27 Oct 2020 – The Eighth Commandment (Pt. 1)

[0] Welcome to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[1] My name is Terry Barber with Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[2] Honored to have the Bishop speak out about our Catholic faith, especially the Ten Commandments that he's working on.

[3] We're on the Eighth Commandment.

[4] But before we do that, our format, for those who just came on board, 1 ,650 new people listening to us on YouTube.

[5] I just joined us seven days ago.

[6] So we want to welcome you and all the others on Facebook, on regular AM and FM radio and then also on our app this show is becoming very popular and why?

[7] Because Bishop Strickland is just teaching the faith.

[8] Nothing more, not his personal opinion.

[9] As a matter of fact, Bishop Strickland, you're a very nice bishop, but I'm not interested in your personal opinion.

[10] I mean it.

[11] I'm interested.

[12] Good, Terry.

[13] You don't need my personal opinion.

[14] You need what the church teaches.

[15] Amen, amen.

[16] You need the message of Jesus Christ.

[17] Amen to that.

[18] And Bishop Strictly.

[19] Ricklin, you've been tweeting, as you usually do, and one of your tweets just made, brought joy to my heart.

[20] It said, once again, I encourage the joy campaign.

[21] If you know Jesus, you know joy.

[22] This is not an empty rose, colored glasses, denial, but instead an embrace in the truth.

[23] Wow.

[24] That the Lord of the universe is with us.

[25] Return or, and turn to him for the first time in no true.

[26] joy.

[27] Bishop Strickland, I have to tell you before you comment on why you did that, I was at Home Depot buying supplies for our old church, and the lady said to me, boy, I wish all the customers were upbeat like you.

[28] And I said, she was just making a comment, because I was saying, are you ready to take my money, young lady?

[29] Yes.

[30] And I said, well, she says, what do you have?

[31] And I said, can I tell you the secret?

[32] I look to my left, I look to my right.

[33] I said, I'm loved by God.

[34] And not many people know that today.

[35] She looked at me. 28 years old, 25, and she says, you're right.

[36] Not many people do know that.

[37] Do you know that Jesus loves you?

[38] She said yes.

[39] And I say, good, because he loves me too.

[40] Now, I thought of your tweet when I said that yesterday.

[41] Tell me, why are you encouraging people to have this joy campaign?

[42] Because I love it.

[43] Well, really, Terry, what that came from was all, I mean, I think all of us have heard something about campaigns in the past couple of months.

[44] You think?

[45] A few campaigns here and there.

[46] And it just struck me that we need a joy campaign.

[47] We need to remember that every day of life is a gift.

[48] It's a gift from God.

[49] We can't presume on the next day.

[50] And we all get distracted.

[51] We all get down.

[52] We all get angry.

[53] We, you know, we're human.

[54] But I think we need to take a breath.

[55] and remember where joy comes from.

[56] And like you said, to know, and as you said in this, in Home Depot, but we can encounter each other in the name of God anywhere.

[57] Yeah.

[58] And I'm so glad that you mentioned that story because it's exactly what I would hope would come from reading one of these tweets.

[59] Again, like we said, you know, as we were beginning, is not me. I'm not the source of joy.

[60] I'm just trying to point people to the source of joy.

[61] We need joy in this 2020 confusing year.

[62] People are angry.

[63] People are fighting.

[64] There's vitriol everywhere.

[65] There's violence.

[66] And, you know, to look ahead a little bit to hopefully we can talk about that Eighth Commandment, people are lying to each other constantly.

[67] Yep.

[68] And that does not create joy.

[69] No. that is not tapping into the joy of respecting each other, being truthful, being full of hope.

[70] And it's, I really think that the lack of joy is the lack of God, the lack of knowing who we are.

[71] And we have to, I try to keep pulling myself back to joy because we can all get angry and we can get upset and we can have frustrated, all of those negative emotions.

[72] We're all human.

[73] We all fall into that.

[74] I confess that I do sometimes, but I need to remind myself to be joyful.

[75] And as I tried to say in that tweet, not in some Mickey Mouse way that is just sort of pretending everything's wonderful.

[76] No, joy in Christ is really a deep down kind of understanding.

[77] It's not a feeling.

[78] It's It's an awareness of what life's about and what a precious gift every day is, even with the sufferings.

[79] I mean, St. Paul says in so many of his letters that we should rejoice in suffering in the name of Christ.

