How is it that people see Jesus in others and in the poor?

[Abba]

I don’t understand what people mean when they say that they see Jesus in others and in the poor. I thought I take the opportunity a couple of years when a Polish lady I met at the beach told me that she saw Jesus in me. She was situated with her two sons near me and my children and we got to talking. It turned out that she is Catholic and participates in a Polish Catholic forum and we, of course, spoke for quite some time about our faith. At one point she used that expression and I told her that I did not really understand what people mean when they say that and she responded that that is just about all she sees in me. * What little I came to understand from her explanation is that maybe it’s simply because I am christian. But, I still don’t get it.

Is this what people mean when they use that expression? That they see someone who is pious and christian? It seems to mean something else, because then, why not just say that they are pious? I am sure it means something else because people say that they see Jesus in others even when those others are not Catholic. How about the poor? How is it that people see Jesus in the poor?

What are people really saying when they use this expression?

Maybe, I need to be given the Grace to understand. On my own, I can’t figure it out.

Thank you for your time.*

 

[prodigalson12]

Think of it this way. While he was being tortured, he was in a way reliving through us, our sins, facing them along side of us, within us, all at once. Remember the garden, that is where it began, and it was a tremendous volume of experiences at once. People that live worldly lives, he still resides within, yet his presence is muted by the individual, and those of us that can allow his light to shine through us, allows others to see him within us. It all varys based on the individual as to how much of him shows, but take note, he mentions that what you do to the least of his bretheren, you are doing to him directly.

Remember this when you have the opportunity to lend a helping hand, and to love those that are downtrodden, for you are not doing so just for the individual, you are doing so for him directly, for he is within them, suffering right along with them at the same time.

 

[Abba]

Thank you for your time prodigalson12.

Think of it this way. While he was being tortured, he was in a way reliving through us, our sins, facing them along side of us, within us, all at once.

“…He was in a way reliving through us, our sins, facing them along side of us, within us, all at once” what do you by mean reliving through us. I have understood it as that he bore our sins and so he took our sins upon himself not that he or his spirit got in us and he bore all the sins of each individual. But, as I think while I type, this, if I come to understand it, would allow me to better understand when people say that he died for each and everyone of us and when people say to one another that he suffered and died for you in particular.

What do you mean by: "…facing them along side of us, within us, all at once:?

Thank you,

Abba

 

[bluerose]

Matthew 25: 31-40

“Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these, the least of my children, you did it for me.”

 

[Abba]

Matthew 25: 31-40

“Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these, the least of my children, you did it for me.”

I know, but, I don’t understand how or why.

35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37"Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40"The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

 

[Rawb]

Here’s how I see it.

Imagine your friend made a little clay figurine. They spent a ton of time on that figurine, just that one figurine. Then imagine you smashed it.

You didn’t show respect to your friend by smashing it, and in one sense we respect others because they have been made by Christ, and are held as special by Him.

In another sense, our souls are immortal and have a touch of the divine in them. That is how we are like God. C. S. Lewis described us as “amphibians” because we are both mortal and eternal. That bit of immortal soul is like Christ, and we recognize that in others too.

Then there’s acting like Christ. If you are behaving how Christ behaved, people might say “you’re acting just like Christ.” If your father used to clap his hands when he laughed, and years after he died you did that too, your family might tell you “I see your father in you when you do that.”

Finally I told my CCD kids this. If Christ knew that when He came down from Heaven, suffered through human life, was going to be whipped, kicked, spit upon, nailed to a cross and killed, and the result would only be the salvation of one human soul, He would have willingly come down from Heaven. We recognize the importance of each person to Christ in how we behave towards and see others, because if Christ could only have saved that one person by coming down from Heaven, He would have.

 

[Abba]

Thank you Rawb for responding.

Here’s how I see it.

Imagine your friend made a little clay figurine. They spent a ton of time on that figurine, just that one figurine. Then imagine you smashed it.

