31 Jan 23 – A Biblical Worldview of Sexuality

[0] To the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[1] My name is Terry Barber, and I have the honor of chatting with Bishop Strickland once a week about how to fall in love with Jesus Christ and his bride the church.

[2] And he basically just covers the perennial teachings of the church.

[3] We're always going back to what the church has always taught.

[4] And I think that's important in a world right now.

[5] There's a lot of confusion.

[6] And if you're brand new to the show, I know many people are picking up the show on Church Militant now.

[7] They are starting to play our shows on their website, which I appreciate them doing.

[8] And any of the other Catholic radio stations that are, you're listening to this, I thank them because this is how the word gets out to people.

[9] Bishop Strickland, thanks again for taking the time in your busy schedule to talk about Jesus and his bride the church.

[10] Thanks, Terry.

[11] Mr. Strickland, you consistently talk on the Eucharist, the Blessed Mother, Defense of the Unborn.

[12] Well, it seems like you came out this week on some tweets regarding, well, you were denouncing the World Economic Forum and your calls for a return to natural law.

[13] And I'm like, you get all beat up over people, you call people to natural law.

[14] And they're like, well, you can't do that.

[15] It seems to me that you come out and speak out against these things where I don't see a lot of other priests or bishops.

[16] Are they, you know, any other church people speaking on these things?

[17] Why do you feel so compelled to get people straight that it's God's laws, man, man, laws we follow.

[18] Well, I do feel compelled because as a shepherd, as a bishop, I'm a successor of the apostle.

[19] What did they do?

[20] They went out to the world and spoke the truth of Christ and changed the world and made the world a much better place than it was before Jesus Christ.

[21] I mean, that is just historical reality.

[22] I mean, we've had good times and bad times.

[23] But there's so many things that were improved when Christianity came to the scene.

[24] I mean, that is just the reality because, like you talk about natural law, that's just something we can know from using our reason, but God has revealed to us divine law that complements never contradicts natural law, but it complements it, deepens it.

[25] And really, I was thinking, Terry, that I think what we do every week is kind of therapeutic for me. And because the pressure builds up, and I get so frustrated hearing leaders in the church and leaders in the world saying things that are not true.

[26] And you don't hear much pushback.

[27] And there are too many people, I mean, like talking about natural law, I'd hate to know.

[28] how few people even know what that can give a good definition of what natural law is.

[29] And I think we've, we know that in Catholicism, people aren't well catechized.

[30] I'm part of that generation.

[31] And thankfully, I've had to continue, I'm on a learning curve now to make up for that lost ground from my past.

[32] But too many people aren't worrying about it.

[33] and they're focused on all sorts of worldly things.

[34] They don't know their faith.

[35] Too many people don't know the basic foundations of this nation, and people don't know Western civilization and the basic truths like natural law that it's built on.

[36] So that lack of knowledge causes people to react emotionally to things instead of thinking it through, reasoning it out, and saying, yeah, this is tough, but we know this is how reality is.

[37] We're just in a time when people want to redefine themselves, and I define myself as this or that, just saying those words doesn't change the reality.

[38] And there's so much that people are suffering through because they've lost touch with reality.

[39] You know, Bishop Strickland, you reminded me, we just celebrated St. Francis.

[40] to Salis Feastay.

[41] And right after the Reformation, when many Catholics left the church because they didn't know the faith, St. Francis de Sales converted over 70 ,000 souls back to the church.

[42] And he didn't do it by sitting back in his chair and saying, oh, well, they're still, you know, at least they're still Christian or they're, but, you know, he felt that they needed the fullness of the faith.

[43] And he got a catechism together.

[44] He started catechizing and preaching.

[45] And his book, Introduction to Devout Life, is a classic book on spirituality.

[46] And I'd recommend to anyone we put that on cassette tape back in the 1980s.

[47] It's a classic for lay spirituality.

[48] So to me, Bishop Strickland, you're not doing anything extraordinary by speaking out.

[49] You're just doing your duty.

[50] That's my opinion as a layman.

[51] I wish more bishops felt like compelled and priests and deacons to say, wait a minute.

[52] The emperor has no clothes on.

[53] the world is telling us this when divine revelation says man god made man a woman and a man and that's how he made them okay end of story so thank you yeah and really terry people i see all the time people say on whose authority do you say this that's cute we said on divine authority exactly that's our belief amen the gospels talk about the people were astonished at the authority with which Jesus Christ spoke.

[54] And his church continues to speak with that authority.

[55] It's not human authority.

[56] It's divine authority.

