To See With the Eyes of a Believer

Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle

Poor Thomas; he learned the hard way that you don’t want to miss a meeting! He wasn’t present when Jesus appeared to the other Apostles, so Thomas didn’t believe. He had to see Jesus to believe he had risen from the dead. He had to see Jesus’ hands and feet, and place his hand inside Jesus’ wounds to believe. But once he did see Jesus (with both his eyes and his heart), Thomas was to the first Apostle to see Jesus for what he truly is “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)

Like many people, I have difficulty believing in something if I don’t physically see it. With God, my “blindness” is often caused by my selective eyesight. I choose to see certain things and choose to avoid others in my life. But when I focus on seeing with my eyes and my heart I can see so many wonderful things in my life.

I have developed the habit of performing a daily Examen (a spiritual exercise attributed to St. Ignatius of Loyola and practiced by the Jesuits). At night, I review my day and identify when I saw God working in my life — and when I chose to not look and not see. This simple practice helps me better appreciate God and all he does for me.

For simple instructions on how to perform a daily Examen, I recommend visiting this website: Daily Examen. The Jesuits even provide a downloadable review card to help walk you through the exercise.

“Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” (John 20:29)