Practical atheism is a way of life that acts as if God does not exist, without the need for philosophical debate or formal denial. It manifests itself in the absence of religious motivation, indifference to transcendent or divine issues, and the exclusion of religion from daily life.
At 20 years of age, Angel David, a Mexican seminarian, is aware of the gift he has received to study and be formed as a priest in the University of Navarra, in Pamplona. Their story is one of conversion and hope, of how God can transform a family far from the faith into a home of communion with Christ.
«Seeing my parents take up the faith again was the seed of the vocation that God put in me, and he continues to take care of it every day,» emphasizes Angel David.
Angel David grew up in a large family: five siblings and parents who, as he himself says, were believers, but lived a practical atheism. «We didn't contemplate God in everyday life, let alone going to Mass,» he says..
Everything changed when they decided to come back to the faith, receive the sacraments and her parents got married in the Church. «Now my parents are committed to evangelization,» he says with gratitude. That family transformation was also the fertile ground where his vocation germinated.
Her first serious contact with the faith was preparing for her First Communion. What began as a tradition soon became an inner calling. «God had other plans for me.», he says with a smile. Being an altar boy allowed him to experience the liturgy up close, and in the silence of a Mass he understood that his life did not belong to him alone.
«The special moment was during a Holy Mass -he recalls. The priest had about fifty people to confess, and I thought it was impossible for him to reach all of them.. I asked myself if someday I could be the one to offer God's forgiveness... and in that instant, He planted the seed of my vocation,» he expresses serenely.
His home diocese, Tabasco, located in southeastern Mexico, is a warm land not only because of its climate, but also because of the faith of its people. With about one and a half million inhabitants, 64 % declare themselves Catholic. It has 250 priests and 120 parishes.
However, like many other regions, it faces growing challenges. «The biggest challenge is secularism and materialism among young people,» explains Angel David. That materialism leads to a lack of commitment in the Church. In addition, the rise of diverse religions and sects has caused Catholicism to be a bit on the decline.".
Despite growing secularization, Tabasco is a living diocese, marked by the joy and hospitality of its people. Its rural communities preserve deeply Christian traditions, even though modernity and globalization have brought with them religious indifference.
Even so, the popular devotion, especially to the Virgin of Guadalupe, continues to be a focus of hope. The Guadalupana in Mexico is seen as a loving mother who always takes care of us and intercedes before God for us,« says the young seminarian. On December 12, the feast of our patroness, even people of other religions or atheists come to pray a rosary before her. It seems like a joke, but it's true,» he says with emotion.
When he arrived in Spain he thought that this was also a country with great Marian devotion. He was not wrong, although, on the other hand, he was shocked by some things he did not expect. «I was very surprised to see, for example, that one day, in a Holy Mass, there were only three people,» he confesses.
However, he was struck by the fact that the few Spanish youth and adolescents who participate in Sunday Mass are very committed to their faith.
When asked how to evangelize today, his answer is clear: «it is not a matter of showing a just or punishing God, but the true Merciful Father, full of love, who always forgives us and seeks us out».
His words resonate with the pastoral closeness he dreams of for the priests of the 21st century: «The priest of this time must be healthy, wise and holy.. Knowing how to live in the world, but without being of it. And he must also learn to use social networks as a bridge of evangelization, although with care so as not to isolate himself or fall into disinformation».
Ángel David Álvarez Ramírez, a young man from Tabasco who is in his third year of his bachelor's degree in Theology and who, from the heart of Navarra, is preparing to return one day to his homeland as a priest.
Marta Santínjournalist specializing in religion.
