On the Journey To Seeing With the Eyes of the Heart
written by DAVID HOOVER
Centuries ago, St. Augustine was asked why Christians performed the various spiritual practices of their faith. He responded, "We do these things to restore health to the eye of the heart, whereby God may be seen." Since I read these words many years ago, the image of seeing "with the eye of the heart" has haunted me. As have Jesus' challenging words "You have eyes to see, but do not see." And so for me, the prayer before all prayers has been the prayer of the blind man, "Lord, may I see."
Henri Nouwen points out in The Return of the Prodigal Son that in Rembrandt's picture the father is apparently almost blind. The father "recognizes his son, not with the eyes of the body, but with the inner eye of the heart." With the eye of the heart, the eye of love, the father sees deeply, and is able to recognize and release the son's true identity as his beloved son - an identity hidden beneath the crust of all the son's misguided attempts to find love and life in a "far country."
May we each allow ourselves to be seen as truly beloved in the eyes of God's love. And may we learn to see others with the eye of the heart. Then at last we will be able to live in "the house of love," wherein we can both see God's love and be God's love.
- DAVID HOOVER works for the Center for Spiritual Development in Orange, California. He is a spiritual director and workshop/retreat presenter who has presented workshops on figures in contemporary spirituality including Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, and Henri Nouwen.
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