Seen and Unseen

​A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, November 23rd, 2025:
The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

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Colossians
​1.12-20

Brothers and sisters: Give thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. The Father has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers — all things have been created through him and for him. Christ is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

He is the head of the body, the Church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in Christ all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his Cross.

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Pause. Pray. Reflect.

In our second reading, Saint Paul speaks to the people about things seen and unseen. I am struck by the importance of this message from Paul in my own life. Does anyone else find it much easier to focus on the visible? Does anyone find themselves forgetting about the invisible? Maybe it’s just me, but I have to fight myself to recall that the visible in my life is not the most important. Yes, there are important things such as my neighbour and my enemy and I am clearly called to love them, pray for them, and care for them as I am able. 
 
What about the invisible? How much time do I actively seek the invisible in my daily life? When I go to mass and when I pray, I am obviously focused on the invisible more than the visible, but there is so much more! 
 
Saint Paul speaks first of an inheritance of the saints in light. Do I give much thought to what this is and how incredibly beautiful it is? How much time do I give to praying about the gift of redemption and forgiveness of sins? Is all my prayer time caught up in my needs and the needs of others? These are both important things to bring to prayer, but they are not the only things. 
 
The visible is temporary, but the invisible is eternal. Doesn’t that make it something I need to pay attention to as much, if not more than the visible? I am feeling called to look beyond the obvious and the here and now toward the eternal, the unseen, and the glorious. I am not called to avoid the here and now but, while my feet are on the ground my heart can be in the clouds drawing closer to the invisible and eternal. 





Sr. Teresa MacDonald

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