The Longing to Be Seen

Reflecting on the recent Holy Week and Easter, we are drawn to recognize the ultimate gift Jesus offered us through his sacrifice on the cross. He did this as a visible sign of his unconditional love for us. This gift still resonates as a beacon of hope and salvation.

Romans 5:8 proclaims this by saying, “But God demonstrates his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This shows that while we are broken and undeserving, Christ’s sacrificial love was still offered to us. As it says in Romans 5:6: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for us, the ungodly.”

This passage helps us to understand that God sees us, recognizes our sins and transgressions, and loves us anyway. We currently live in a society in which people whose lives do not “contribute to their community at large” are often disregarded or forgotten. As I drive through my home city of Phoenix, I see this daily. People on the corners, begging to be seen and supported. As Catholics, we are asked to see Jesus in others and serve them. We know that all human beings possess inherent dignity as they were created in the image and likeness of God. The tricky part is in how we can best support and serve these individuals in practical and “dignity-affirming ways”.

My teen son and I had signed up on St. Valentine’s Day this year to volunteer with an organization called The Harvest Compassion Center. They are a non-profit with various locations in Arizona that serve the poor. We have done many service hours with other food banks, but the way that they provide this service stood out to me. Each family that walked through their doors was assigned a “personal shopper”. Our job was to chat with them and assess their needs through conversations while shopping. They were offered the usual canned goods, meat, fresh fruits, vegetables, and personal items. While shopping together, this led to many personal conversations.

When offered a choice of different shampoos, one man with very long, tangled hair said, “I need to take two — my hair will never be the same!” We laughed, and I commented that people like my husband, who is bald, would LOVE to have his long locks. The next young man who was visiting with a group home was so polite with his answers, “Yes, Ma’am”, or “No, thank you, please give that to someone who needs that item more than I do.” I thanked him for his good manners, and he told me that his mama had taught him well. I asked if he saw her often, and he stated that he should give her a call. I encouraged this as a mom myself, saying, “Yes— she’s probably missing you!” Each shopper was given a chance to browse the section with gifts like costume jewelry, children’s items, and ornaments (from years past). It was joyful to see them light up when offered an opportunity to take one of these items for a loved one. Many liked the idea of gifting something to someone they cared about, rather than just receiving items for themselves.

The last family, who came in at the end of the four-hour shopping period, had a special-needs adult daughter with them. These parents were so kind and patient as they allowed their daughter to choose most of the items for their shared home. She delighted in the produce area when I offered multiple tomatoes, pineapples, melons, and oranges. Her mom stated that her daughter’s favorites are all fruits and that they go through these fast! When they arrived at the jewelry section, the father took the time to help his daughter try on a few of the necklaces to see which she preferred. He commented each time, “Wow, don’t you look pretty!” He was then met with a beaming smile from her. Before they left, they mentioned that the city they had moved from did not have places like this that really cared, treated them with dignity, and valued them by offering choices about what they wanted/needed. They felt honored by our conversations, the opportunity to have choices, and the support they received that day. As they were leaving, another volunteer found the last pair of heart earrings and gave them to the mother. She teared up a bit and said she did not expect to receive a gift that day, but was just happy that her daughter did. She said, “Thank you- this just made my Valentine’s Day so special!”

This entire experience helped me to see clearly the longing in our world to be seen and valued. This longing to be seen is inherently a longing for God, as Pope St. John Paul II stated, “Drives human creativity, deep relationships, and the search for profound meaning.” In his teaching on the “divine gaze,” JPII emphasized that God sees us completely and offers his “gaze of love,” which validates the person’s existence and brings a sense of peace to their soul. I tried to convey this to each guest I was assigned to that day to the best of my ability. We all strive to live the beatitudes in our daily lives. The first beatitude resonated with me from this experience. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven”. When physically serving others, it is important to recognize their spiritual needs as well. I did not have the opportunity to speak to each person about Christ that day, but I did show them love and offer a prayer for everyone that I encountered. I thought back on this time and recalled Mother Teresa, who so beautifully stated, “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love!”  

Written by, Dena Reany,
Regional Director of Implementation
for Ruah Woods Institute