You didn’t show respect to your friend by smashing it, and in one sense we respect others because they have been made by Christ, and are held as special by Him.

I understand this and I do respect others. Actually, I am a super compassionate person and am in the process of establishing an organization that will help the poor whom I love. But, I do not see Christ in them. I don’t understand how people see Jesus in the poor.

In another sense, our souls are immortal and have a touch of the divine in them. That is how we are like God. C. S. Lewis described us as “amphibians” because we are both mortal and eternal. That bit of immortal soul is like Christ, and we recognize that in others too.

I understand that our souls are immortal and have a bit of the divine in them but this recognition does not bring me to exclaim with delight and a tender smile to a person, as some do, that I see Jesus in them.

Then there’s acting like Christ. If you are behaving how Christ behaved, people might say “you’re acting just like Christ.” If your father used to clap his hands when he laughed, and years after he died you did that too, your family might tell you “I see your father in you when you do that.”

Between you and me Rawb, and the rest of the world; sometimes I have seen priests walk an emperial walk and they remind me of Our Lord Jesus - King of Kings. They are not ‘acting like Christ’ they appear to me as to have the spirit of Christ. I guess this is as close as I have gotten to seeing Christ in others and this does not bring me to the point of exclaiming “I see Jesus in you!”

Finally I told my CCD kids this. If Christ knew that when He came down from Heaven, suffered through human life, was going to be whipped, kicked, spit upon, nailed to a cross and killed, and the result would only be the salvation of one human soul, He would have willingly come down from Heaven. We recognize the importance of each person to Christ in how we behave towards and see others, because if Christ could only have saved that one person by coming down from Heaven, He would have.

I also understand very clearly that Jesus loves every single human being very much. But, I do not understand why people say that he would have died for one single person.

Thank you for your assistance.

 

[Rawb]

But, I do not understand why people say that he would have died for one single person.

…because he would? I’m not sure I’m understanding what you’re not understanding.

I also think maybe it’s not the teaching of seeing Christ in others (you seem to understand that, intellectually) but a sort of joy in meeting others, or an emotion?

 

[prodigalson12]

abba, think of it this way. god knows all, is outside of our time line, that being, all of us, our thoughts, our experiences, he knows in intimate detail as well, as we experience pain and suffering in our lives, he does right along with us, as well as joy. Christ is also God, so he did not only die for our sins in general, he died for them individually, every single one of them, he’s the perfect priest, the one that sacrificed not only for the ones you know about, but for the ones that you do not, that is how intimate he is with this element. Not like the old covenent, where you would find out you sinned, bring the offering to the priest, he would then offer that up to our Lord, and it would be addressed.

You then take this into consideration at the garden, where he then faced all of them at once, knowing the full magnitude, but in his present state, being limited within a human physical being, naturally would have caused far, far more stress on his being then you could ever imagine, thus sweating blood as the result. then to add onto this, what we observe with his suffering on his way to Calvary, is only on the surface, there was far, far more going on underneath, in a spiritual way then anybody can imagine.

that is what I mean here, and I’m so sorry for the horrible cap’s on this one, I’m severely reduced to using a defective laptop keyboard because my plug in one basically died tonight, but the message is clear regardless.

 

[prodigalson12]

had to add onto this, but the edit feature timed out on me, so opted to add another reply instead.

christ resides within us, our hearts, living in us, and he’s more on the surface the closer the individual draws near him, so as you do to anybody, you literally are doing to him, himself because part of him is within that individual, weather they show it or not, he’s still there!

 

[dani4567]

I see this question was posted quite awhile ago…but I think I can give some insight.

There is seeing Jesus in the poor in the way that when someone is suffering, hungry, etc…Jesus suffers too. God suffers when we suffer, when we are neglected. When we help others, we relieve his suffering and help him too. He relives his calvary in us. Thus…“I was hungry and you fed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink.” We can also see Christ in someone who is acting kind, etc…the way Christ would ACT.

