with God on a regular basis—he beheld God with his own eyes. Whatever natural capacity Moses possessed that enabled him to see God physically manifested, it still was just that—a natural capacity. And that natural capacity is all that Moses lost. Moses is instructed to hide his face “in the cleft of the rock,” so that God can pass by and proclaim his name. Then God tells him: “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy” (Ex 33:19). According to St.