Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz
Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz

10/11/26 Blind Spots: Practical Atheism

October 10, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Practical Atheism: The Blind Spot of Ignoring God

Father Mike Schmitz opens with a vivid memory: his older brother Mark had an extraordinary ability to selectively hear. Standing right in front of the TV, Mark would remain utterly unresponsive to his name being called—until someone shouted from inches away, at which point he'd look up genuinely surprised. "Our ability to ignore something we'd rather not deal with is remarkable," Schmitz observes. This sets up the sixth and final installment in his homily series on "blind spots"—those acceptable sins we've learned to overlook in ourselves.

The Invitation We Pretend Not to Hear

The Gospel reading for this homily is Matthew 22:1-14, the parable of the wedding feast. A king prepares a banquet for his son and sends servants to summon the invited guests. Some respond with violence, killing the messengers. But others simply "ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business." Schmitz notes that most of us would never kill a messenger, but we are entirely capable of the quieter response: treating a divine invitation as background noise because we're busy with something else.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:01) **Opening & Gospel Reading** - Fr. Mike introduces the homily and reads Matthew 22:1-14, the Parable of the Wedding Feast.
  • 2 (02:16) **The Human Ability to Ignore** - Fr. Mike uses a personal story about his brother's "selective hearing" to illustrate our capacity to ignore what we don't want to see.
  • 3 (05:11) **Introducing the Final Blind Spot: Practical Atheism** - Fr. Mike names the final blind spot, tracing it back to the Gospel's description of those who "ignored the invitation."
  • 4 (07:03) **The "I Can't Be Bothered" Mentality** - Fr. Mike uses a cultural example to illustrate the modern form of ignoring a life-changing invitation.
  • 5 (09:14) **Defining Ignorance vs. Ignoring** - Fr. Mike provides a precise definition of "ignore" and introduces the concept of "practical atheism" from Pope John Paul II.
  • 6 (11:31) **The Reality of Practical Atheism** - Fr. Mike explains that practical atheism is a common blind spot even for sincere believers, and asks a convicting question.
  • 7 (14:03) **Three Areas of Practical Atheism: Speech, Schedule, and Stuff** - Fr. Mike offers a practical framework for examining one's life for signs of practical atheism.

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Guests on this episode

Father Mike Schmitz

Show Notes

Homily from the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

I believe that God exists, but I do not live as if God exists.

Sometimes we become so comfortable with our words, our schedules, and our everyday choices that we ignore God's invitation to a life-changing relationship with Him. God has made Himself ignorable for the sake of love: but love pays attention. The remedy is to invite Him into each and every moment and ask, "God, right now, how would you have me be?"

Mass Readings from October 11, 2026: Isaiah 25:6-10 Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20

Matthew 22:1-14

Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz

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