# Seeing God and being seen Day 1 > Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God. ### Opening Prayer: *Then run, faithful souls, happy and tireless, keep up with your Beloved who marches with giant strides from one end of heaven to the other. Nothing is hidden from His eyes. He walks alike over the smallest blade of grass, the tallest cedars, grains of sand or rocky mountains. Wherever you go He has gone before. Only follow Him and you will find Him everywhere. (The Sacrament of the Present Moment by Jean-Pierre De Caussade)* #### Psalm for the Week: Psalm 11 #### The Lord Is in His Holy Temple #### To the choirmaster. Of David. *11 In the Lord I take refuge;how can you say to my soul,“Flee like a bird to your mountain,* *2 for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart; 3 if the foundations are destroyed,what can the righteous do?”[a]* *4 The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.5 The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.6 Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.7 For the Lord is righteous;he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.* #### Scripture for the Day: John 1:35-51 #### Jesus Calls the First Disciples *35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.[a] 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus[b] was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter[c]).* *Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael* *43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you,[d] you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”* #### Reading for Reflection: *The emphasis is on seeing. Jesus said to Nathanael, ”Before Philip came to call you, I saw you under the fig tree,” and after Nathanael’s response: “You are the Son of God.” Jesus remarked, “You believe that just because I said I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that…you will see the heaven laid open, and above the Son of man, and the angels of God ascending and descending” (John 1:49-51).* ​ *The story speaks deeply to me since it raises the questions: “Do I want to be seen by Jesus? Do I want to be known by Him?” If I do, then a faith can grow which proclaims Jesus as Son of God. Only such a faith can open my eyes and reveal such a heaven.* ​ *Thus, I will see when I am willing to be seen. I will receive new eyes that can see the mysteries of God’s own life when I allow God to see me, all of me, even those parts that I myself do not want to see.* ​ *O Lord, see me and let me see. (The Road to Daybreak by Henri J.M. Nouwen)* #### Reflection and Listening: silent and written #### Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself #### Song for the Week: Jesus Cast a Look on Me *Jesus cast a look on me, give me sweet simplicity. Make me poor and keep me low, seeking only Thee to know* *All that feeds my busy pride, Cast it evermore aside. Bid my will to Thine submit, lay me humbly at Thy feet* *Make me like a little child, of my strength and wisdom spoiled. Seeing only in Thy light, Walking only in Thy might* *Leaning on Thy loving breast, where a weary soul can rest. Feeling well the peace of God, flowing from His precious blood.* ### Closing Prayer: *O Lord Jesus, I look at you, and my eyes are fixed on your eyes. Your eyes penetrate the eternal mystery of the divine and see the glory of God. They are also the eyes that saw Simon, Andrew, Nathanael, and Levi, the eyes that saw the woman with the hemorrhage, the widow of Nain, the blind, the lame, the lepers, and the hungry crowd, the eyes that saw the sad, rich ruler, the fearful disciples on the lake, and the sorrowful women at the tomb. Your eyes, O Lord, see in one glance the inexhaustible love of God and the seemingly endless agony of all people who have lost faith in that love and are like sheep without a shepherd.* ​ *As I look into your eyes, they frighten me because they pierce like flames of fire my innermost being, but they console me as well, because these flames are purifying and healing. Your eyes are so severe yet so loving, so unmasking yet so protecting, so penetrating yet so caressing, so profound yet so intimate, so distant yet so inviting.* ​ *I gradually realize that I want to be seen by you, to dwell under your caring gaze, and to grow strong and gentle in your sight. Lord, let me see what you see—the love of God and the suffering of people—so that my eyes may become more and more like yours, eyes that can heal wounded hearts. (Intimate Moments with the Savior by Ken Gire)*