[80] That is so contrary to what you hear in the airwaves, not on this radio station, but on most television and radio and the computer and all the things we see on Twitter.

[81] I mean, you know, I sometimes laugh because I can imagine a lot of people, sadly, that are involved with Twitter, thinking about God is the last thing they're going to do.

[82] And they, I mean, and sometimes they comment in very ugly ways about what I say about God.

[83] But, you know, we just pray for them.

[84] I don't respond with ugliness because it just shows me that they're the ones that are hurt.

[85] ultimately.

[86] They may get all angry and yell about it and not, you know, say, I'm not hurting.

[87] I just know the truth and your truth is a myth.

[88] But I know they're wrong.

[89] And obviously, I have more joy than they do.

[90] So discern from there.

[91] Well said.

[92] Bishop Strickland, you also tweeted about the power of the rosary, our lady of the rosary, and that you're encouraging people to continue to have these rosary congresses and out in the streets in san francisco they're out praying the rosary with archbishop card de leone i wanted to play a clip from a priest back east who talked about the power of one hail mary and then i want your comment on it okay here comes hey everybody father joe frey here i'm out at the cemetery in the south hills this is where my brother's buried it's the 28th anniversary of his death and so just just got done praying a rosary But I wanted to do a quick video because this is the month of the rosary.

[93] October 7th is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.

[94] And I wanted to share with you a real quick story.

[95] Probably, if you've ever heard me before, heard me share it because I tell everybody because it's so powerful.

[96] A buddy of mine, John Petrovich was running around his neighborhood.

[97] He lives in Green Tree.

[98] He goes to St. Simon and Jude.

[99] And he said he saw an ambulance in somebody's driveway.

[100] And he's a really good guy.

[101] So he thought, should I stop?

[102] Check everything's okay.

[103] And he said, I don't know the lady.

[104] I'm not a doctor.

[105] So he said he just kept running.

[106] and he said he prayed one hell merry like one hell merry and he didn't stop and fold his hands he didn't know he just prayed one hell merry as he was jogging didn't think anything of it a week later um he's jogging around the same neighborhood and he hears this woman call out from her front porch uh hey you hey sir and he kept running didn't know anybody from that neighborhood and she said no you the runner and and he stopped turn around said me she said yeah you she said you saved my life and he he said i'm sorry ma 'am i don't think we know each other um and then she said no i recognize your face and here's the story she said last week i was got sick and i was rushed to the hospital and was in the hospital dying and she said jesus appeared to me and he held out his hand and your face was in the palm of his hand and he said to me you are going to die but because of the prayer of this man you're going to live folks that's the power of praying one hell mary so i just want to encourage you.

[107] If you have never prayed the rosary before, get a rosary, pick up the rosary, Google how to pray the rosary.

[108] I'll do a video after this real quick to explain it.

[109] If you're praying the rosary sporadically, this would be my challenge, I guess.

[110] Pray it every day for the rest of October.

[111] If you've never prayed the rosary, maybe just start with one decade.

[112] It takes about five minutes to pray a decade of the rosary.

[113] But it's such a powerful prayer that was given to us by God through the hands of our lady.

[114] So just encourage you to do that.

[115] And St. Pius said, if you want to save the world, say the rosary.

[116] Save the world, say the rosary.

[117] God bless you everyone.

[118] Now, Bishop Strickland, you've never heard that before, so I wanted to get your reaction.

[119] Don't you love stories like that?

[120] Oh, it's wonderful.

[121] And it's, it reminds us, it's kind of like there's a coating over everything where the truth has just been blocked out.

[122] And thank God.

[123] for this priest because Jesus says all power in heaven and on earth has been given to him and we think we're so powerful and we talk about the power of nations and all the presidents it's the most powerful office and the free world all of that power is nothing compared to the power of God the power of God's life and love and if we could just retune everything, to be aware that praying a Hail Mary is more powerful than any weapon, than any rhetoric, than anything we can do.

[124] Because one of the things that if you listen to the prayer of the Hail Mary is very humble, and it acknowledges we don't have any power.

[125] And it's asking Mary, who is chosen by God, a woman, a human being, but she shows us who we can be so um i just love that video and let us pray why don't we just pray a Hail Mary right now for everyone who scoffs at this who laughs at a video like that and says oh this woman just that's an illusion and and that's some kind of reaction to a drug or something i mean people just scoff at the truth and we need to just pray that they can hope in their heart.

[126] So let us just pray one Hail Mary.

[127] Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

[128] Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

[129] Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners.