[57] And that's found in the Word of God, in the catechism, and in the established magisterium of the church.

[58] So when a church leader or some other mouthpiece speaks up and says something that isn't true, on whose authority are they saying it?

[59] On what authority do we say that marriage has been redefined from what has been established by the church, the catechism, by what God is revealed to us, and by natural law?

[60] Yeah.

[61] I mean, you know, just marriage itself.

[62] Yeah.

[63] I mean, you know, there's so many things that are missing when a marriage, and we just say, okay, let's redefine marriage and say two men can be married.

[64] That is contrary to the basic truth that we know.

[65] If every marriage suddenly was same sex, then the human race is going to come to an end because it's about procreation.

[66] And certainly marriage isn't just that, but that is embedded in what marriage is.

[67] And thankfully, the church knows that.

[68] A man and a woman can't marry and say, we're excluding children.

[69] the church says, no, that is a basic element of marriage.

[70] Certainly, that doesn't mean every married couple is going to necessarily have children.

[71] And it doesn't mean that a childless couple that are devoted to each other are not truly married.

[72] They're absolutely truly married because they're open to marriage.

[73] But being two men getting married, they can't be open to children because it's not possible.

[74] Yeah, they can go adopt.

[75] and we see how that goes wrong sometimes but you know it we just need to go back to the truth that we know from natural law and the truth that God is revealed to us that enhances our understanding of the world of creation that we're a part of we just and like you said I will keep speaking up yeah I'm just one bishop of a small diocese in northeast Texas yeah but I'm a bishop I'm as much a bishop as any of the largest, most populated archdiocese in the world.

[76] I have the same job.

[77] And in these days, when I speak up for my flock, if people that are hungry for the truth want to overhear it, they're welcome.

[78] Well, I give you, when you do that, it inspires us lay people to speak out to Bishop Strickland.

[79] I get that all the time.

[80] there's a young man Matthew Grinch from Malta he was a former homosexual who found Jesus Christ in his Catholic Church he was converted and he was threatened with jail time fines for testifying about leaving homosexuality for heterosexual he just wanted to said anyone who cares about freedom of speech should be alarmed in other words he was converted so he told everybody what I was living was a lie and he's going to go to jail possibly for speaking the truth and I think that not only you inspire me but people like lay people who say you know what I'm going to stand for what's right and let the chips fall I think that if we have more people like that in the world I think more people would be persuaded to realize that what we're saying is right because people are willing to go to jail for the truth absolutely now Bishop Strickland I had a thought that you constantly talk on marriage and I know that you and Father James Martin have had differences and when we come from that back for the break I want to talk about a tweet you put out and some people might say well gee you're just calling them out well I mean out a brotherly love you know this is to me charity true charity is to give people the truth of Christ and if it's your brother I think that has said in that in a tweet just recently oh you did I didn't know that love, I mean, real compassion, real charity is the truth.

[81] It always is.

[82] And so my point is you're doing people a favor when you correct somebody.

[83] And I even say that about bishops sometimes where I will, I've had situations to talk to my local bishop who was teaching something on Hamanavita, he said, we throw that out.

[84] And I said, you listen, your eminence, this isn't what the perennial teachings teach.

[85] You made a promise that you were going to be faithful.

[86] and now he didn't go over well but I felt compelled as a layman because I love him enough to call him to say look knock it off what you're saying is your personal opinion and that's not why you were ordained and so sometimes we get that but I think when I come back from the break we're going to talk about a tweet with Father Martin and this is something that again comes back down to what is marriage between a man and a woman and we've got priests that are not preaching the perennial teachings of the church on marriage, and it's confusing to lay people, and when you come out and state the truth about it, it at least gives people the understanding that what the divine revelation teaches is important.

[87] We'll stay with us, family.

[88] We'll be right back.

[89] Welcome back to the Bishop Strickland hour.

[90] I promised I'd give you a quote from Bishop Strickland regarding Father James Martin.

[91] But before I do that, Bishop Strickland, over the weekend here in California.

[92] We had some horrible shootings going on 20 minutes from where we stand right there in West Covina.

[93] It was in Monterey Park and up in Northern California.

[94] And it was senseless murders, people just shooting people in ballrooms and farm workers and, you know, you just, people just have no sacred, no understanding of the sacredness of life.

[95] And I made a comment, I want to get yours.

[96] I believe that my son and I were up together this weekend.

[97] And he said, dad, when you can kill unborn babies and think it's okay, then what's stopping you from killing adults?

[98] Life is not sacred anymore, so this is going to happen.

