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While it may be true that sensationalism about Revelation is incautious, the Catholic church has always talked about a real antichrist; and has indeed tended to interpret somewhat literally a mark of the antichrist. Two doctors of the Church come to mind: St. Robert Bellarmine who devotes a chapter of his book on the antichrist to his mark and Hildegard Von Bingen in her two prophetic works: the Book of Divine Works and Scivias. Indeed Robert Bellarmine even wrote his work as an argument against those of his day who rashly interpreted the anti-christ to be the church of Rome. But he did not do so by denying his existence (the anti-christ's), but rather by taking a sober look at the prophecy of revelation and the Church's interpretation of it.

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“The message for a modern audience is that “one can belong to God or one can belong to the beast – there is no middle ground.”

It appears Bp. Schneider was pointing to this message, actually, or something close to it. After hedging, "I do not say this is the direct sign of Beast, to be clear", he gave the punchline: "This [QR] code is immoral in some way as, I repeat, the government is completely taking possession of your body." Seems like a big concern of his in this context is whether or not we opt to belong to the government rather than God.

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I have a tough enough time living my Catholic faith, without being on the lookout for the "mark of the beast" in my daily life. When I first came back to the faith, I remember going to pray regularly at an adoration chapel in town. The lobby contained books about modern day prophetic messages that absolutely terrified me. This was all new to me. The beloved priest who brought me back into communion with the Church asked me if these books brought me peace. The answer was an emphatic no. I stopped reading those books. That was thirty years ago and the prophecies have not changed all that much. They might be true, but hopefully by leading a sacramental and sacrificial life, and by placing my complete trust in Christ, I will be ready for any tribulations on the horizon. I am sure Bishop Athanasius means well, and is concerned about the Church, but I hope such messages are followed by the message of hope in Christ and his Blessed Mother.

I had the pleasure of spending the last two days with high school students on retreat and the witness talks of two young men that were full of hope and joy. They encountered Christ in a very real way. Love of God and neighbor was their message. Always new. That is the message I have tried to deliver to my own children. The evil in our world is real and covid seems to be dividing the Body of Christ. I express my extreme disappointment and I believe what is a righteous anger at coercive measures used by both governments and businesses to force people to be vaccinated. I say this as someone who is vaccinated. The coercive powers at work I believe would be the real mark of the beast, not the vaccination itself. People have their reasons for getting vaccinated and not getting vaccinated and I think that must be left to the individual's conscience. All that said I am with Teresa of Avila: "All things work to the good for those who love God". I want to stay in that "peace which this world can never give or take away".

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Apocopyptic literature is difficult to read, digest, and interpret. I believe that the point is this: As Catholics, we must be watchful of attempts to impose immoral beliefs and actions upon us as a condition of continued employment, trade, etc. Just as some Jews refused to cast off their beliefs during the Hellenization attempts of Antiochus IV, we must also refuse to cast off our beliefs at the insistence of the post-Christian West.

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