Invisible Catholics

Given that tomorrow is Halloween and our secular world focuses on all things strange and odd, I thought talking about invisible Catholics would fit right in for my topic tonight.

Have you ever seen an invisible Catholic? Seriously, have you?

Invisible Catholics go to Mass regularly. They sit in the pew next to you. They pray. They participate in the Mass. They go to Holy Communion. You walk by them on the way out, but you don't know they are there.

Invisible Catholics see you. You just don't see them. Sometimes the priests don't even see them because they are too busy trying to catch up with the visible Catholics. Other parishioners don't see them either because they usually only pay attention to the people they are with.

I'm not talking about the angels and saints that are always present at Mass. I'm talking about people, human beings, children of God just like you....who sit in the pews longing for someone to say hello and to be welcoming. They've tried to make eye contact, but you didn't see them. It is like you look right through them to see somebody, or something, more important. They've even said hello a time or two to you but you did't hear them ~ or maybe you heard a faint voice and quietly muttered a greeting in return, but that was it. They would be so grateful if someone would see them. It is not their desire to remain invisible, but they are too afraid to show themselves.

I think there are more invisible Catholics in our churches today than visible ones. That is one reason why only 30 percent of Catholics go to church because many Catholics got tired of being invisible and so they left. It is a challenge to go to church if nobody cares that you are there or asks you how you are doing. The invisible Catholics that do stay despite the coolness within the church have a good understanding of the Eucharist and won't leave no matter how much they are ignored, but many others just walk away.

I think priests and other church leaders are so overloaded with duties that they do not have the energy or the time to look at an invisible person and say "There you are! I see you! How are you? Welcome!". They become like the others and let the invisible person stay invisible. It is easier that way isn't it?

Heck, I know a lot of invisible people who have tried to become visible, but it was too scary so they went back undercover. To step out and be visible is risky in today's church. I know someone who kept trying really hard to be visible, almost to a fault, but the pain of stepping out each time became greater and greater, so it was back to the realm of the invisible.

I think sometimes those who are visible are happy with the status quo and like the invisible people to be there to take up space because somehow the church feels more full that way. Invisible Catholics are usually quiet, gentle, shy people who have a really strong faith, but don't want to step on anyone's toes. Every once in a while they may get the courage to step out into the visible world to share a profound thought or opinion. But the visible people just smile and nod, and turn away, much prefering the status quo. The visible people have an extremely difficult time being welcoming for fear the invisible people will take over and they will lose their status. This may not be conscious on their part, but it is a dynamic in this problem.

Someday it will be the invisible who will be running the church because Jesus said "the meek shall inherit the earth". I think that is what the visible people are afraid of. It is the tax collector bowing silently in the back of the church and the child who the apostles push away that Jesus invites to come closer to Him. It is the adulterous woman who is a nobody to her village that Jesus goes to. It is the outcast that Jesus is drawn to. It is the person of great faith who people think is wierd. These are the meek.

The visible people have to realize that if they would only be more welcoming; perhaps if they would smile and nod, or introduce themselves, the invisible Catholics would have the courage to step out of their fear and respond, and the visible people would see that the invisible people really don't want to take over. They just want to be "a part of".

I think invisible Catholics have a deep relationship with Jesus because He is all they have. The rejection from the visible Catholics force them into solitude and prayer with Jesus, who is always there to welcome them. So I guess this is a perk to being invisible. But I must say that visible people many times don't outright reject an invisible Catholic, as I mentioned above. It is more like they just don't notice them at all, but that in itself is a silent rejection of sorts. In their silence the invisible Catholics gain wisdom that could be of value to the visible Catholics, if they would only listen. The visible Catholics could use their position in the parish in a very powerful way if they would only be more open and welcoming to the invisible Catholics.

Invisible people would feel more courageous if our priests and bishops would tell the visible people that they won't melt if they talk to an invisible person, and they won't be robbed of their special place in the parish for welcoming someone who is invisible.

Jesus, open our eyes. Let our church shine the way you want it to shine. Let the visible people be more welcoming and give courage to the invisible, and give our leaders, clergy and laity alike, the power to be good role models of welcoming and warmth.