10 June, Thursday — Unveiled

Thursday of Week 10 in Ordinary Time

2 Cor 3:15-4:1,3-6
Mt 5:20-26

And we, with our unveiled faces reflecting like mirrors the brightness of the Lord, all grow brighter and brighter as we are turned into the image that we reflect.

When I read the readings for today, I imagined a bride as she is about to be unveiled. She is veiled throughout the wedding ceremony, the couple make their vows to each other. The priest says, ‘You may kiss the bride,’ the bride and the bridegroom turn to each other, and the groom unveils his bride. What stood out to me was that the bride has to turn to the groom before the groom unveils her. The groom did not unveil her while she was facing anywhere else.

To extend this bridal analogy, the bride had to walk towards where the groom was waiting. As she walks down the aisle, I would assume it’s not so easy to see because of the veil. Another thought is that she must also have come of her free will to get married.

The final part of this image I had in mind is that when she is unveiled, we see the bride beaming and radiant. She becomes even more radiant as she continues to gaze at her groom.

I imagine we are the same with the Lord. Whenever we decide to look away from him, we become veiled. We don’t see the world clearly, and the world can’t see us clearly as well. The Lord also won’t force us to look towards him. It is our choice to face our Lord and he respects that.

When we turn to him and allow ourselves to be unveiled by him, we get a glimpse of God’s loving face more clearly. Seeing Him beaming with love and seeing him so proud of us would definitely make us smile and beam with joy.

So, as part of this reflection, I invite you all to find some time to close your eyes and imagine yourselves veiled, walking towards God. Let’s think that every step we take is a step of free will. We can choose to walk all the way towards God, or to turn our backs and run away. Let’s reflect on how we see God through our veils. What do those veils represent for us?

Let’s also imagine how we would feel, what we would think, when we finally see God’s face without anything hindering us.

Let’s recognize these feelings and thoughts as gifts of the Holy Spirit and let them inspire us to continue moving forward towards God.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Stephanie Villa)

Prayer: Dear Lord, with every step I take towards you, please give me the grace to choose to continue with the next step.

Thanksgiving: Thank you, Lord, for giving us the the sacrament of marriage, especially in how it reflects our joy when we finally see you face to face without a veil.