[99] Do you think he's on to something there, Bishop Strick?

[100] Absolutely.

[101] I've said that all along, that we, the Catholic Church teaches the truth that from conception to natural death, every life is sacred.

[102] And when we attack most innocent life shortly after conception, we're, as as popes have said, many people have said through the years, when an unborn child is not sacred, no life is sacred.

[103] And sadly, we're seeing that more and more with senseless atrocities.

[104] And it's tragic for all humanity.

[105] the ways that people's lives are in all kinds of ways, devalued and attacked.

[106] But if we're going to allow it for the most innocent, sadly, we're reaping that for every person to be vulnerable to that kind of senseless violence.

[107] Well, you're right.

[108] And that's how I see it too.

[109] So now I'll get to the James Martin tweet.

[110] He said regarding Pete Butichick, he's legally married.

[111] You said, but it's a legal fiction.

[112] I actually say the Catholic League said that, but here's what he said.

[113] Surprise this got so much attention.

[114] Like it or not, Pete Buttigieg is legally married.

[115] You may disagree with same -sex marriage or not, but Pete is married in the eyes of the state and his church as much as anyone else is.

[116] To claim otherwise is to ignore reality.

[117] Can I say something?

[118] Reality?

[119] What is his idea of reality?

[120] I want to hear what your thought is because that tweet, I look at my scratch in my head and going, what planet is this man on?

[121] Yeah.

[122] Well, it is interesting the word reality is used because the reality is it's not a marriage.

[123] And, you know, certainly every person, as we've said before, every person, whatever their inclinations, whatever, whoever they are, whatever sin they commit, whatever temptations they have, they are beloved of God.

[124] Amen.

[125] And we need to remember that.

[126] Amen.

[127] But all of us, when we act sinfully, we are stepping away from that love of God.

[128] God still loves us as sinners, but because he loves us, he calls us to repent.

[129] And there's too much of a message of no need for repentance.

[130] I mean, frankly, telling Pete Buttigieg that, oh, you're married, that is telling him to continue living what the church says is in a moral lifestyle, presuming that he has a sexual relationship with the man he calls his husband.

[131] Yeah.

[132] I mean, that's what marriage presumes.

[133] If they're living chastely, then they're fine.

[134] I kind of doubt that's the way they're living.

[135] But that's what the church would say.

[136] That's right.

[137] I mean, for, and of course, you know, that's not marriage, but it's just, it all becomes so convoluted.

[138] And it really isn't complicated.

[139] Every person is sacred before God.

[140] Amen.

[141] Whatever their inclinations.

[142] It's when we act that we either act in virtue or in.

[143] sinfulness, to ignore that distinction, which is what's promoted when it comes to those with a homosexual inclination to promote that, well, they can act on that.

[144] And it doesn't matter.

[145] They don't have to repent.

[146] I mean, here we are, as we're recording this, it's the conversion of St. Paul that we're celebrating.

[147] Right.

[148] Exactly.

[149] And there's so many in the church that are acting as if no conversion needed.

[150] I mean, we need to go back and tell St. Paul, you don't need to turn around.

[151] I mean, and basically, he was on a path of totally denying Christianity and trying to destroy it.

[152] And he was converted.

[153] He had a change in his path in life.

[154] That's what all of us are called to.

[155] Yes.

[156] But the message that too many, even within the church you're offering now, is there's no conversion needed.

[157] Just embrace Jesus's love.

[158] Jesus loves you.

[159] Absolutely he does.

[160] But he himself calls us to repentance.

[161] And it's just, it's not reality to say, well, I don't have to change.

[162] I'll be doing exactly what I'm doing.

[163] I mean, it's just a. illogic as much as anything.

[164] Imagine St. Paul being knocked down by this flash of light and saying, okay, Jesus, great to meet you, and I'm not going to change a thing I'm doing.

[165] I'm going to continue to persecute the church that you've established.

[166] That's the logic or the lack of logic that's being promoted.

[167] I don't need to change.

[168] I don't need to change my actions at all.

[169] I just embrace Jesus' love and go and do whatever the blank I want to do.

[170] And that's what's being promoted by too many instead of saying a change of direction, a real conversion is what's called for.

[171] What I like to say is we're all converting Catholic.

[172] I mean, every day we need to convert more.

[173] deeply.

[174] Amen.

[175] And anytime we say, we've arrived and I'm as holy as I need to be, that indicates we're a long way from the virtue that we need to embrace.

[176] And it's not just about the absence of sin.

