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God holds in existence all things, and all people, including those who question His existence

God holds in existence all things, and all people, including those who question His existence

God holds in existence all things, and all people, including those who question His existence

Some people do not believe in the 'bridge to Heaven', which is Christ; or they allow themselves to be carried away by the crowd to follow another, Godless way of life. At death, suddenly arriving at the Abyss, and nowhere near the 'bridge', they plunge to their doom. Nothing can stop them from falling. They have nothing to hold onto.

Difficulties and apparent disasters can providentially give people the time to think about the meaning of life. After such times, some people repent, and change their lives; others break free from a 'straight-jacket' of atheism, to follow Christ.

Everyone who dies meets Christ, even people of other religions, and even people who have never heard of Him. They will see Him revealed as their God, and as the Saviour Who died for them. Some will fall down in adoration, believing in Him at last, and will be saved, even if they need purification. Others will recognise Him as the enemy of the evil which they continued to love in earthly life, and despise Him, and hurl themselves away from Him, to end in Hell.

Everyone who dies meets Christ, even people of other religions, and even people who have never heard of Him. They will see Him revealed as their God, and as the Saviour Who died for them. Some will fall down in adoration, believing in Him at last, and will be saved, even if they need purification. Others will recognise Him as the enemy of the evil which they continued to love in earthly life, and despise Him, and hurl themselves away from Him, to end in Hell.

Everyone who dies meets Christ, even people of other religions, and even people who have never heard of Him. They will see Him revealed as their God, and as the Saviour Who died for them. Some will fall down in adoration, believing in Him at last, and will be saved, even if they need purification. Others will recognise Him as the enemy of the evil which they continued to love in earthly life, and despise Him, and hurl themselves away from Him, to end in Hell.

God can see that some atheists are muddled and badly-taught; yet there are some who have made themselves 'blind' to His existence, have refused to listen to the truth about His existence, have ignored the promptings of God, and have failed to respect His laws or to offer a single word of thanks for the gifts of God which include life itself. Someone like this has chosen to be separated from God - and he remains separate, in Hell, for all eternity, if he does not repent before he dies.

We are right to pray for people in need: for the poor, the sick, those in prison or held hostage, and many more; but there are people in need of prayer who are often well-fed and physically strong, but left in darkness by their atheism: their lack of belief in God. Large areas of the world are afflicted by this tragedy.

Everyone for whom I pray is in the Father's loving care - even those looking in other directions. We should keep on praying that those who don't yet believe in God will come to realise Who is holding them in existence.

Whether he is speaking to fellow-Catholics, or with atheistic government men, a Bishop is meant to speak as a mouthpiece for the Will of God. He should know God's will for human beings, and not be afraid to speak frankly about it, and to be fearless when challenged.

Christ has given His Church the authority to teach us. Christian principles have underpinned the government of our country for over a thousand years; and she should not be pushed off course by a handful of atheists in power. We please Christ when we speak the truth about making laws based on moral and ethical foundations.

A person who refuses to believe in God, when there is plenty of evidence for His existence, makes a barrier of unbelief, like a cloud, above him, which prevents the graces that God wishes to shower upon him from penetrating his mind, soul and heart.

A person who refuses to believe in God, when there is so much evidence for His existence, is like the child who does not want to hear what her mother has to say about normal behaviour, and who hides beneath the blankets to keep out the sound of her voice.

A person who has freely chosen to deny the existence of God and to live as though God does not exist and makes no demands of us, is like a man who shuts himself into an underground cellar, in darkness, without the light of Christ. It is so dark that he is in danger of losing the keys of the door, and of imprisoning himself forever in darkness, instead of climbing Christ's ladder to Heaven.

One of the darkest cellars in which people choose to live is the 'cellar' of disbelief which is atheism. A person who refuses to believe in the existence of God cannot therefore thank God for the gift of life, or turn to Him in sorrow-for-sin. By his own acts, he locks himself in a dark cellar, perhaps loses the key, and is unable to follow Christ when, at the end of his life, Christ calls to him.

The Lord asks us to persevere in prayer for atheists. When we do so, it's as if He lets down a rope from Heaven, into the hole in the ground where they choose to live. They have blinded themselves to His existence by ignoring the glory of the natural world, the weight of human testimony, and the call of conscience.

A woman trapped in self-love or atheism can be resentful about apparent limitations, angry that she must remain with a two-year-old to guard him; but one who cares for a child in love for the child and loving the Will of God that she fulfil her duties, is living in the light of God, confident that to serve Him is worthwhile.

Just as a living creature underground can have no idea of the richness of human life, and the joys of family life, so an atheist is sadly without any knowledge of the glories of heavenly life, glories shared even now, to some degree, by the faithful members of Christ's one, Holy Catholic Church.