Visio Divina: The Spiritual Practice of Divine Seeing
Seeing Jesus
A few weeks ago I posted the incredible story of Gene Purdie.
Because of Stargardt’s disease, Gene was unable to see. He had never seen the face of his wife or the face of his child. But, through the gift of technology, all that changed.
Gene was given a special pair of glasses called eSight that enabled him to see. The first person he saw after putting on the glassed was the face of his wife.
I love the first words Gene spoke after seeing her face for the very first time. He looked at her & said, “She’s pretty!” It was a beautiful moment.
It makes me think of the time Jesus healed a blind man. We don’t know what this man saw first or what his first words were, but I have to think the first things he saw after Jesus healed his eyes was the face of Jesus.
And I have no idea what he said, but I believe the face of Jesus was the most beautiful sight he had ever imagined seeing.
Fix your eyes…
The writer of Hebrews once encouraged his audience to, “fix your eyes on Jesus…”
I wonder if this is a spiritual practice we could reclaim into our personal lives, into our quiet times, into our moments of seeking the face of Jesus & abiding in His presence?
For a long time, people have used the spiritual practice of Lectio Divina, Divine Reading, to help them center their hearts & lives, their mind & spirit on a given biblical text. It’s a way of going deep into the word of God & allowing the word of God to go deep into you.
More recently, people have taken that same concept & applied it to the spiritual practice of seeing, of using art as a way of entering into a time of contemplation. It’s called Visio Divina, Divine Seeing.
Visio Divina
I am NOT an expert at Visio Divina. Far from it! But, for those looking for another way to encounter God, abide in His presence & experience His goodness may I humbly suggest the spiritual practice of Visio Divina. It has been helpful to me.
For beginners (of which I am one!), here’s a simple way to practice Visio Divina.
Before you begin, you will need an image, an icon, a piece of art or something you can use to fix your eyes on & contemplate. Here are three images I might suggest. You only need one.
Isenheim Altarpiece by Niclaus of Haguenau and Matthias Grünewald, 1512–1516.
The Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Caravaggio, c. 1601–1602.
Crucifixion by Nikolai Ge, 1831-1894.
Choose one of these images or another that you would like to use. Print it off or save it to a device that you can use when you’re ready to begin.
How to Practice Visio Divina
1 // Quiet.
You need to begin by carving out a space & a place where you can be quiet for 10-20 minutes. I would encourage you to set your devices to Do Not Disturb or turn them off.
2 // Begin.
Set a timer (I use the one on my phone or watch) for 3-5 min.
3 // Breathe.
During this time, sit quietly. Focus on your breathing. Try to quiet your mind, relax your body, and still your spirit.
4 // Pray.
Praying a breath prayer during this time might help you to focus your mind & center your heart. You can use any breath prayer. Most often, I’ll use the name of God, breathing one syllable per breath. Ya… He… Va… He… Or, the Jesus Prayer is another. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Most High God, Have mercy on me, a sinner.
5 // See.
Set timer for 10-20 min. During this time, take an image & look at it.
6 // Focus.
As you consider the image before you, continue to focus on your breathing. If needed, continue to focus on your breath prayer to keep your mind from wandering.
7 // Think.
As you focus on the image, allow your mind to wander, to ask questions, to wonder, to think, to be curious, & to feel. Notice color, texture, light, darkness. What is God revealing to you? What is He want you to see, notice or experience? If you sense your mind wandering towards other things, resume your breath prayer.
8 // Close.
When your timer goes off, close with a short prayer thanking God for the time spent together, for any thoughts, revelations, experiences or gifts you received.
Why it matters
I believe that Visio Divina is an important spiritual practice because…
We are always preparing for we know not what.
This is why the spiritual practices are so important. We do not know what life will bring, but if we remain close to Jesus, if we abide in Him & allow Him to abide in us, we will never be alone & we will be prepared when the storms of life hit.
We are visual people.
What we see affects us more than we know. Our eyes are filled with so many images that are harmful. Or, at a minimum, draw us away from God & away from others.
We become like that which we set our eyes upon.
We are visual people & for better or worse, we become like what we set our eyes upon. Again, I think this is why the writer of Hebrews, writing to a people who were suffering for their faith in Jesus, were encouraged to fix their eyes on Jesus. We become like what we set our eyes upon. And when we are in the middle of suffering, we are reminded that we serve a Savior who suffered for us & suffers with us now.
It’s my prayer that Visio Divina will be another tool, another spiritual practice for you to use in your quiet time with the Lord. I would recommend doing this for weeks or months at a time using the same image.
May He continue to draw you into His presence where you can receive the help & healing you need. May you continue to be transformed into His image. And may you know that you are known, you are loved & you are welcome to come & be with the One who gave everything to be with you.
