"Oblivious Of God"?

The words that came out of a pastor of local church at a 5:30 p.m. Mass on a weekday were something to the effect that we were sometimes or often (I forgot which) "oblivious of God."  I have a number of problems with that man in general but take issue with only those words here.

First, there were not that many people who were in attendance and he was not speaking to anyone else but to those in attendance - no one else could hear or see him - it was not televised nor broadcasted on the internet.  Let me just say that those who attend a 5:30 p.m. Mass on a weekday are in my opinion not that "oblivious" of God.  Had that man the guts to utter those those words in halls of all three branches of government at both the state and the federal levels, they could carry the force of their meaning (based on his intended meaning).  Saying such words to those present at Mass that afternoon (again, based on his intended meaning) was in my opinion accusatory, insulting and gratuitous.  I think that that is not an exception and after hearing his sermons in the past, I have found that in all instances his words had been similarly insolent and vulgar even though I am not a regular church-goer (because of preachers like this one and others without any sense of holiness).  If he was talking about himself only, he should use the pronoun "I" instead of "we".  By using "we" he did not appear to me to be including himself.  He is after all a priest who wears a priestly garb.

The other point I wish to make is subject to debate but will make my argument nonetheless and let the reader of this blog, if any, form an independent opinion.  Dictionary.com defines "oblivious" to mean "unmindful, unconscious; unaware" which on the surface seems to comport with his intentions to accuse and insult his flock.  Sadly, if those were his intentions, he expressed the concept incorrectly.  The operative word he ought to have used should have been "acknowledge" because not that many people, if any, are "oblivious" or "unmindful, unconscious or unaware" of God.

To the contrary, I know of no person who is "unmindful, unconscious or unaware" of God because God is Pure Goodness and everybody is always mindful, conscious and aware if goodness (i.e., the Goodness of God) has not been received at any moment in time or if received, not enough of it, or the quality of what was received might not be within expectations.  In other words, deep down we desire perfection in goodness from everyone else at all times even though we learn to accept having little or none of it, but that does not detract any person from knowing what perfection in goodness (i.e., God) is  -- even a newborn knows what it is although the level of goodness needed to satisfy a baby is simpler than what is needed to please an adult.

Back to my original point (modified slightly for this conclusion by taking out the word "insult"), the accusation would have been correct, if that was what the priest intended, and legitimate, if he had said to his audience at the weekday afternoon Mass that we sometimes fail to "acknowledge" our constant desire for God (i.e., perfection in goodness) in others rather than we sometimes or often are "oblivious" of God because we never are truly "unmindful, unconscious or unaware" of God for God's goodness is the standard we always wish we could use, and at times do use, to measure how we are treated by others. [1], [2]


[1] Even atheists cannot be "oblivious" of God.  They have to be mindful, conscious and aware of God because one cannot be an atheist without first being cognizant of the existence of God in order to then deny or disbelieve the existence of God.  Similarly, Lucifer, the Fallen Angel, as powerful as it is, cannot be "oblivious" of God.  It has to be mindful, conscious and aware of God because it needs a standard from which to deviate 180 degrees to have the title Satan.  Since God is the Creator of all things "visible and invisible" and as such nothing can be oblivious of God, but once created, God has given the gift of Free Will so that anything, including people, can refuse to acknowledge God.  Is it not selfishness that we think it is fair to expect others to act like God (i.e., with perfection in goodness) toward us but many of us (myself included) do not seem compelled to do the same toward others?  Is it not a paradox that many of us (myself included) who believe in God and would like to live as much as possible in accordance with the teachings of Christ acknowledge God in and expect God's goodness from others (i.e., the capacity to repeatedly be kind and forgiving and good), including the most evil ones who reject God and care less about Christ, but not acknowledge, let alone repent, the many occasions of "temporary" absences of God and God's goodness from ourselves?
[2] Perhaps I should attend Mass more often and listen to lousy sermons so I can react to them but it is not my preference to be a reactionary even though often times I am.  It would be my wish (and a miracle) if all my thoughts could be divinely inspired but that is not going to happen anytime soon even though I credit all of my good thoughts to a gift from God while Satan gets all the credit for my bad thoughts.