Thursday, August 21, 2014

Invisible

I came back to the monastery from saying mass in town while the pastor is away.  I had my collar on.  I was in priestly uniform.  I introduced myself to a visiting monk and we talked face to face for awhile about my being a Paulist and where I live and how long he will be visiting.  Then I changed into some work clothes, put on an apron and began to make something in the kitchen for the monks to eat that evening.  Maybe twenty minutes had passed.  The same visiting monk passed through the kitchen and introduced himself to me as if he had never seen me before in his life.  I suddenly recalled that there is something about me that makes me forgettable.  When I am in church or somewhere in my uniform, priest clothes, people seem to see me.  When I am in secular wear, I seem to be a stranger they ignore.  I wonder if God has the same experience.  In church we might recognize God, but when we are in our everyday life outside church, God become invisible.

1 comment:

  1. This does not sound it had to do with you. If the Monk did not get that you were reintroducing yourself then , the Monk has some head trouble. Since you have had some experiences with the Buddhists, I wonder if you have read Jim Tucker's book return to life ? Chapter 8 helped to explain God through a physicist's head.

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