Like the disciples to whom our Lord addressed these words, as Christians today, we also are blessed to be able to see what all the ancient prophets, kings and wise men of the world died not seeing. We are able to see God, face to face, in the person of Jesus Christ. Not in a symbolic way, but by participating in and living within a spiritual reality. Through the Holy Spirit, which is received at baptism and chrismation, I am made capable of knowing God and seeing him, experiencing him, of seeing him with the eyes of my heart and my soul. If I respond to this gift, if I exercise the power I have been given, if I commit myself to spiritual struggle, my life becomes one continuous opening, unfolding and revelation of an experience of God, of “seeing God” and this nourishes and grows my faith. The experiences will vary for each person. I may hear the sweet and loving voice of Christ as it enters my heart and touches my soul whenever I read the Bible. I may be moved to tears when I meditate on the suffering in the world due to sin and death, the brokenness of the human person, and how Jesus Christ came to heal us and save us by joining us to his own holy and resurrected flesh and blood and soul. I may receive consolation, relief, comfort, light, spiritual peace and joy when I go to confession, when I participate attentively and sincerely in the Divine Liturgy and receive Holy Communion in repentance and with love for Christ. In the astonishing miracles performed by Christ, his Holy Mother, and all the saints, from the days of the apostles to our modern times, I may finally be convicted in the belief that God is indeed with us. In the radical changes, through the grace of God, of my own mind, my heart, or that of someone I know, I may witness first-hand the power of God and become convinced that no matter what may happen in my life, a deep sense of hope and trust in our Lord is firmly planted in me and will continue to be nourished in me through both my joys and my trials. In all these ways and more, we are blessed to see and know God and to be known by Him.
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