Today is March 10, Monday of the First Week of Lent.
At today’s Mass, we hear: “The righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me'” (Mt 25:37-40).
When I was young, I thought that seeing Jesus in others meant Jesus’s face would appear on theirs. My imagination was very active! An image of Christ’s face hung in our school and I imagined that this face would appear in other people’s faces once I could see Jesus in them. This never happened, of course — to my great disappointment. It turns out that the reality is more profound than my young mind could handle.
The ability to see Jesus in others is a matter of seeing the world as lovers see it. Love changes the way we see things. How we understand the world changes when love swells up in our hearts: it becomes more radiant, hopeful and happy. When that love is divine love — a love for God above all things — we act differently, speak differently, and see differently. We see the world as God sees it.
A strong, divine love
For instance, Mother Teresa was a lover of Jesus. She saw Jesus in everyone and, seeing Jesus, she served them. Her love for the poorest of the poor came from her love for Jesus. Mother Teresa was a divine lover and saw everything within the context of her love of God.
Lovers see the world differently. The more we are filled with divine love and the stronger our friendship with Jesus, the more we will see Jesus in the world and in each other.
Let us pray,
Convert us, O God our Savior, and instruct our minds by heavenly teaching, that we may benefit from the works of Lent. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
