The Pilgrim's Rule
Chapter 5
The Eyes of Faith
Learning to See as God Sees
The light of thy body is thy eye. If thy eye be single, thy whole body shall be lightsome. But if thy eye be evil, thy whole body shall be darksome.
Among all the senses bestowed upon man, none gathers more of the created world than the eye. From the first light of dawn until the shadows of evening, it receives an unceasing stream of images. It beholds the beauty of the heavens, the faces of those we love, the labor of our hands, and the countless wonders that God has spread before us. Through the eye the mind is instructed, the memory enriched, and the heart often moved.
Yet the eye was not created merely to see.
It was created to teach.
Our Divine Lord declared, "The light of thy body is thy eye." By these words He revealed that the eye possesses a lesson extending far beyond bodily sight. As the body follows the direction of the eyes, so the soul follows the direction of its deepest desires. What the eye continually seeks, the heart gradually learns to love.
How wisely the Creator has ordered this faculty.
The eye does not create light.
It receives it.
When darkness covers the earth, the eye cannot produce daylight by its own power. It must await the rising of the sun. Thus God teaches that truth is not invented by man but received from Him Who is the Light of the world.
The Christian therefore does not ask God to confirm whatever he already wishes to believe. Rather, he asks for the to see things as they truly are. Faith is not the creation of truth within the mind; it is the reception of truth from God.
There are many kinds of blindness.
There is the blindness of the body, by which a man cannot behold the beauty of creation. There is also the blindness of the soul, which is far more dangerous. A man may possess perfect eyesight and yet fail to recognize within himself, vanity in his ambitions, error in his judgments, or the mercies that surround him each day.
Such blindness often comes gradually.
No one enters a dark room and immediately forgets the light. But if he remains there long enough, his eyes slowly become accustomed to the darkness. What first appeared strange begins to seem ordinary. In like manner, the soul that continually exposes itself to falsehood, , or gradually loses its sensitivity. What once troubled the becomes familiar. What once seemed shocking becomes acceptable. Darkness does not usually conquer by violence; it conquers by habit.
The eye teaches another lesson.
It naturally turns toward whatever is beautiful.
This desire was placed within us by God, for He Himself is Infinite Beauty. Yet after the Fall, man's vision became disordered. Instead of seeking what is truly beautiful, he is often captivated by appearances alone. The glitter of the world easily distracts him from the quiet splendor of . He admires success more readily than , applause more than holiness, novelty more than truth.
The Christian pilgrim must therefore learn to purify his sight.
He looks upon creation with gratitude but never allows it to replace the Creator. He delights in beauty because it reflects God, not because it distracts from Him. Every lovely landscape, every work of sacred art, every noble act of , every star that adorns the night sky becomes another invitation to raise his eyes beyond the gift to the Giver.
There is a profound difference between looking and seeing.
Many stood before Our Lord during His earthly life.
Some saw only the carpenter's son.
Others beheld the promised Messias.
The same eyes looked upon the same Face, yet faith allowed some to perceive what others could not. Thus the greatest vision is not possessed by the sharpest eyesight but by the purest heart.
This is why Holy has always treasured .
guards the eye because it guards the heart. Once the eye becomes accustomed to , the imagination follows, the memory retains what should have been forgotten, and the affections become divided. The battle is seldom lost in one great moment. More often it is surrendered through countless small glances that slowly train the soul to admire what God does not.
The saints understood the discipline of holy custody.
They did not avert their eyes because creation was evil. They governed their sight because it was precious. A gardener protects a spring not because water is dangerous, but because it gives life. So too the Christian protects his eyes because through them many blessings enter the soul—and many as well.
There is another mystery hidden within sight.
The eye cannot behold itself.
It requires a mirror.
Likewise, the soul often struggles to see its own faults. It readily perceives the weaknesses of others while remaining strangely unaware of its own. God therefore provides mirrors for the pilgrim: Sacred Scripture, the examination of , the teachings of Holy , the examples of the saints, and the correction of those who sincerely seek our good. Blessed is the man who welcomes these mirrors, for they reveal not only his wounds but also the path to healing.
One day the eyes of the body shall close for the final time.
The beauty of this world shall disappear from earthly sight. Yet for the faithful pilgrim, this closing is not the end of vision but its beginning. Faith, which has guided the soul through the shadows of this life, shall give way to sight. The eyes that once admired the works of God shall be surpassed by the soul beholding God Himself.
Every sunrise has prepared us for that eternal Day.
Every candle upon the altar has pointed toward that everlasting Light.
Every glimpse of beauty has been but a faint reflection of the Beauty for which the human heart was created.
Blessed, then, is the pilgrim who has learned to see by the light of faith, for when the eyes of earth close, the eyes of eternity shall be opened.
For Meditation
Consider today what most often occupies your eyes. Does it lead your heart toward God or quietly draw it away from Him? Ask for the to see every created beauty as a reflection of its Creator, and every passing light as a reminder of the Light that shall never set.
Rule for the Pilgrim
Guard your eyes with reverence, for they often become the doorway through which either or enters the soul. Learn to see every created thing in the light of God, and your heart will gradually learn to love what He loves.