The Faces Before Us

When I was a teenager, like many boys of my generation, I was fascinated by movie stars. After watching films with Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Lee, I began collecting their pictures. To my young mind, they represented strength, confidence, victory, and discipline. I admired them. And somewhere deep inside, I wanted to be like them.

Years later, I found myself collecting images again. But now the faces before me were different. No longer actors from the screen, but Christ, the Holy Mother of God, the apostles, the martyrs, and the saints. And over time I came to see something beautiful: we are all shaped by what we keep before our eyes.

In our tradition, we often say that icons are windows to heaven. And that is true. Through the icon, heaven opens. Through the icon, we see the beauty of God shining through human life. Through the icon, we are lifted above the noise of this world and invited into the peace of God’s kingdom.

But I believe icons are also mirrors.

Because when you stand before an icon, you are not only looking at someone holy. You are also seeing who you are called to become. You look at Christ, and something in your heart says, That is the life I want. You look at the saints, and your soul begins to whisper, I want that faith. I want that courage. I want that peace.

Saint Paul says, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image” (2 Corinthians 3:18). What a powerful truth. As we behold, we are transformed.

That means what we look at every day matters. The images we admire, the voices we listen to, the examples we follow, the people we imitate, they are all shaping us. Little by little, they are forming our desires, directing our thoughts, and building our character.

So be careful what you keep before your eyes and within your heart. Look often to Christ, to His Holy Mother, and to the saints, not simply to admire them, but to be changed by them. For the what you look at today is helping form the person you will be tomorrow.