Feeling Invisible?

FEELING INVISIBLE?

            Things that are invisible cannot be seen.  That is the general meaning of the word invisible.  Cannot be seen!  It’s not that these things aren’t there, they just need extra effort to be observed.  We can see germs with a microscope if we so desire or our science teacher orders it.  An x-ray machine helps medical professionals to see bones including which bone is connected to the ankle bone, and the James Webb telescope has shown us spectacular worlds that exist beyond our imagination and even further away than our car warranty salesmen can reach us.

            As children, we may have imagined how cool it would be to have an invisibility cloak.  We could sneak around after bedtime and not get caught, play pranks, slip into movie theaters or ball games for free, and spy on other people to see what they have to say about us, (which is a horrible idea).

            Wonder Woman had an invisible plane and Violet of the Incredibles uses her invisibility to fight crime and to save her family.  How cool would that be?

It seems like invisibility would be a wondrous gift, but not to those who are trapped in its grasp and cannot find a way out.  I’m talking about the ordinary, the plain, the poor, homeless, sick, and the elderly for example.

Mother Theresa of Kolkata during her lifetime had said many times that the worst sufferings for the people in the streets was not their physical pain, but that of abandonment and loneliness.  Their children no longer visited them.  Their neighbors had their own problems and couldn’t be bothered with somebody else’s, and their government offered no relief.  They had become invisible.

The feeling of invisibility can strike anyone at any time, with the feeling of loneliness, worthlessness, and uselessness.  It’s the feeling of “why bother, no one cares.”

 Students in elementary schools who are plain and so-so students with busy parents can sometimes go days without anyone addressing them except for “did you do your homework” or “did you brush your teeth?”

Teenagers grow up thinking that the only way to get noticed is to be beautiful or handsome with trim bodies and trendy clothes.  They spend a crazy amount of time and money on products that they hope will get someone to stop and acknowledge them.  They dye their hair unnatural colors and pierce their bodies just to get attention.  They don’t even care what kind of attention it is.  They just want someone, anyone to see them.

Stay at home mothers are another group that suffer from invisibility.  They put all their efforts into caring for their husband, their children and providing a happy, relatively organized home while putting meals on the table that are more than just macaroni and cheese.  Children are notoriously unappreciative, and I have never once heard of a house saying thank-you.

Older men and women, who are the cogs of a tremendous amount of volunteerism might as well be invisible too.  Society is grateful for the work that they do but rarely mentions it.  Their children are busy surviving the difficulties of their own lives.  They go on slogging through what feels like a boring and meaningless life, sometimes wondering why God hasn’t taken them yet.

But do you know who else is invisible?  Our Guardian Angels are!  They have no corporeal bodies that we can see, but they are always right by our side, fighting for us and vanquishing our enemies.  They are powerful help to all of us throughout our lives and many of us don’t give them a thought.  They are most certainly undervalued, but they nonetheless stay by our sides.

Our Blessed Mother Mary as well as the rest of the saints are invisible.  They have won the battle for heaven and are willing and able to bring our intentions and request before our almighty heavenly Father.  We have our own patron saints to call upon as well as deceased family members who can intercede for us even as we are praying for their souls. 

There is St. Joseph who is the patron saint of Fathers, carpenters, and of the dying who is well worth calling upon in our need.  St. Jude and St. Rita are the patrons of impossible cases.  St. Christopher is the patron of travelers, St. Michael of soldiers and policemen, St. Isidore of farmers, St. Dymphna of the mentally unbalanced and the list goes on and on.  All of them invisible, but all willing to help if only we would take notice of them.

The Holy Trinity is invisible, too, but can be felt by faith.  We can see them throughout the orderly design of their works throughout the universe.  Through the hug of a child, the sacrifice of a spouse, a rainbow in the sky, or the splash of a waterfall we feel God’s presence and love, but we don’t see Him.  Therefore, millions of people will go days without acknowledging God’s presence except to take his name in vain when angry.

So, the next time we are feeling sorry for ourselves because we feel unseen or unheard, remember that we are in good company, with God and his angels and his saints.  And like God and His Angels and Saints we should do our best to lessen the invisibility that is weighing down other people around us so heavily.

A few kind words and a smile for the cashier can go a long way.  Listening to our children at the end of the day even though all we want to do is to soak in a hot bath will make them happy.  Our acknowledging the older widows and widowers at church might be the brightest part of their day.  Finally, don’t be afraid to speak kindly to those scary, sullen teens with their wild hair color and piercings.  They may answer with a shrug or mumble, but they will walk away lifted. 

Someone noticed them!