One of my favorite poems is by Elizabeth Barrett Browning in which she poetically reflects on today's first reading from Exodus about Moses and the burning bush.

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
And only [she] who sees takes off [her] shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

In the same vein, the poet Marcrina Wiederkehr writes: Every tree is full of angels, if only we had eyes to see…"

Moses draws closer to the bush and sees it is afire with God. Moses, far from the holy temple while doing his everyday work of tending sheep, encounters God. He immediately takes off his shoes, for the place he is standing is holy ground. There are no yellow and black striped lines separating sacred territory from the secular world. God can be seen and encountered in the ordinary events of our lives. If we only had eyes to see!

Lent is an opportunity for us to have the eyes of our heart checked, to have our lens corrected, and if necessary to have cataracts removed. To see the world as God sees means to have pure sight-to notice, be aware of, to see and recognize God's presence and action in the people, events, and surroundings of our everyday lives. God's presence is all that is required to turn ordinary desert sand into the Holy of Holies; a straw-stuffed manger into the birthplace of the Lord; our homes into a domestic church; a hospital bed of a loved one into the altar of the Lord; or bread and wine into the body and blood of our Savior.

Earth is crammed with heaven! Gracious God, give us eyes to see.

Loving God, give us eyes to see and experience your presence
in our joys and sorrows.
Remove all that blocks us from drawing closer to you
and recognizing the sacredness in the ordinariness of our lives.
Catch our attention, deepen our trust, and restore our sight.
Give us the grace to "take off our shoes"
for the place we find ourselves is holy ground. Amen.

Terry Rickard, OP