselves and may we have the humility, courage and wisdom to cooperate with His grace.

Because of Christ

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Long-billed dowitchers, Galveston, TX

We used to hate and destroy one another and refused to associate with people of another race or country. Now, because of Christ, we live together with such people and pray for our enemies.  ~ St. Justin Martyr, 100 – 165 A.D.

Jesus Christ transformed the world, has he transformed you?  Justin Martyr, philosopher and Christian apologist, beheaded in Rome in 165 A.D. in defense of the faith.

Finding Jesus

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Axis deer (escaped exotic – non-native), Spring Branch, TX (Note: this old buck has just one eye.  His right eye is just an empty socket.  His injury was likely caused by sparing.)

Jesus,

May we see you in stranger seeking food,

May we see you in the immigrant seeking a better place for her family,

May we see you in the prisoner seeking forgiveness,

May we see you in the widow seeing companionship,

May we see you in the baby seeking life in his mother’s womb,

May we see you in the mother seeking hope in an uncertain future,

May we see you in a person of another faith seeking truth,

May we see you in a person of another political party seeking dialog,

May we see you in the face of our enemy for he also is made in your image,

May we see you in all things, all people and all circumstances

So that we may begin to build your kingdom. 

More than a Bridge, a Love Story

Redwoods, Olympia National Forest, WA

Redwoods, Olympia National Forest, WA

St. Catherine of Siena in the 14th century was perhaps the first Christian to depict God’s incarnation as man (Jesus), his life, death and resurrection, as a bridge from heaven to earth.  Christians of many faiths have been using the bridge analogy to depict God’s love for us ever since.  This bridge, or love story, is perhaps best describe in the bible in John 3:16.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”~ John 3:16

But just as every love story asks both parties to participate, so does the love story between heaven and earth.  The apostle John gave us an indication of this need for us to accept and respond to God’s grace of love in John 3:36 when he tells us to obey God’s Son.

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.” ~ John 3:36

St Iraneous (125 AD – 202 AD), a disciple of St. Polycarp - who was a disciple of St John the evangelist - echo’s the words in the gospel of John when he said, “To believe in him means to do his will."  

Perhaps one of my favorite quotes of this exchange of love between God and man was written by St. Clement (35 AD – 99 AD).  “Let the man truly possessed by the love of Christ keep his commandments.”   St. Clement was a disciple of St. Peter and likely also of St. Paul and was the fourth pope.   

Jesus loves us.  Let us show our love for Jesus by listening to him and obeying his commandments and instructions.     

Comfort to those that Mourn

Sunset, Caprock Canyons State Park, TX

Sunset, Caprock Canyons State Park, TX

Our prayers go out to those in Parkland, Florida and everyone that is in mourning.

 

O Jesus! Comforter of those that mourn, hear us.

For those mourning the death of loved ones, Comfort us, Jesus.

For those mourning the loss of friendships or family relationships, Comfort us, Jesus.

For those mourning the loss of physical or mental capabilities, Comfort us, Jesus.

 

That we may take our sorrows and place them on the cross of our Lord and Savior, Jesus, grant us the grace to desire it.

That Our Lord may take our sorrows and use them to spread his love and peace throughout the world, Jesus, grant us the grace to desire it.

That Our Lord may grant us his perfect peace of heart and mind so that we may more closely follow his commandments of loving God and neighbor, Jesus, grant us the grace to desire it.