Thursday, July 23, 2026From the news

Seen by God

In a world chasing digital perfection, our faith reminds us that we are wonderfully made in God's image, and our true worth is found not in our appearance but in our hearts.

You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works! My very self you know.

Psalm 139:13-14

Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart.

1 Samuel 16:7b

My dear friends in Christ,

It is so easy to feel weary these days. We carry our own private burdens, and then we open our phones or turn on the news and find a world that adds to our anxieties. I was reading a story this week about a phenomenon some call “Instagram face”—this pressure, driven by social media filters and technology, to conform to a single, digitally perfected ideal of beauty. The article spoke of a desire to smooth away every line, to erase every supposed imperfection, until we all begin to look like idealized, artificial versions of ourselves. And my heart ached, because this pressure to be flawless, to be other than who we are, is a heavy, heavy cross to bear.

It is in moments like this, when the world’s standards feel so loud and demanding, that we must quiet our hearts and listen for the gentle whisper of God’s truth. The world may tell you that you are a project to be fixed, a collection of flaws to be erased. But the Psalmist sings a different song, a song of profound and personal love: “You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works! My very self you know.”

Let us rest in those words for a moment. God *knit* you. He did not mass-produce you. He crafted you with the loving intention of an artist, weaving together the very qualities that make you unique. The lines around your eyes that tell of laughter and tears, the features you inherited from your grandmother, the scars that tell a story of healing—these are not mistakes. They are the brushstrokes of the Divine Artist. You are not just made; you are *wonderfully* made. Your very self, He knows.

This is the great difference between the gaze of the world and the gaze of God. When the prophet Samuel was sent to anoint a new king, he looked at the oldest, strongest, most handsome son and thought, “Surely, this is the one.” But the Lord said to him, “Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart.” The algorithm sees your face, but the Lord sees your heart. The world judges the surface, but God knows the depths of your soul—your capacity for kindness, your hidden sorrows, your quiet hopes, your desire to love and be loved. This is where your truest beauty resides. This is the foundation of our Catholic teaching on the dignity of the human person: you are made in the image and likeness of God, and that gives you an indestructible worth that no filter can enhance and no critic can diminish.

So when you feel the pressure to measure up, to alter yourself to fit an impossible standard, take heart. Remember that you are already seen, already known, and already loved beyond measure by the One who made you. Let us ask for the grace to see ourselves, and to see one another, with His eyes—not as objects to be perfected, but as beloved children, wonderful in our God-given humanity.