[177] If we can get to that point, which we can't.

[178] But even if we could, we need to start acting virtuously.

[179] Yeah.

[180] Even if we were able to eliminate all sin from our lives, we have to act in the truth, to act and care for those in need.

[181] I mean, that's what Christ is saying all the time to not just St. Paul, but to numerous saints.

[182] You've got to care for the least.

[183] And we go back to abortion, the least or the unborn child, but there are plenty of least in the world.

[184] And yes, we need to care for the poor.

[185] We need to demand the rights of others.

[186] but to pretend that we can embrace the message of Jesus Christ, but not change a thing about what we're doing, that's just not the gospel.

[187] Amen.

[188] It's not what Jesus said, is not what the church is proclaimed.

[189] And as somebody pointed out, you know, it's sort of ironic that, you know, I know growing up myself and even in the seminary years, he was at, oh, the Catholic Church is so obsessed with sect.

[190] yeah the whole world i mean sadly people's whole definition of who they are yes is built on their their sexual inclination yeah there's a whole lot to life beyond that of course we seem to have forgotten that as a culture it's all about what's your sexual orientation and it that just distorts the beautiful human life that God wants us to live.

[191] So we need to bring people back to reality, back to sanity, and recognize that if you have inclinations of whatever kind that are contrary to the truth that God has revealed to us, God loves you.

[192] Do your best to change your actions that are giving in to those sinful inclinations of whatever kind.

[193] That's real compassion That's real, that's real bridge building and not saying, oh, well, don't change a thing.

[194] Just be who you are and don't be changed by your encounter with Christ.

[195] Don't change your actions.

[196] Just walk with Jesus.

[197] That is not the gospel.

[198] That's a false gospel.

[199] Never will be.

[200] Yeah.

[201] That's a false gospel that we're hearing.

[202] And it's inspiring to have bishops speak like this.

[203] And Bishop Strickland, you know I'm devoted to Archbishop Fulton Sheen.

[204] And back in that, this is kind of like what was going on.

[205] You and I are old enough to remember we were kids in the early 70s.

[206] But there was a lot of confusion going on in catechesis.

[207] And Bishop Sheen made a statement that I thought should make some bishops a little uncomfortable, but it made us, as lay people, you know, be comfortable with it.

[208] Because he said this back in 1972.

[209] It says, who's going to save our church?

[210] not our bishops not our priests and religious it's up to you the people of god you have the minds the eyes the ears to save the church your mission is to see that your priests act like priests your bishops like bishops and your religious act like religious now bishop strickland i would think that for some bishops today hearing that uh would say who the heck is bishop sheen why is he why is he telling lay people they're just making my life life a little bit more miserable, why don't they just keep their mouth shut and I'll take care of business?

[211] But it seems like Bishop Sheen is saying to us lay people, we need to be part of renewing the church by calling our priests and bishops to fidelity to these perennial teachings.

[212] What are your thoughts about Bishop Sheen's comment?

[213] Absolutely.

[214] And what occurs to me is he's really talking about what the church teaches.

[215] We are the mystical body of Christ.

[216] That's what the church is.

[217] So we all have a stake in this.

[218] We all have a responsibility.

[219] Certainly, as a bishop, I have a great responsibility to take care of the flock of the Diocese of Tyler.

[220] And to speak the truth, as I promise, to guard the deposit of faith, to hold the truths of the church and to make sure that they're lived now as fully as we can in God's mercy and passed on to the next generation.

[221] So I think what Archbishop Sheen is talking about is who we are.

[222] We're the mystical body of Christ.

[223] When one of us fails to take up that responsibility, we're all diminished.

[224] And I can say as a bishop, very often the priest and the deacons and the lay people that I work with humble me and encourage me and inspire me to be a better member of the body of Christ.

[225] Yes, I have the responsibility in the position of a bishop, but you have the responsibility in the position of being a dad and a husband and a grandfather.

[226] That's a great responsibility as well.

[227] We have to do it mutually together.

[228] We can't just say, oh, it's your job or your job.

[229] It's the job of all of us from our baptism.

[230] We're all baptized priests, prophet, and king.

[231] And we need to remember that and seek to live that as fully as we can with, humility, but always doing our best to repent and live the good news as we're called to.

[232] Well, said, I think of a statement I mentioned last week, you cannot have love at the expense of truth.

[233] And I think that that's what you just basically are pointing out.

[234] And again, it's helping bishops, it's helping the lay people to hold ourselves accountable to the perennial teachings of the church because that's how we're going to be judged.

[235] Stay with us, family.

