Baxter sometimes has a very strange look. He stares either into empty space or at me seeming to see something that isn’t there. This “cat look” has often been off-putting to many people, and some have accused the species of sinister motives because of this mysterious stare. Is it a curse they are imposing? Is it black magic their stare conveys to unsuspecting victims? What does Baxter see when he enters into this Buddhist–like trance with his eyes wide open? The unusual look in his cat eyes raises my curiosity and suspicions.
I suppose that we will never know what is behind “the look” that cats give. However, this feline fancy raises a second thought for our ordinary human vision. How do we look on life? The “cat look” reminds us that there may be more to see than we usually take in. We see the problems we must solve—a leaking roof, peeling paint, potholes, torn clothing, a burnt meal, etc. We see the annoying things we do to each other—he grinds his teeth, she fingers her hair, etc. We see the threats in our world—drug deals on our streets, abused children, random violence in our neighborhoods and world terrorism. We see the dilemmas we face—empty checking accounts, home foreclosures, unemployment, rising gas prices. All of these empty our eyes of their spark and vitality. Our vision becomes clouded by the heaviness of life’s burdens, and we don’t notice anything bright when our souls grow cold in a spiritual winter.
The Jesuit priest, Gerard Manley Hopkins, wrote: “There is the dearest freshness deep down things”! If we are to refresh our souls, we need to look deeply at life. We need to get beyond the problems, annoyances and threats to the mystery that supersedes them all. This mystery ties together the particular moments, whether good or bad, by rooting them in eternity where the good points to still greater blessings, and the bad is redeemed in forgiveness and healing. This mystery probes our hearts to seize their desire to love and be loved by the satisfaction of an unconditional love that cannot end. This mystery expresses itself in sacramental signs where everything is more than it appears to be when God claims it as the vehicle of His grace. This mystery is our life blood, our life breath, our bread of life, the reason we live. The God revealed in Jesus and living with us in the Spirit is the mystery we encounter when we live deeply enough. So work on developing “the look”, not of cat’s eyes but of God’s eye envisioning a world where the divine mystery sparkles in every encounter.
