{"id":261187,"date":"2016-06-19T07:00:49","date_gmt":"2016-06-19T12:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/?p=261187"},"modified":"2016-06-17T17:17:08","modified_gmt":"2016-06-17T22:17:08","slug":"gazing-image-icon-divine-mercy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2016\/06\/gazing-image-icon-divine-mercy\/","title":{"rendered":"Gazing at the Image or Icon of Divine Mercy"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"GazingWhat does gazing at an image or icon of Divine Mercy do for my mind, body, and soul? The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, <\/span>\u201cThe beauty of images moves me [us] to contemplation…\u201d<\/span><\/i> (1162) So what is contemplation? <\/span>\u201cContemplation is a gaze of faith, fixed on Jesus, \u2018I look at him and he looks at me.\u2019”<\/span><\/i> (CCC 2715). \u00a0This definition is taken from St. John Vianney, \u201cthe Cure of Ars\u201d when he asked a very faithful and poor peasant who daily gazed intently upon Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Jesus,

Jesus, Mary, and Martha by Anton Dorph<\/p><\/div>\n

Contemplating, or gazing at Jesus is what Mary, the sister of Martha, discovers and this is why Jesus says, <\/span>\u201cMary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/i>(Lk.10:42) \u00a0The Catechism further explains that, <\/span>“Contemplative prayer is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us.”<\/span><\/i> (2709) This definition comes from St. Teresa of Avila, Doctor of the Church and mystic, when she explains contemplation at its most highest and supernatural level. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In essence we become what we love and what our eyes gaze upon, <\/span>\u201cAll of us gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image<\/span><\/i> from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is Spirit.\u201d<\/span><\/i> (2 Cor. 3:18) \u00a0Before Eucharistic adoration, monks and nuns would kneel, sit, stand, and prostrate themselves before images and icons in their cells. \u00a0But what they most did in all those postures was gaze upon the beloved, and this would set their mind, body, and soul on fire. \u00a0Not just any kind of fire but the \u201cFire of Contemplation\u201d which allowed them to peer into all the heavenly mysteries and knowledge or as the Catechism explains, <\/span>\u201cContemplation also turns its gaze on the mysteries of the life of Christ. Thus it learns the \u2018interior knowledge of our Lord,\u2019 the more to love him and follow him.\u201d <\/span><\/i>(2715)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Pope

Pope Francis carries a monstrance holding the Blessed Sacrament during the Corpus Christi observance May 30 in Rome. (CNS photo\/Paul Haring)<\/p><\/div>\n

Yes, the ancients knew that we are slowly being made new and changed into His image and likeness each time we gaze upon Him even through it appears to be just an image or icon. \u00a0The Catechism concurs, <\/span>\u201cThrough their icons, it is man \u2018in the image of God,\u2019 finally transfigured \u2018into his likeness.\u2019<\/span><\/i>\u201d (1161) and <\/span>\u201cHe destined us in love to be conformed to the image of His Son.\u201d<\/span><\/i> (257) \u00a0Similarly, Jesus explains in Matthew 6:22 that the gaze is the lamp of the body and that we are either living in the light or in darkness depending upon our gaze. \u00a0In the world, in an opposite sense, is this not what happens when someone continually gazes upon pornography? \u00a0Except that the fiery experience does not build up the mind, body, and soul but instead destroys the divine life of the mind, body, and soul. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Children

Children Adoring the Blessed Sacrament<\/p><\/div>\n

When we gaze at Him, He gazes back at us as a mother irresistibly gazes upon her child except that it is a divine gaze that blesses, cleanses and sanctifies us in the process, <\/span>\u201cHis gaze purifies our heart; the light of the countenance of Jesus illumines the eyes of our heart and teaches us to see everything in the light of his truth and his compassion for all men.\u201d<\/span><\/i> (CCC 2715) His gaze is called the \u201cGaze of Mercy\u201d and it fills the soul with joy, delight, bliss, gladness, elation, rapture, and ecstasy. \u00a0This is what Zacchaeus, Mary Magdalene, Matthew (the tax collector), the lepers, the blind, and the infirm experienced when His gaze fell upon them. \u00a0St. Faustina writes about the \u201cGaze of Mercy\u201d coming from the Divine Mercy image in her diary, <\/span>\u201cHis divine gaze filled my heart with such joy that I have no words to express it.\u201d <\/span><\/i>(560) and again she explains, <\/span>\u201cHis eyes penetrate my soul to its most secret depths. My spirit communicates with God without any word being spoken.\u201d <\/span><\/i>(560)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The

