Open my eyes, Lord!

Have you ever walked past a sign that might keep you safe and healthy without noticing it? Like a STOP sign on the road, or an “Out of Order” sign on a restroom door? Psychological studies show that we naturally tune things out sometimes to keep from being overwhelmed with new decisions to make. But we also see from these examples that this can lead to bad consequences. 

This can also be true in the spiritual life. Sometimes we are blinded to the workings of God by our sins. (In that case, a good confession is a great remedy.) But other times we might simply ignore the new things that God is doing or desires to do in our life because we have a routine that works for us, and we’re not interested in that routine being disrupted. 

If the Christian life is a school of love, in which we become disciples of the Lord and learn to love as He loves, then we always have something new to learn. Complacency in the spiritual life can keep us from realizing fully our call to holiness. 

The season of Lent is a good opportunity to be shaken from our complacency and blindness, and to recognize anew the working of God in our life and the world. The three “pillars” of Lent can help us in this: Fasting makes us feel our “rough edges” and shows us where we still need to be perfected; Almsgiving pulls us outside ourselves, teaching us to be generous with others, as the Lord is with us; Prayer teaches us to listen for the voice of the Lord and be attentive to His gentle and unassuming presence. 

During this Lenten season, let’s look for ways to slow down and be attentive to the things — and especially the people — that may otherwise go unnoticed in our daily life. Through God’s grace, may we begin again to look at the world anew and with the eyes of faith.