Transfiguration on Mount Tabor. She recalls, “for the first time the apostles were allowed to see Jesus
directly, clothed in His glory as God.” When the young bride fell in love she “saw his true face, his
unique beauty: with the eyes of love,”7 a “Tabor vision” of her beloved.
By “Tabor vision” Alice
von Hildebrand refers to
the receptive
understanding unique to
women. This
understanding is
empowered by a woman's
sensitivity, intuition, and
distinctive skill set which
Mt. Tabor
she, more so than men,
tends to possess. A
woman can get a glimpse of her beloved which is deeper and more true than the beloved knows about
himself. Her vision is more than even she can describe.
This ability to perceive unique beauty in the totality of a specific person is the natural gift of
woman. Just as woman can hold a whole person in her womb, she is capable of treasuring a whole
person in her heart. This description is a good analogy for Geborgenheit, which Balthasar described as
“a knowing that grasps.”
The bride can perceive this “Tabor vision” because the archetype of the person is in God.
Balthasar explains that “the higher reality into which the creature is elevated and that counts as its
7
Ibid.
5