Then…there is a more mystical aspect to it. If you read about Mother Teresa, Cardenal Sancha Hervás, and the stories of the lives of many other saints…you will find they had an actual gift to LITERALLY see the face of God…Jesus…in the poor. They could mystically see Christ crucified in the starving, the ill, etc. “A pure heart can see God” as Mother Teresa always said…“Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.” Pretty amazing!

For most of us though, having a pure heart here on earth will let us contemplate the face of God in Heaven.

 

[catholicpublish]

I see Jesus in people all the time…
when a hand is lent…
when a wish is granted…
when a friend is a crying shoulder…
when a hug or touch of comfort is extended…
when people are there for each other…
when love is found…
when peace flourishes…
in the content…
in the righteous…
in the sick…
in the poor…
in the rich…
and the rich at heart…
in the healthy…
and in each other…
Jesus is there - you just have to keep an eye out for him.

 

[puzzleannie]

I don’t understand what people mean when they say that they see Jesus in others and in the poor.
. . . .
What are people really saying when they use this expression?

Maybe, I need to be given the Grace to understand. On my own, I can’t figure it out.

Thank you for your time.

I can’t answer for anyone else, except possibly for Mother Teresa, who explains in some of the excellent videos of her life and in her writings, what she meant by saying she saw Jesus in the poor she served. I recommend these sources highly. I mean simply that in the process of serving the poor I see Jesus Christ. I feed him, I touch him, I give him clothing and so forth. I don’t mean necessarily that the person is more godly or saintly, although among the poor great godliness and holiness can be seen, I simply mean that I am cognizent of Christ present in these individuals. Not all of them or every time I happen to be in a situation where, along with others, I am involved in some service to the materially or spiritually poor, but on occasion. I have had such a strong sense and experience of Christ presence it compares only in power to the sense of His presence in the Blessed Sacrament. The most recent was an Indian woman, holding an infant, sitting on a street corner in a town over the border, begging. I go to help an elderly nun who distributes food and otherwise aids those who come up from the interior of Mexico or sometimes from Guatemala looking for work, help or possibly a chance to get into the US. He was there on that corner. He was there.

most especially when someone is actively suffering, and that is the direst poverty, Christ is manifest in his crucified state, especially in the times there is nothing one can do to help the sufferer except to be with him, as Mary, John and the holy women were present at the foot of the cross. To perhaps come close to this experience the best recommendation I can give is to serve, not for the sake of that experience, but for the sake of Christ who says if you do it to one of the least of these you do it to Me.

 

[dani4567]

I can’t answer for anyone else, except possibly for Mother Teresa, who explains in some of the excellent videos of her life and in her writings, what she meant by saying she saw Jesus in the poor she served.

Actually, I’m not positive about the mystical aspect of Mother Teresa literally seeing Jesus in the poor…for some reason I keep thinking I read that somewhere. I do know that Cardenal Sancha Hervás had this gift for sure.

That’s not the important thing though…we just need to “know” that in loving others we are loving Jesus too and are literally doing it to Him at the same time too (“you did it to ME!”) as part of the mystical body of Christ and “see”/“recognize” the suffering of others as Christ suffering too in them…and also see the goodness/kindness of others as Christ reflecting through them.

 

[Abba]

…“I was hungry and you fed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink.”

That’s not the important thing though…we just need to “know” that in loving others we are loving Jesus too and are literally doing it to Him at the same time too (“you did it to ME!”) as part of the mystical body of Christ and “see”/“recognize” the suffering of others as Christ suffering too in them…and also see the goodness/kindness of others as Christ reflecting through them.

Hello dani4567 and everyone else participating in this thread.

I just want to touch base and let you all know that I am reading the responses. I am on my way out now to run some of the zillions of errands I have to do. This thread is heavy for me and I need to think and pray about the topic.

