BY CARDINAL TIMOTHY M. DOLAN

Since Pentecost Sunday almost a month ago, our Catholic calendar has been full of moving feasts.

I’m thinking of Trinity Sunday, a week after Pentecost; Corpus Christi, the following Sunday; the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, last Friday; and the Immaculate Heart of Mary last Saturday.

These radiant feast days are unique. Why? Well, think about it: most of our special days are about an event: for instance, Christmas—the birth of Jesus; Epiphany—the visit of the wise men; Holy Thursday— the Last Supper; Good Friday—our Lord’s death on the cross; Easter —the resurrection of Jesus; Pentecost— the arrival of the Holy Spirit.

But these recent celebrations—Trinity Sunday, Corpus Christi, the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary—are not about events, but mysteries of our faith: realities that cannot be seen but are as genuine as the nose on your face.

Trinity Sunday: the invisible reality of one, true God, in three divine Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—who exist at the core of all reality;

Corpus Christi: the Real Presence of Jesus Christ, invisible but genuine under the signs of bread and wine;

The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: God the Son, who was visible on earth for thirty-three years, who is still truly with us, from whose heart flows grace, love, and mercy;

The Immaculate Heart of Mary: the pure heart of the Mother of Jesus, who is our mother, too, in whose heart is found tender love for us.

All of these are invisible, yet real. When you think of it, the most durable, cherished, significant features of life—love, loyalty, fidelity, convictions, promises, freedom, patriotism, one’s word, to name a few—are internal, invisible realities. True, we can sure see their effects, but not their reality.

How much the more with these mysteries of our faith! As Jesus remarked to “doubting” Thomas, “Blest are those who have not seen yet still believe.”

The arena of God’s working in our own life, and that of His creation, is the interior, the invisible!

So does the Blessed Trinity dwell in our soul! Can you see it on an MRI? Forget-about-it! But, it sure is real!

So do bread and wine actually become the Presence of Christ? Can you see it under a microscope? Nope! But, it is real!

So does tenderness, love, and mercy flow from the Sacred Heart of Jesus? Can you chart it on an ECG? No! But it’s sure genuine!

Over the lockdown, for months our churches were closed and the sacraments unavailable. Does that mean the Church was on ice, that God’s work in and through His Church was on hold? Never! His grace, mercy, and love, His Presence, was as real and as alive as ever!

“The Kingdom of God is within you!” as Jesus preached. That we can’t see it is secondary. We sure see its effects, but the reality is hidden, all the more real!

As the Bible defines faith, “the guarantee of the blessings we hope for, the existence of the realities that at present remain unseen.”

What we do not see is more vital than what the Lord sees and does!

As we heard in last Sunday’s reading, “We walk by faith, not

by sight.”