There is a YouTube video of a child “playing Mass” during which 3-year-old Isaiah exuberantly exclaims, “Behold!” as he holds up the “host” and “chalice.” After tinkering around on the “altar” for a bit, he seems to forget his place, so he grabs the “host” and “chalice” again, raises them in the air, and exclaims, “Behold!” with no less enthusiasm than the first time.

After watching Isaiah’s “Mass,” I noticed the priest at a Mass I attended paused for an uncharacteristically long time after this same part of the Eucharistic liturgy. Perhaps it was Isaiah who led me to notice this small nuance in the celebration in which I’d participated countless times. Though more subtly than the child’s shrill voice and blatant repetition, the priest was encouraging us to truly behold that which existed in our presence — to recognize Christ in our midst.

Aside from the occasional shuffling about in the pew and wandering thoughts, I like to think most of us are pretty good at beholding Christ’s presence during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Even when our minds sometimes stray from the sacrament, the context of Mass tends to pull us back relatively quickly. This is important. As Pope Francis says, “It is in the Eucharist that all that has been created finds its greatest exaltation” (“Laudato Si’”).

By recognizing Christ in our midst in the Eucharist, we are spurred to Christ-like action in our lives.

The Holy Father continues, “[The Lord] comes that we might find Him in this world of ours” (“Laudato Si’”). We humans are gifted with an incredible ability to behold the world around us with contemplation, meaningfulness and intention, to discover Christ — God — “in this world of ours” and respond appropriately. With the living Christ, Jesus, as example, we are called to recognize goodness, love, life, beauty and sacredness in the created world because it is of God and reflects God’s glory.

“Behold!” the indwelling of God in a mountain range ablaze with autumn colors.

“Behold!” the Creator Spirit igniting life in the womb.

“Behold!” intelligent design in the ecosystem of the forest.

“Behold!” the loving face of God in the stranger reaching out for a friend.

“Behold!” the faithful commitment of a family traveling for Mass.

“Behold!” the example of Christ in the volunteer selflessly serving the people.

We disregard the significance and power of this ability to behold when we do not respond appropriately to the presence of God in our lives. Beyond just gazing upon the world and moving through it, beholding requires us to fully be present, appreciative and receptive to God in our midst.

Augustine once exhorted his people, “You can read what Moses wrote [in scripture]; in order to write it, what did Moses read, a man living in time? Observe heaven and earth in a religious spirit.” I think that’s a pretty good definition of what it means to behold. If we observe heaven and earth — which is the biblical way to say “everything” — in a religious spirit, it is difficult to miss God dwelling “in this world of ours,” not only in moments of wonder and awe, but also in moments that are seemingly insignificant and trivial: a chaotic family dinner between math team, soccer practice and piano lessons; a restless night of studying for a desired degree; a mundane drive to work along the waterfront.

I find young Isaiah’s enthusiastic “Behold!” echoing in my mind whenever I experience a vivid scene of God’s presence. In the moments when it feels like God is absent, I look a little harder. Just like Isaiah, sometimes we forget what we’re doing and get a little lost. It is in precisely those moments that it’s most important to grasp on to Christ’s presence and truly behold.

—Originally published in the Fall 2017 issue of Vermont Catholic magazine.