Thursday after Epiphany
"Lk 4:14-22"
Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the sabbath day. And he stood up to read; and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor..." And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
We read that "the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him". We can imagine the curious looks of those Jews in Nazareth who had seen Jesus as a Child running through their streets, as a Boy passing with Joseph in front of their houses, as a Teenager carrying furniture that He had made with His own Hands. Now they see the Man in front of them and they can't take their eyes off Him.
Sometimes in our prayer we spend time talking to Our Lord. But sometimes nothing comes to mind, we feel exhausted, our minds go blank. That shouldn't prevent us from doing our mental prayer. Prayer can lead us to the 'contemplation' of Jesus. This lesson has been taught by simple people to many priests. St. John Vianney once noticed a peasant come in to the church and stay for hours in front of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. The Saint asked this man, "What do you say to Him?" The peasant replied, "Nothing, I look at Him and He looks at me."
Another priest found a woman praying intensely in front of the Tabernacle with the Gospel opened on her lap. The priest told the woman, "I thought you didn't know how to read!" "And I don't," she replied, "I open the Gospel and kiss a different page every day. Then I look at Him and wonder how He was... and try to see Him with the eyes of my soul." Throughout the Christmas season we have been contemplating Him in the Crib, with you, Mary, Mother of Jesus, my Mother, and with Joseph, my father and lord. In my prayer I want to fix my eyes on Him, convinced that He is looking back at me. "I know Your Gaze well, Lord, when You rest Your Eyes on me serenely and firmly. That’s probably why you allow the thick fog to remove all doubt. I always search for my answer in your eyes. And there I always find it" (Francisca González).
