Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus

Divine Appeal Reflection  - 92

Today, consider in Divine Appeal 92: "I long and I ardently desire souls to fix their eyes on Me and never turn them away. Souls that see themselves overwhelmed with miseries attribute nothing good to themselves." 

The appeal unveils, with a depth that borders on the unbearable and a tenderness that pierces the very core of being, the interior longing of Our Adorable Jesus—a longing rooted not merely in His Sacred Humanity but in the eternal will of the Trinity to communicate divine life and draw all into communion (cf. Jn 17:21–23; cf. CCC 221, 260). This desire is not symbolic but ontological and salvific, inscribed into creation itself, for Christ as the Incarnate Logos is the origin, center, and end toward whom all things are ordered (cf. Col 1:16–17; cf. Heb 1:3). To “fix one’s eyes” on Him is therefore the fulfillment of the human vocation: the intellect adhering to Truth  and the will cleaving to the Supreme Good (cf. Ps 73:25–26), where knowledge becomes love and love becomes participation in divine life (cf. 2 Pet 1:4). This gaze is profoundly Eucharistic, for Christ veils His glory under humble species, inviting a faith that transcends sense and enters real Presence . Practically, this demands interior recollection: amid distraction (cf. Ps 46:10), mental fatigue (cf. Wis 9:15), and worldly preoccupation (cf. Lk 21:34), the soul returns inward to the indwelling Trinity . The saints teach that this gaze is not sustained by feeling but by fidelity (cf. 1 Thess 5:17; cf. Gal 6:9). St. Teresa of Avila speaks of a loving awareness of God’s gaze (cf. Song 2:14), while St. Elizabeth of the Trinity describes a simple, abiding attention (cf. Col 3:2). Thus, the appeal summons the soul to re-center all existence in Christ .

The second movement penetrates the mystery of misery and grace with striking theological precision, unveiling the paradox at the heart of the fallen yet redeemed human condition. To be “overwhelmed with miseries” is to encounter concretely the reality of concupiscence, moral fragility, and existential limitation that mark humanity after the fall (cf. Rom 7:18–24; cf. Ps 51:5; cf. CCC 405, 2515), where the will desires the good yet experiences division within itself (cf. Gal 5:17). Yet Christ does not call the soul to discouragement but to truth—a truth that liberates precisely because it situates the creature rightly before the Creator (cf. Jn 8:32; cf. Ps 119:68). To “attribute nothing good to oneself” is not a denial of the image of God (cf. Gen 1:27; cf. CCC 1701), but a purification of false appropriation, recognizing that all goodness in the creature is participated goodness, flowing from God as First Cause and sustained in every moment by His creative will . This corresponds to the metaphysical vision articulated by St. Thomas Aquinas, in which the creature possesses being and goodness not by essence but by reception (cf. 1 Cor 4:7). In daily life, this dismantles subtle forms of spiritual pride—self-reliance, comparison, and the desire for recognition (cf. Lk 18:11–12)—and reorients the soul toward radical receptivity . Eucharistically, this humility reaches its summit: the communicant approaches not as one worthy, but as one invited , and the altar becomes the school of truth where the soul learns that its poverty is not an obstacle but the very condition for divine indwelling .

The insistence on “never turning away” introduces the ascetical and eschatological depth of the appeal, revealing the drama of freedom situated between grace and fragility. Human freedom, though elevated and healed by grace, remains vulnerable to distraction, acedia, and disordered attachments that gradually erode fidelity . The act of turning away is seldom sudden; it unfolds through subtle neglect—prayer deferred (cf. Lk 18:1), conscience dulled , and priorities imperceptibly reordered . Philosophically, this reflects the instability of the will when it is not firmly anchored in its ultimate end, for the heart, if not fixed on God, disperses itself among lesser goods . The appeal therefore calls for a habitual orientation, a stable interior disposition that resists fragmentation and sustains unity of life . Scripture underscores perseverance as essential to salvation , while the Catechism presents prayer as covenantal fidelity requiring vigilance, humility, and sustained effort . Practically, this entails concrete structures: fixed times of prayer (cf. Ps 55:17), regular sacramental life (cf. Acts 2:42), disciplined stewardship of time , and intentional recollection amid activity . A student resisting distraction (cf. Wis 1:1), a worker navigating ethical tension (cf. Mic 6:8), and a parent persevering through fatigue (cf. Gal 6:9) are each summoned to this fidelity. St. Ignatius of Loyola proposes the daily examen as continual reorientation (cf. Ps 139:23–24), while St. John of the Cross warns against subtle infidelities that dissipate the soul’s focus . The tabernacle stands as a silent axis within the flux of life (cf. Ex 25:8), and to return—even without consolation—is to share in Christ’s own steadfast fidelity, who remains faithful despite human inconstancy (cf. 2 Tim 2:13). Such perseverance is not merely moral endurance but a real participation in divine fidelity .