I think one of the obstacles that I have in clearly understanding and seeing what people are trying to share with me is that I am ignorant about other spiritual realities and somehow, I think that my ignorance of certain things interevenes with my understandings of others.My ignorance of certain spiritual realities seem to all be connected. I think that when I come to understand x I will understand a lot of the other missing letters of the alphabet.

dani4567 the understanding does involve an understanding of the mystical body of Christ. I am working on all this…but, it is not something I can force. Sorry.

See:
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=508680

Please keep providing explanations…hopefully something will make it all click for me. I will contemplate on this tonight a little.

Peace,

Abba

 

[PJM]

=Abba;6595967]I don’t understand what people mean when they say that they see Jesus in others and in the poor. I thought I take the opportunity a couple of years when a Polish lady I met at the beach told me that she saw Jesus in me. She was situated with her two sons near me and my children and we got to talking. It turned out that she is Catholic and participates in a Polish Catholic forum and we, of course, spoke for quite some time about our faith. At one point she used that expression and I told her that I did not really understand what people mean when they say that and she responded that that is just about all she sees in me. * What little I came to understand from her explanation is that maybe it’s simply because I am christian. But, I still don’t get it.

Is this what people mean when they use that expression? That they see someone who is pious and christian? It seems to mean something else, because then, why not just say that they are pious? I am sure it means something else because people say that they see Jesus in others even when those others are not Catholic. How about the poor? How is it that people see Jesus in the poor?

What are people really saying when they use this expression?

Maybe, I need to be given the Grace to understand. On my own, I can’t figure it out.

Thank you for your time.*

How we live our Faith in accordance with God’s Will is far easier to see than to actually do.

**John.13: 34 **“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

The more effort we make to do this, the greater the evidence we give of our Faith.

Do we Gossip,
Lie,
steal,
are we prejudiced by race, creed, color.
Do we take God’s Name in vain
Do we monitor what we watch and read on TV, in the papers, in books
Do we tolerate others to do these things while we are present
Do we practice charity willingly…
What public evidence do we give of our Faith publically

Others are watching us even if we are unaware of it.

God’s continued Blessings my frend,
Pat

 

[Alijandra]

It’s not that you see it with your eyes such people don’t use their eyes.They use their heart because where the heart is,is love and God is love.And the heart of God is Jesus.
And is also found in the Parable of the Wedding Feast.,for your answer.The people of this Earth who live the life of Jesus,are the ones who are in his grace,I think,no,yes…

 

[Seeker100]

I don’t understand what people mean when they say that they see Jesus in others and in the poor. I thought I take the opportunity a couple of years when a Polish lady I met at the beach told me that she saw Jesus in me. She was situated with her two sons near me and my children and we got to talking. It turned out that she is Catholic and participates in a Polish Catholic forum and we, of course, spoke for quite some time about our faith. At one point she used that expression and I told her that I did not really understand what people mean when they say that and she responded that that is just about all she sees in me. * What little I came to understand from her explanation is that maybe it’s simply because I am christian. But, I still don’t get it.

Is this what people mean when they use that expression? That they see someone who is pious and christian? It seems to mean something else, because then, why not just say that they are pious? I am sure it means something else because people say that they see Jesus in others even when those others are not Catholic. How about the poor? How is it that people see Jesus in the poor?

What are people really saying when they use this expression?

Maybe, I need to be given the Grace to understand. On my own, I can’t figure it out.

Thank you for your time.*

Hi what you are talking about here is the core of Christian love and spiritual behaviour. True love is for God as God is the love for others. Thus when we serve God, we are to do things for HIm and to Him. Jesus makes this possible by being the light of the world. By doing things to and for Jesus literally in everyone we meet, we serve God and not man. God is the love for people so by serving Jesus in others we give true love to people.

This walking in the Light. Jesus is in everyone; the good, the bad, believing, non-believing etc. as He is the love for all of them. We have a beautiful gift in that we can literally serve Jesus in each person we encounter. When we do this Jesus works through us on this earth.

 

[Big_Dummy]

jesus is God and we all are made in the image of God.

 

[Alijandra]

That is beautiful when put into words,isn’t.?
And the Truth that reveals it all…