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For many of us, we can feel alone and isolated, believing that the entire world doesn’t care about us or our problems.
It can be difficult to have such feelings, as we may be tempted to throw our hands up in despair.
The good news is that in the midst of our suffering, Jesus sees us and gazes at us.
Jesus’ gaze
Pope Francis reflects on Jesus’ gaze in his latest encyclical, Dilexit nos:
The Gospel tells us that a rich man came up to Jesus, full of idealism yet lacking in the strength needed to change his life. Jesus then “looked at him” (Mk 10:21). Can you imagine that moment, that encounter between his eyes and those of Jesus? If Jesus calls you and summons you for a mission, he first looks at you, plumbs the depths of your heart and, knowing everything about you, fixes his gaze upon you. So it was when, “as he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers… and as he went from there, he saw two other brothers” (Mt 4:18, 21).
Furthermore, not only does Jesus look at us when he wants to call us to something greater, but he also gazes at us when we are suffering:
Many a page of the Gospel illustrates how attentive Jesus was to individuals and above all to their problems and needs. We are told that, “when he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless” (Mt 9:36). Whenever we feel that everyone ignores us, that no one cares what becomes of us, that we are of no importance to anyone, he remains concerned for us. To Nathanael, standing apart and busy about his own affairs, he could say, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you” (Jn 1:48).
This simple spiritual truth can be a great consolation when we are in the midst of suffering, or feeling depressed and alone.
Jesus sees us and sometimes all we need to do is to let Jesus gaze at us with his merciful and loving eyes.
And today we celebrate...