The apostolic dimension emerges as a necessary consequence of this fixed gaze, revealing that union with Christ is never self-enclosed but intrinsically missionary. The soul that abides in Him becomes, by real participation, an instrument of His salvific action (cf. Jn 15:5; cf. CCC 863), not through restless activism but through a fecundity that flows from communion . The refusal to turn away—even amid personal misery, dryness, or weakness—allows Christ to extend His redemptive gaze through the soul into the world (cf. 2 Cor 4:7), transforming interior fidelity into hidden apostolic power. Scripture illuminates this mystery through figures whose gaze becomes mediation: Moses interceding for Israel with bold perseverance , Abraham pleading for Sodom in filial audacity , and the Blessed Virgin Mary standing beneath the Cross in unwavering communion, receiving and offering all in silent participation . Their fidelity of presence becomes a channel of grace for others .In contemporary life, this apostolic fruitfulness often remains hidden yet profoundly effective: a nurse tending the suffering with compassion (cf. Mt 10:42), a teacher forming minds in truth(cf. Prov 22:6) , a young person resisting cultural compromise , a laborer offering honest work in obscurity . Such acts, when united to Christ, enter the mysterious economy of redemption . St. Faustina Kowalska perceived that souls deeply united to Jesus become living channels through which Divine Mercy flows into others (cf. Jn 7:38). Eucharistically, this reaches a profound culmination: the communicant becomes a living monstrance, bearing Christ into environments where He is unrecognized or forgotten . Thus, the appeal reveals its missionary core—calling every vocation to become a locus of divine presence through unwavering fidelity of gaze .

The final synthesis of the appeal is profoundly mystical, drawing the soul into the very heart of Trinitarian life, where all divine initiative finds its origin and fulfillment. When the soul fixes its gaze on Christ and attributes nothing to itself, it enters into a movement of self-emptying that reflects the kenosis of the Son, who, though equal with God, humbles Himself in obedient love . This interior dispossession is not a negation of being but its perfection, for it renders the soul radically receptive to divine indwelling . In this way, emptiness becomes capacity, and poverty becomes fullness (cf. 2 Cor 8:9). The result is a real participation in the divine nature , wherein Christ lives, acts, and loves within the soul , transforming it from within according to the likeness of the Son . This signifies the fulfillment of human teleology: the creature reaches its end not through self-assertion but through total alignment with its source, existing now in a state of participated being fully open to its Origin . Practically, such union manifests in simplicity and transparency of life—actions carried out without self-seeking (cf. Phil 2:3–4), love given without calculation (cf. 1 Cor 13:5), and suffering embraced in quiet conformity to Christ (cf. 1 Pet 2:21). St. John of the Cross describes this as a state in which the soul becomes “God by participation” (cf. Jn 17:22–23), radiating divine life in hidden and transformative ways. Eucharistically, this mystery is both signified and effected: the soul contemplates Christ (cf. 2 Cor 3:18), receives Him (cf. Jn 6:56), and is progressively configured to Him in being and action . In a fragmented and distracted world (cf. Lk 21:34), such souls become silent witnesses to transcendence (cf. Mt 5:14), embodying a holiness that is at once contemplative and apostolic, hidden yet efficacious, accessible in every vocation—clerical, consecrated, and lay . Thus, the appeal reveals a path both demanding and grace-filled: to remain fixed on Christ is to participate already in the renewal of all creation in Him .

Prayer

Our Adorable Jesus, we cling to Your gaze in our poverty, refusing every distraction that draws us away. Empty us of self so Your grace may reign. In our duties and sufferings, keep us faithful and recollected. Form in us a quiet, constant awareness of Your presence. Amen.

Sr. Anna Ali of the Most Holy Eucharist, intercede for us