[236] We've got a great quote from Pope Benedict the 16th to come back.

[237] Welcome back to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[238] Bishop Strickland, you had a tweet regarding Pope Benedict the 16th.

[239] And what the Holy Father said at the time was what earlier generations held as sacred remained sacred and great for us too.

[240] And it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful.

[241] Now, he was referring to the extraordinary form of the Mass, which would be called the Trinantine Mass. you made your point was thank you pope benedict we need the sacred in these dark times let us focus on jesus who comes to us on every eucharistic altar in many forms of the liturgy they are part of the latin right before you respond i just want to make a point that there's 22 rights in the catholic church and um the you know there's expressions of the liturgy i have the melkite i have the maronite here and they're beautiful liturgies and they don't take away from your Latin right.

[242] So I wanted to just ask you, I mean, I don't have a great love for the Trinantine Mass myself, okay?

[243] I just don't.

[244] We have a Latin novice ordo Mass here, and we have an English Mass with the Anglican Ordinariate, and, you know, it's very beautiful.

[245] And, you know, the liturgy, you know, the novice ordo Mass can be done in such a reverent way, but sometimes you see it done with lots of liturgical abuses.

[246] So I just wanted to ask your take on what Benedict said about what we call the extraordinary form of the mass, because there are some in the church who are putting restrictions on it, and they almost, there's a talk about now having it actually be forbidden to be celebrated, which doesn't make any sense to a layman like me. Your thoughts?

[247] Well, and you really spoke about what was on my mind.

[248] I mean, you can't fit everything into a few letters on a tweet, but the 22 rights you spoke of, we seem to have just forgotten that.

[249] It's like it's either or.

[250] And actually, it's a rich, beautiful reminder that we're approaching a mystery that is always beyond us, always beyond whatever expression.

[251] The most people who love the Latin Mass, a glorious pontifical high mass with the most glorious choir.

[252] Yeah.

[253] It still pales in comparison to the reality that we're going to the reality that we're we're approaching.

[254] Beautiful, but it doesn't exhaust the great mystery that is God's love and the sacrifice of his son, Jesus Christ, that is what the mass is about, whether it's the novice ordo with a mass in the vernacular.

[255] Latin's a beautiful expression because it evokes the mystery.

[256] But like you said, the Chaldean rite, the Maronite, all kinds of different liturgies.

[257] that richness is what we need more than ever, is to recognize it is all Christ is always beyond us, but he is always with us in a validly celebrated mass that is recognized by the church.

[258] That's what we need to be celebrating.

[259] I mean, here in the Diocese of Tyler, we're blessed with a heritage of the Maronite rocket.

[260] Many of the first Catholics of this area going back to the 19th century, we're from Lebanon, like you've mentioned yourself.

[261] I'm half Lebanese and the Maronite right.

[262] It's a different right.

[263] We've had it a couple of times at the cathedral here.

[264] It's not something I'm that familiar with, just like I'm not that familiar with the Latin Mass, the traditional Latin Mass. It's part, it's one of those rights.

[265] I think we need to expand that richness and recognize it's always Christ at the same.

[266] I want to share something very personal for my own prayer just this past weekend.

[267] Yes.

[268] Because I'm always thinking and praying about all of this, of bringing it to prayer.

[269] And what really occurred to me, not a mystical experience or anything, but as I was praying about this and thinking about the different, the liturgy and who we really encounter, you know, the words that came to me. it's his sacrifice.

[270] Ah, of course.

[271] To me, that's what it's all about, and that was very meaningful to me. It's his sacrifice.

[272] Jesus Christ, the son of God, Jesus of Nazareth, who walked the streets of Jerusalem and the other towns of Copernum and that all area for 33 years, he's the one that died on the cross.

[273] He's the one that poured out his blood, blood and water gushed forth.

[274] from his heart, his sacred heart.

[275] He's the one that was buried in a tomb.

[276] We need to remember it's about his sacrifice.

[277] It's not my idea or your idea or it's about Jesus Christ.

[278] Amen.

[279] And we should be rejoicing that there are a variety of rich ways to approach the Lord.

[280] different people in human terms have different preferences but we need to remember he's at the center we're there to worship God we're not there to gather as humanity we're there to worship God and every liturgy has the potential of guiding us deeper into that mystery and every liturgy can fall short if we don't put ourselves into it it as we're called to, to truly be actively participating through bringing our hearts to the sacred heart of Christ during the liturgy.

[281] And we all need to turn to the Immaculate Virgin Mary to her immaculate heart.

