Baptized Atheists
The Baptism of the Lord
“The Lord will bless his people with peace.”Ps. 29
Many baptized people live in total ignorance of God and therefore in atheism, which can be conceived as an ideology as absurd and irrational as gender ideology, since it consists in believing that all the wonders of creation came about by themselves, out of nothing, without a Creator. It is even more absurd than seeing a watch and thinking it made itself, for the greatness and complexity of what has been created is far superior to that of a watch. They prefer to believe in nothingness or in chance rather than in God, out of selfish interest, because they do not want a God who asks them to change.
Vatican II speaks of several possible causes of atheism, such as insufficient or deficient teaching of the faith, the bad example of those who claim to believe. We could add the selfish interests that lead them to prefer darkness over the light of Christ, the fashions of this world.. many feel more comfortable going along with the current of the majority; it is easier than going against the current or being politically incorrect or uncomfortable, as every Christian is.
Baptism makes us children of God if we receive it in faith; otherwise, it remains unreceived. Therefore, we hear in John 1:
“To those who received him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name.”John 1
“How are they to call upon one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to preach? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?…”Romans 10:14ff
Therefore, faith comes from preaching, and preaching through the word of Christ.
There are, then, various possible causes that lead to the rejection of God, but more than honest causes we could say they are pretexts people find in order not to believe in God, always with some underlying selfish interest, since they necessarily end up believing in things even more absurd, because by not believing in God they open themselves to believing in anything. As Jesus said, if the devil returns to a soul and finds it unoccupied, he returns with other demons worse than himself, and the final state is worse than the first.
“For God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not judged; but whoever does not believe has already been judged, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works be exposed and condemned.”John 3:17ff
That is to say, the rejection of God can never be justified, for his existence is evident and is manifested in creation itself, which proclaims the glory and greatness of God (Ps 19:1; cf. Rom 1:19ff).
St. Blaise Blessing of the Throat, Explained!
Perhaps it’s an example of divine providence that the feast of St. Blaise falls on Feb. 3 — right in the middle of cold and flu season! This fourth-century Armenian saint was a bishop and martyr and is venerated as the patron of those who suffer from illnesses of the throat.
On his feast day, Catholics traditionally receive a blessing of the throat. This blessing is administered by a priest, deacon or a lay minister who follows the rites and prayers designated for a layperson. During the blessing, the minister takes two candles that were blessed on the feast of the Presentation and makes a cross in front of the throat, saying “Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other illness.” A priest or deacon will then make the sign of the cross.
Readings of the Week
Sunday: Isaiah 42, 1-4. 6-7/Psalm 28, 1-2. 3-4. 3. 9-10/Acts 10, 34-38/Matthew 3, 13-17
Monday: 1 Samuel 1:1-8/Psalm 116:12-13, 14-17, 18-19/Mark 1:14-20
Tuesday: 1 Samuel 1:9-20/1 Samuel 2:1, 4-5, 6-7, 8abcd/Mark 1:21-28
Wednesday: 1 Samuel 3:1-10, 19-20/Psalm 40:2 and 5, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10/Mark 1:29-39
Thursday: 1 Samuel 4:1-11/Psalm 44:10-11, 14-15, 24-25/Mark 1:40-45
Friday: 1 Samuel 8:4-7, 10-22a/Psalm 89:16-17, 18-19/Mark 2:1-12
Saturday: 1 Samuel 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1/Psalm 21:2-3, 4-5, 6-7/Mark 2:13-17
Next Sunday: Isaiah 49:3, 5-6/Psalm 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10/1 Corinthians 1:1-3/John 1:29-34
Celebrations of the Week
Sunday: The Baptism of the Lord
Tuesday: Saint Hilary, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Saturday: Saint Anthony, abbot
Next Sunday: Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
