As Catholics We Believe in All Things Invisible

Catholics know how the Nicene Creed starts out: “I believe in God the Father Almighty maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.”  Did you ever contemplate on the “invisible” part of the creed?

Think about what you are stating your belief to.  All the “invisible” things that God has created.  What invisible things?

For one, faith.  And for another, God Himself.  Do you believe in God?  We don’t see God.  He is not visible in the literal sense.  For we walk by faith, and not by sight.

Scripture very often tells us of the importance of faith.  It is important for us to believe in the written word of God.  But what about those unexplained things or coincidences in our everyday lives?  Are these signs of faith? Are we tuned into things that pertain to God but are invisible?

A Message?

A friend of mine, Sharon, and her husband Bill live in Maine on the Coast.  Sharon’s father Gary lived in another part of Maine, quite away from the ocean.  Gary was an avid hummingbird lover. He had many configurations of hummingbird feeders all over his property.  It was a passion for him.  In season, his yard was full of hummingbirds.

In the 25 years Sharon and Bill had lived in their coastal home, they had never had hummingbirds in their yard.  That is until Gary passed.  The sudden occurrence was startling to Sharon and Bill.

Sharon and Bill were sitting on their back porch with a glass of wine, enjoying the early evening, when out of nowhere a hummingbird flittered over their coffee table, face to face with them both,  and hovered for several seconds.  Then it flitted off.   Was that coincidence?  Or was it some sort of way that God provided Sharon and Bill with a message that Gary was fine and doing well.

A Sign?

It wasn’t too many months after my wife passed that I was sitting at my bedside in the very early morning.  I was still in the throes of grief.  I was asking for some sort of sign that my departed wife Mickey was okay.

On the table next to my bed is a picture of Mickey and me.  The photo shows her bursting out with her infectious belly laugh; her son had captured it with a picture.

So there I was, in the quiet of early morning, still mourning the loss of Mickey, sitting at my bedside, when out of nowhere the shade on my bedroom window zoomed and clattered with a noisy roll-up that caused me to jump off the bed.  It was as if Mickey was in the bedroom with me saying, “you want a sign, how’s this?”  When I thought about it and then saw her belly laugh photo, I laughed and thought, “you got me good that time Mick!”

Grief can induce one to be more in tuned with coincidences, messages and signs which are those strange real-life occurrences that can only be explained by some sort of divine intervention and that lets one know that their loved ones are well and nearby.  Squire Rushnell calls them Godwinks!  Bonnie McEnearney calls them signs, visits and premonitions of loved ones lost.  I like to think of them as those “invisible things” that God has created.  We don’t necessarily see them, but they are real.

Show me

Many non-believers say that if I cannot measure it, see it, feel it, or taste it then it isn’t real.  Like Saint Thomas, who doubted the Risen Jesus, they doubt the existence of God.  However, with a little probing, ask them if there is such a thing as beauty or meaning in life.  There answer is almost always yes, of course.  Then ask them, how do you measure, see, feel, or taste beauty or meaning?  They’ll have no answer.

There are many things in our life that rely on faith in the invisible things that God created.  Some non-believers just haven’t put it together.  Saint Thomas had to put his finger in Jesus’ side to eliminate doubt.

A story of faith

“That is Enough” is a beautiful story written by an unknown author.

A sick man turned to his doctor, as he was preparing to leave the examination room and spoke.

“Doctor I am afraid to die.  Tell me what’s on the other side.”

Very quietly, the Doctor said, “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?  You, a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side?”

The doctor was holding the handle of the door, on the other side of which came a sound of scratching and whining, and as he opened the door, a puppy dog sprang into the room and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness.

Turning to the patient, the doctor said. “Did you notice my puppy dog?”  He’s never been in this room before.  He didn’t know what was inside.  He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened, he sprang in without fear.  I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing, I know my master is there and that is enough.”

“I believe in God the Father Almighty maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.”  Maybe we should be like puppy dogs?