[282] I mean, many of us are consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Christ through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

[283] That needs to activate every time we go to Mass or every time as a priest, I celebrate Mass. We need to remember and say a prayer in our hearts that Mary, may your immaculate heart take us closer and deeper into the sacred heart of your son.

[284] It's his heart that we're celebrating.

[285] It's his sacrifice.

[286] We need to remember that.

[287] And the more we can remember that, I know for myself, I'm a sinner, I'm weak, I get out of focus, I lose track.

[288] But the more I remember it's his sacrifice, the more I remember to seek his sacred heart, the better I can experience the reality that he's really there, body and blood, soul and divinity at every mass in whatever form, as long as it's following the rubrics of the church for that specific right of the mass. A marionite right is different from the novice ordo in English.

[289] that I often celebrate.

[290] We need to remember Jesus is Lord.

[291] It's his sacrifice.

[292] He's the one we need to be seeking every one of us, not just the priest, not just the priest and the deacon or the bishop.

[293] Whoever the ministers are, we're there to serve the whole body of Christ and to bring reverence to that altar.

[294] But every one of us needs to participate in reverently seeking the one of the son of God present to us in the gift of his sacrifice of love that is the Eucharist.

[295] Well, said Bishop Strickland, I wanted to mention that Joe Biden, our president, Joe Biden, Catholic, did something, again, that's consistent, unfortunately, with his position on killing unborn babies.

[296] I'll just say killing unborn babies, because that's what it is.

[297] on the 50th anniversary of Roe versus Wade, President Biden, Catholic, baptized Catholic, who we pray for because we want to see him get to heaven.

[298] But he said this, that we should be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Roe versus Wade, which is promoting the killing of innocent life, which is tragic that he would say that.

[299] He said, instead, mega - Republicans, officials are waging war on women's rights to make their own health care decisions, but this fight is.

[300] over, and he's doing everything in his power to help kill unborn babies.

[301] And I think Bishop Strickland, you tweeted, I said, I mean, the fact that he's Catholic in doing this, I feel like we got an obligation to pray and make reparation for this because he can't be a Catholic in good standing in doing this.

[302] So you tweeted whatever he claims, President Biden, is aggressively denying his Catholic faith, denying the values of life of the unborn child, vigorously murdering innocent children is not health care, abortion devastates women.

[303] We must care for them both.

[304] And so you called him out in a loving way, but Bishop Strickland, this is scandalous that a lot of Catholics could understand that, well, he's a Catholic and he says he's a devout Catholic, so why can't I have his position?

[305] To me, this is scandalous in that if we don't call him out, not only for his own good, but I think for the good of the entire world.

[306] Am I on to something?

[307] I totally agree, Terry, and it really is a shame that we're not a united, loving voice, but clearly saying, Joseph Biden, you're a son of God, you are a baptized Catholic.

[308] Live your Catholic faith.

[309] Read the catechism.

[310] If your heart isn't there, we pray for.

[311] the conversion of his heart for and really terry that's um i was just there at the the pro -life march in washington dc and as as one of the speakers said i think we we really i mean the laws i mean some states are i mean thankfully in texas the laws are protecting yes a lot of unborn children no law is going to be perfect we've got to pray for a change of hearts hearts hearts that are rooted in the truth that God is revealed to us, in the truth that we are sacred because we are created in the image and likeness of God.

[312] And that sacred nature of the human being begins a conception and ends with natural death.

[313] We need to relearn that basic truth.

[314] And we just have a lot of work to do to teach the world that, to teach this nation again.

[315] And it's very sad that the church herself is not clear.

[316] There are too many ambiguous messages.

[317] There are too many silent voices.

[318] There's too many that are contradicting what the church teaches and saying, oh, we're too exclusionary.

[319] We need to exclude anything that is sinful.

[320] I think we talked about it before, but I loved what Archbishop Shephew said, that truth is polarizing.

[321] It should be.

[322] It's either hot or cold, true or false.

[323] It's not this mishmash of ambiguous fog.

[324] It's the truth.

[325] And we need to proclaim that with joy and with vigor and with all the strength that we have.

[326] Well said, when we come back, we're going to talk about another bishop.

[327] His name is Joseph also, but it's not Joseph Strickland.

[328] Another bishop at the March for Life rally.

[329] We're going to talk about what he was doing and much more on the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[330] Stay with us, family.

[331] We'll be right now.

[332] Welcome back to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[333] Bishop Strickland was at the March for Life.

[334] I watched some of the EWTN videos of the presentations that were given.

