Job 9: 1-12, 14-16
Then Job answered his friends and said:
“Indeed I know that this is so;
but how can a mortal be just before God?
If one wished to contend with him,
one could not answer him once in a thousand.
He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength
—who has resisted him, and succeeded?—
he who removes mountains, and they do not know it,
when he overturns them in his anger;
who shakes the earth out of its place,
and its pillars tremble;
who commands the sun, and it does not rise;
who seals up the stars;
who alone stretched out the heavens
and trampled the waves of the Sea;
who made the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the chambers of the south;
who does great things beyond understanding,
and marvelous things without number.
Look, he passes by me, and I do not see him;
he moves on, but I do not perceive him.
He snatches away; who can stop him?
Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
How then can I answer him,
choosing my words with him?
Though I am innocent, I cannot answer him;
I must appeal for mercy to my accuser.
If I summoned him and he answered me,
I do not believe that he would listen to my voice.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
The Gaze of the Beloved
I always enjoy praying with St. Ignatius’ Contemplation on the Incarnation. I love prayerfully imagining the beloved Trinity, transcendently looking down on all of creation, noticing the complexity and variety of human experience. With today’s first reading, I find myself wanting to, imaginatively, return the gaze of the Beloved, turning my gaze towards the Beloved Trinity and all they have created. This shift towards a mutually loving gaze between creator and creature immediately rights my relationship with God and creation. We know from modern neuroscience that sustained eye contact with a beloved, even without speaking, releases oxytocin, increasing connection and trust between individuals. I am humbled and in awe at the magnificence of God’s splendor and my tiny part in it, while simultaneously being affirmed in the significance of my existence.
So then, when we, like Job, find ourselves becoming unaware of God, not seeing or perceiving God’s movement, even when God passes very close by; or when we find ourselves, like Job, feel tempted to question God, or plead our case or our cause, let us instead:
pause,
breathe, and
turn our gaze towards the Beloved,
gently holding Their gaze as
They love us.
—Laura Gilmartin is the Grants Manager and Facilitator of Urban Plunge immersion retreats at Casa Romero Jesuit Renewal Center, serves on the leadership team of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps of Milwaukee, and maintains a private spiritual care practice for monthly spiritual direction as well as the accompaniment of people through The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. She completed her formation to serve in this capacity through the Seminars in Ignatian Formation with the Midwest Province of Jesuits.
Prayer
Glory,
to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now,
and will be forever.
Amen.
—Traditional prayer