The Calling of St. Matthew by Hendrick Terbrugghen<\/p><\/div>\n

Finally, if we seek His “Gaze of Mercy” here on earth, the best place to find it is at Mass or in an adoration chapel as St. John Paul II reminds us in the encyclical, Ecclesia Eucharistia, <\/span>“Consequently the gaze of the Church is constantly turned to her Lord, present in the Sacrament of the Altar, in which she discovers the full manifestation of his boundless love.”<\/span><\/i>\u00a0(1) and again he further adds, <\/span>“To contemplate Christ involves being able to recognize Him wherever He manifests Himself, in His many forms of presence, but above all in the living Sacrament of His Body.”<\/span><\/i> (6) \u00a0But, Jesus loves us so, so much and He desires to be with us even when we can’t attend church. \u00a0Hence, He has left us with the images of Divine Mercy, the Sacred Heart, and the Holy Face that we may gaze and contemplate them in our homes to experience what St. Faustina describes, <\/span>\u201cWhen I looked at this [Divine Mercy] image, I was pierced with such a lively love for God that, for a moment, I did not know where I was.\u201d<\/span><\/i> (1300)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A

Picture from Central Valley SDA Church, A Love that Transforms<\/p><\/div>\n

“The human heart is converted by looking upon Him whom our sins have pierced,”<\/span> (CCC 1432) \u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  What does gazing at an image or icon of Divine Mercy do for my mind, body, and soul? The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, \u201cThe beauty of images moves me [us] to contemplation…\u201d (1162) So what is contemplation? \u201cContemplation is a gaze of faith, fixed on Jesus, \u2018I look at him and he… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[90],"tags":[899,282,2339,3162,2781],"class_list":{"0":"post-261187","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-faith-blog","7":"tag-adoration","8":"tag-art","9":"tag-divine-mercy","10":"tag-image","11":"tag-year-of-mercy","12":"entry","13":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":395003,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2017\/04\/7-contemplative-gazes\/","url_meta":{"origin":261187,"position":0},"title":"The 7 Contemplative Gazes","author":"Deacon Guadalupe Rodriguez","date":"April 23, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Peter constantly gazed at Our Lord but like most of us listened poorly. \u00a0The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains how \"gazing\" at Jesus is a form of contemplation by stating, \u201cContemplation is a gaze of faith fixed on Jesus.\u201d \u00a0(2715) \u00a0Contemplation is the highest form of worship, and it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","block_context":{"text":"Column","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/column\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/transfiguration-large-icon-550x309.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/transfiguration-large-icon-550x309.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, 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Mercy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/AnnouncingHolyYearOfMercy-286x190.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":288290,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2016\/08\/seek-face-psalm1054\/","url_meta":{"origin":261187,"position":2},"title":"Seek His Face (Psalm105:4)","author":"Deacon Guadalupe Rodriguez","date":"August 27, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"In Misericordiae Vultus, Pope Francis states, \"Introduce everyone to the great mystery of God\u2019s mercy by contemplating the face of Christ,\" (25) and similarly on June 29, 2016, he states in the newly released apostolic constitution, \u201cSeeking the face of God has always been a part of human history.\u201d (Vultum\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Seek His 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Seventeen hundred years ago, the Emperor Constantine\u2019s insignia was the Sign of the Cross from a heavenly sign in the sky, which put a stop to the persecution and martyrdom of Christians. Five hundred years ago the heavenly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","block_context":{"text":"Column","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/column\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"AHeavenlySign","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/AHeavenlySign-550x275.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/AHeavenlySign-550x275.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/AHeavenlySign-550x275.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":104375,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/04\/divine-mercy-homily\/","url_meta":{"origin":261187,"position":4},"title":"Divine Mercy Homily","author":"Deacon Guadalupe Rodriguez","date":"April 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The second Sunday of Easter is celebrated as Divine Mercy Sunday. 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I always enjoy talking to people of other faiths, especially the ones convicted enough to try and teach others what they believe at random. They are no real threat to my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Crucifixion By Velazquez","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Diego-Velazquez-The-Crucifixion-Christ-on-the-Cross-196x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261187\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}