[335] I was moved by one of the Sisters of Life sister who has Down syndrome.

[336] I have to be honest with you, I was in tears that made me cry to see.

[337] see her preach the gospel of life to a world.

[338] I mean, that was just so moving.

[339] And then, of course, Jonathan also gave a beautiful speech.

[340] He's been in our studio.

[341] We knew him in Los Angeles when nobody knew who he was.

[342] A great young man, he's a great man who loves Fulton Sheen.

[343] He played Jesus in the Chosen series of television.

[344] But he gave a wonderful speech about life.

[345] He quoted St. Padre Pio.

[346] But I wasn't there, Bishop Strickland.

[347] Why don't you tell us what your experience was at the March for Life?

[348] And you did tweet about a U .S. Bishop, Joe Coffey, who's the Bishop of the military.

[349] He participated in the March for Life carrying a crucifix.

[350] I'm sure they were praying the Rosary.

[351] But tell us about that experience at the March for Life this year.

[352] Well, it was a great experience, a great crowd, very positive.

[353] And just the joy of having the freedom and the opportunity to speak up for the sanctity of the life of the unborn.

[354] As you mentioned, there were some great speeches and just a great atmosphere.

[355] Many young people, not, you know, older people, younger people.

[356] It was quite a march that lasted probably more than two hours, not moving real quickly, but a large group of people and just a joyful atmosphere and an opportunity to, and I think what I emphasize is to be grateful that we still have the freedom to do that.

[357] As we speak, this Mark Halk is on trial for speaking up about the sanctity of life.

[358] And many people are suffering because of that those.

[359] people wanting to restrict that freedom yeah it was the march for life was was peaceful was cheerful was about celebrating life and as you mentioned that the down syndrome twin sister of one of the the sisters of life yeah talk about inspiration oh yeah and it really was a great opportunity and i think there's a parallel there with a lot that we're seeing the the the question of what we have to relearn some basic distinctions in our society.

[360] The state declares things legal or illegal.

[361] And we debate about that, you know, what should be legalized.

[362] I mean, in some places they've legalized marijuana.

[363] I think that's a mistake.

[364] I agree.

[365] But legal and illegal is something that governments, are in charge of in order to determine how to govern a society peacefully.

[366] For the church, the question is moral or immoral.

[367] And it all gets blurred together.

[368] We've got to be very clear that just because something is legal or illegal, we need to pay attention to that.

[369] Christ tells us, pay unto Caesar what is due to Caesar.

[370] But so, yes, laws are there to help govern us peacefully to keep things moving smoothly.

[371] And that breaks down when people are ignoring the laws, which sadly happens too often.

[372] But there's a blurring of what saying something is legal or not.

[373] That's different than immoral or not.

[374] We know the killing an unborn child is immoral, right, is sinful, is evil.

[375] And we, the laws go back and forth on that.

[376] We live in a country now where some states say it's legal, some say it's not.

[377] There are ways to obtain an abortion chemically or, you know, in other ways besides the surgical abortion.

[378] of what's called a procured abortion that in many places it is illegal, other places like California, sadly where you are or say, come one, come all, we'll pay for your tickets to come and murder your child here.

[379] So we need to pay attention to that distinction.

[380] Legal is one thing.

[381] Yes, moral.

[382] Moral is a whole other thing.

[383] Absolutely.

[384] And it's being convoluted now with the whole question of marriage.

[385] People can say they're legally married, and there are certain things that go with that.

[386] But is it a moral union?

[387] That's what we have to make the distinction.

[388] The church is about proclaiming the truth of morality, because ultimately, no civil law is going to save us at the end of our lives.

[389] it's the moral law that God has given us, beginning with the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments, and all the laws that flow from that.

[390] And, I mean, one of those laws is thou shalt not kill.

[391] Yep.

[392] The other one of another one of those Ten Commandment laws has to do with thou shalt not commit adultery.

[393] Right.

[394] And you might define that narrowly.

[395] So, oh, that's all that talks about.

[396] But if you look at the whole body of morality teaching that flows.

[397] from that.

[398] It's about ultimately, and this is what people, I loved, I know I shared a tweet several weeks back, I think now, or several days back at least, from Lila Rose saying that abortion is the end of immoral choices that lead up to that.

[399] The morality that the church teaches that people laugh us out of the, out of the street and try to attack, but it's the truth.

[400] The way God has made us, the only moral way for our sexual lives to be lived out is a marriage between a man and a woman for life, in the commitment of life, and open to children.

[401] Yeah.

