The first time I saw a stereogram they told me how it worked; I even saw the wonder in my brother's eyes when he entered the 3D world. He in turn taught me the principles: relax your eyes, look beyond, don't blink, etc. With faith and trust I stared for hours at the 20x30 inch square of jumbled colors. But I never did get it. I lost faith - and I gave up.
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We've been in this "Year of Faith" for three months now. Reflections have not been lacking. Today I join the throng, offering a few concrete applications of Faith to our life of prayer.
I-Faith in God's Presence:
Like the stereogram, we MUST believe that God is present. Faith relies on the authority and experience of others. Faith is about knowing based on God's authority in Revelation, and the authority of the lives of the Saints who have been touched by the Lord in prayer.
We know by Faith that God is present - not just anywhere - but inside of us. Through Baptism, as long as we remain in the state-of-grace, the Blessed Trinity lives in our souls as in a temple. The searching and yearning that we are called to carry out in prayer is therefore not external, rather we are called to look within ourselves until our eyes get adjusted to see and hear the Lord within.
II-Faith that I am called to meet God:
And yet, it's not enough to believe that there is an image hidden in that stereogram - There has to be something more, something that says: "It's in there for YOU to see."
For God's presence within us is not just waiting like a static image. By Faith we also know that we are called to experience God intimately in prayer. He wants it, and IS doing everything he can to make it happen - the conditions, however, depend on our living cooperation with his grace, and on our perseverance despite obstacles.
III-Faith in the Fruits of Prayer:
Lastly, Faith in prayer is about seeing the value of prayer from God's perspective. That means, judging my growth, not necessarily on what I feel or see in prayer, but on how I am actually becoming a better person.
In short, growth in prayer can be measured by my growth in virtue.
When years later, I got interested again in stereograms, I first had to renew my faith in the methods that I had been given as a kid for being able to find and see that 3D image. Once that happened, and I dedicated the proper effort, my eyes too lit up with wonder as I entered the 3D world for the first time.
(If you need help seeing the image here's some online tips: How 3D images work)
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