“I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.” Ephesians 1: 17-19
I don’t always love what Paul writes in his epistles, but the idea of seeing with the enlightened eyes of my heart has long captivated me. Perhaps it was the resonance with the Little Prince’s famous quote “it is only with the heart that one can see rightly…” Or perhaps it’s because I adore learning and read voraciously but don’t always see rightly because my mind so easily becomes over-active and over-full. All of my head knowledge can distract from heart knowledge. As Father John Govan, SJ once told me, “The longest journey is the 12″ from the brain to the heart.”
Yet I so clearly know what it feels like when someone looks at me with the eyes of their heart. On this All Saints’ Day, I’m reflecting on the many saints who have truly seen me with their hearts and inspired me to see others with the loving eyes of Jesus. My mentor and friend Dr. Carlos Gomez was one of those people whose enormous heart was matched with a massive intellect that made him an extraordinary healer. Sadly, he could not see himself as so many of us saw him, and he ended his life by suicide. I often told him how amazing he was, and to honor his heart-vision, I vowed to regularly thank the people who see with the eyes of their heart.
In my sermon this week, I explore a scene in “The Dragon Prince” and the ways that we can change our minds when we learn to see with our heart. Thankfully, we can strengthen this heart-vision with the loving-kindness meditation (metta practice) – take a listen and then I’d love to hear who has seen you with the eyes of their hearts.
Abundant blessings,
Libby