This is the follow-up to yesterday’s post on guide books.  That reflection was inspired by Pope Francis suggesting that as pilgrims we have two “guide books” to help us on our way; the Bible, and creation. As I commented, most people are pretty good at reading scenery and animals as a communication about God. How often our minds and hearts are raised to God when we savour the lake and mountain vista, or when we marvel at whales surfacing then diving. We might even frame these images on the walls of our homes.

The challenge comes when we try to read the human person as a language that speaks of God. Sure, we might have images of family and friends in our living-room gallery, but the strangers in the mall and on the bus, each one of these people is created by God as the divine image, the ultimate in God’s creative activity, much more marvellous than any land or seascape.  Tragically we have become illiterate in this fundamental human language that is most central to our health and happiness.

However it is possible to re-learn this language. A few years ago I had the good fortune to be taught by Sister Mary Evelyn Jegen SND. She suggests a method for re-learning the language that the human person is. Mary Evelyn calls this method “Benevolent Glancing.” You might like to practice this. Tap on the image to read Mary Evelyn’s description of Benevolent Glancing.