By P. Luigi Navone, OCD
The following article is from the magazine “Il Messaggero,” October-November 2004, and was translated from the Italian by Fr. Michael Buckley, OCD.
This is a theme that was dear to the heart of St. Teresa of Jesus: to fix our eyes on Jesus who is looking at us. It is one of the most recurrent and incisive counsels which she left to her sisters. By means of this gaze, and understanding and an invitation are created. “Jesus looked at him and loved him” (Mk 10, 21). Frequently the Gospels describing his life and the people whom he encountered emphasize the fact that he turns, sees, and fixes his gaze intently. Thus it was in the calling of the twelve apostles: he passes by, observes, invites, welcomes. “Walking along the lakeshore … he saw Simon and Andrew … Jesus said to them, follow me … they follow him. He sees James and John … he calls them … leaving their father they follow him … (Mk 1, 16, 17-20).
In the presence of the sick: he sees the suffering … sees their faith, has compassion, approaches, touches, commands, cures, restores (Lk 7, 11-15; Mk 5, 30-34). Similarly in the case of the crowds that followed him: “Coming ashore he saw a large crowd, and he has compassion on them … and he set about teaching them many things” (Mk 6, 34).
In addition to transmitting the fascination of his personality, the eyes of Jesus are able to read the secrets of the soul and to communicate with immediate and absolute clarity a determinate message (Jn 1, 42; Mk 10, 21; Lk 22, 61). Sometimes, in order to discover the innermost thoughts of a person or to communicate something, Jesus feels the need to “turn about.” John, describing his first encounter with Jesus, notes for us many details of that memorable experience. Jesus invites him in a gradual manner, together with another disciple. And the Master who certainly had no need to turn around to know who they were or to know what they wanted, is reported to have “turned around.” Probably this was to give a “realistic” tone to the encounter, to attract a cordial response with due respect to the person concerned. Looking on these young men with attention and interest, Jesus was able to gather from their expression the fact that they were in search of something special.
On another occasion and in another context, invited by Jairus to cure his dying daughter, as he made his way to the house, he felt that healing power had gone out from him. He turned around to see who it was that had touched him. Discovering the woman, he assured her: “Daughter, your faith has saved you; go in peace and be healed” (Mk 5, 30-34).
Many times, Jesus must have looked on the fisherman of Galilee from the first encounter when he changed his name from Simon to Peter. During the whole time they were together, surely there must have arisen between the two a deep understanding and intimacy, which often could manifest itself simply in one profound regard. And thus we readily understand why after his denial it was sufficient for Jesus just to turn and look at Peter: “And going out, he wept bitterly” (Lk 22, 62). The gaze of Jesus penetrated deeply; it was an invitation to salvation and peace, which at the same time accomplished transformation. Jesus, prior to making a choice, fixed his gaze on a person to reveal the soul (Jn 1, 42). He observed and sensed deeply what was in the heart of man.
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