January 8, 2026
The Courage to Fully See
Maybe, for the time being, we have to accept the many fluctuations between knowing and not knowing, seeing and not seeing, feeling and not feeling, between days in which the whole world seems like a rose garden and days in which our hearts seem tied to a millstone, between moments of ecstatic joy and moments of gloomy depression, between the humble confession that the newspaper holds more than our souls can bear and the realization that it is only through facing up to the reality of our world that we can grow into our own responsibility. Maybe we have to be tolerant toward our own avoidances and denial in the conviction that we cannot force ourselves to face what we are not ready to respond to, and in the hope that in one future day we will have the courage and strength to open our eyes fully and see without being destroyed. All this might be the case, as long as we remember that there is no hope in denial or avoidance, neither for ourselves, nor for anyone else, and that new life can only be born out of the seed planted in crushed soil. Indeed God, our Lord, “will not scorn this crushed and broken heart” (Psalm 51:17).
“He will not cry out or lift up his voice or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth, and the coastlands wait for his teaching.”
- Isaiah 42: 2- 4
Reflection Question: How will you cultivate the courage to fully see and respond today?