[402] That's the basic definition.

[403] That's what God has given us.

[404] That's what marriage is.

[405] Any stepping away from that, and I agree with the people that say, oh, well, people beat up on those who have the homosexual inclination or living a homosexual lifestyle.

[406] God really shares with us in his teaching that flows from scripture and from the catechism and all the fonts of truth that the church has.

[407] available to her, that the man and woman that are just, you know, having a one -night stand or just meet in a bar and go then have a sexual relationship, yeah, they're as immoral as the two men or the two women.

[408] God doesn't say one is less immoral than the other.

[409] I mean, immorality is immorality.

[410] And we need to remember that.

[411] Amen.

[412] The inclination.

[413] I mean, you know, people may be tempted and inclined to go to a bar and a man hook up, as they say, with a woman or whatever.

[414] If they avoid that action, if they don't do it, just having that inclination doesn't make them a moral.

[415] The same way is true for two men or two women that are inclined to go off and have sexual relations.

[416] If they refrain from it, that's not immoral.

[417] They're not immoral, just the inclination.

[418] That's where it all gets foggy and really confused.

[419] And we've got to be very clear about that.

[420] But these days, people don't want any restrictions on their activities.

[421] And I hate to tell them, but yeah, some things are legal, some things are illegal.

[422] But the ultimate restrictions come from God.

[423] Amen.

[424] And they catch up with us.

[425] I mean, people, you know, act like Sodom and Gomorrah.

[426] Oh, that's just an Old Testament myth that didn't really happen.

[427] But Christ himself, he compares his day.

[428] Yes.

[429] He says, it'll be better for these people, for Sodom and Gamora than it was for these people that are ignoring the truth that God has revealed to us.

[430] Christ himself acknowledges the reality of that story of Sodom and Gomorra.

[431] We've got to listen to that in the Old Testament and listen to our Lord Jesus Christ, never condemning anyone.

[432] And let me say very clearly that any atrocities committed toward another person simply because of their inclination.

[433] Yes.

[434] Is that is terribly immoral.

[435] That is tragic and violent.

[436] So absolutely, just because someone has.

[437] an inclination to homosexuality or heterosexuality, that is not any action toward that person is an action similar to abortion.

[438] It's violating a sacred person.

[439] And we need to always reject anything that is violent toward another person.

[440] But when we engage in sentiment, activity.

[441] We've got to call that person away from it.

[442] We've just got to make, do a better job of making the distinctions in our world.

[443] People don't make those distinctions and it's harmful to all of us.

[444] Yes.

[445] And you just quoted the catechism of the Catholic Church.

[446] If you look under homosexuality, that exactly what it says.

[447] That just because people have an inclination, we don't condemn them.

[448] We ask them to be, we require them to be faithful like a, or we call celibacy in the sense of fidelity to your spouse.

[449] I have to live a chase life.

[450] Well, someone who has a sexual inclination for homosexuality, they're called to live a chase life.

[451] So we're not really asking any more than anybody else.

[452] That's just what the church teaches.

[453] Bishop Strickland, we didn't get to the catechism of the Catholic, the way of the Christ's catechism that's put out by the St. Philip Institute.

[454] We will next week.

[455] But I want to give a plug before I ask for your blessing, and that is if people go to the Diocese of of Tyler, Texas, they can go to St. Philip Institute and pick up their catechism, because next week we'll start back up and teaching that out of it from this show.

[456] And five, one last thing that pray for, you mention it, pray for the church that they will not pick a controversial German bishop to be the head of the doctrine of faith.

[457] His name is Bishop Wilmer, who has been a vocal backer of the German sent it away, which is like breaking the church up.

[458] So let's pray that that doesn't happen.

[459] How about your blessing for us, please?

[460] Sure.

[461] Almighty God, we ask your blessing for all of us to continue, as St. Paul did, to convert more deeply to the light and grace your son brings to our lives and to our world.

[462] Help us to always in compassion and love, do our best to live the truth, trusting in God's mercy and forgiveness when we fail in our sinfulness, to confess those sins, and to seek God's forgiving love, help us live his virgin.

[463] He asked this blessing in the name of the Father.

[464] Thank you so much, Bishop Strickland.

[465] I want to remind everyone you can listen to all the podcasts by going to Virgin Most Powerful Radio, and that way you can download the app and listen to all of our shows.

[466] Thanks again for supporting us here at Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[467] May God richly bless you and the family.

[468] Until next week, I look forward to chatting with you next week.

[469] On the same station, the same time.

[470] God bless you.

[471] Thank you.