[130] Now and at the hour of our death, amen.

[131] Bishop Strickland, we're going to take a quick break now, but when we come back, you tweeted something from St. Bridget of Sweden regarding demonic activity and how our lady is really a powerful name regarding the demons and so when we come back we'll ask you about that they're listening to the terry excuse me you're listening to the bishop strickland hour i was going to say terry and jesse that's great i'm virgin most powerful we have lots of shows you can check us out we'll be right back much more with bishop strickland welcome daniel you're on the line what's on your mind brother Hi, I just wanted to share a testimony about Virgin Most Powerful radio.

[132] I had a buddy at work who, you know, he looked warm Catholic guy, and I wanted him to start listening to the Terry and Jesse show.

[133] So I kept telling him to download the app, and he kept putting me off until one day I grabbed his phone and I downloaded the app for him.

[134] I went on vacation, and I kept telling him to listen to it.

[135] He was kind of put me off.

[136] I came back from vacation.

[137] He comes to my cubicle, and he says to me, hey, man, I've been listening to Terry and Jesse show, and it's great.

[138] and it's made a big impact in his life.

[139] The guy, he's going a weekly adoration a couple times a week.

[140] He goes to the Mass in the morning.

[141] He's on -fire Catholic, and he promotes the Taran Jesse show in the Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[142] Daniel, what a testimony, and I want to encourage our listeners to get those cards by going to Virgin Most Powerful Radio .org and do what Daniel's doing.

[143] Go out and spread the faith by inviting people to listen to Virgin Most Powerful.

[144] Daniel, thanks for your testimony, brother.

[145] God love you.

[146] You're welcome.

[147] Siroc 1124 says, Do not say I am self -sufficient.

[148] What harm can come to me now?

[149] According to St. Catherine of Siena, presumption is like vermin, burrowing at the root of the tree of our soul.

[150] If we do not uproot it with great care and humility, it will eventually destroy the soul.

[151] May God keep us from all presumption of mind and heart, and realize that we depend on Him for everything.

[152] This is Terry Barber.

[153] I want to thank you for your support here at Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[154] Here's an easy way to do it.

[155] If you're going to sell or buy a house, call real estate for life 877 -543 -3871 because they're going to get you a Christ -centered agent to purchase your home or to sell your home.

[156] And at the close of escrow, a portion of his commission goes right back to Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[157] Call 877 -543 -3871.

[158] Thank you so much for your support.

[159] Welcome back to the Bishop Strickland Hour on Virgin Most Powerful in collaboration with LifeSight News.

[160] I wanted to quote something from Bishop Strickland's tweet.

[161] He said these are wise words from St. Bridget of Sweden.

[162] He says, let us remember that the real power is always in God's grace.

[163] Here's the quote from St. Bridget of Sweden.

[164] The demons are very anxious in their pursuit of souls.

[165] Yet, they quickly abandoned their prey merely at the name of Mary.

[166] That's spiritual warfare at its best, Bishop Strickland.

[167] Tell me about what made you put that in today.

[168] Absolutely.

[169] Well, what St. Bridget of Sweden refers to is that basic faith and the power of the supernatural, the power of prayer, saying just the name of Mary reminds us, who is Mary?

[170] She is the model human, not because of her, but because of God's grace that she's filled with.

[171] And she shows us that we can all benefit from that filling of God's grace.

[172] She shows us what's possible for the human, woman, and man. And St. Bridget lived centuries ago, but she's a saint because she understood that.

[173] it just reminds us that evil is real.

[174] I mean, St. Bridget's speaking of demons.

[175] And we see the demons at work in the world today.

[176] We need to open our eyes to that.

[177] To be aware, not so much to be frightened, it is frightening, but mostly to be aware of where the solution is.

[178] And to turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary, like we were talking about previously, just the power of one Hail Mary, and to believe that, to believe in God's grace and the life that He offers us, that supernatural faith, we really need to nurture it and to embrace it and to call and pray that hearts that are non -believing will be turned to the truth and to faith.

[179] Bishop Strickland, you've said this to me before, and I just want to repeat it, that some of the challenges in our church today is that, I mean, you said it even at the bishops conference, do we really believe in the supernatural?

[180] And I say that because we are lacking that right now.

[181] Even with the COVID -19, in my humble opinion, we haven't seen this from a perspective of God's perspective as much as I think we should.

[182] And that is, how are we handling not just our body for the COVID -19, but spiritually, are we taking more time to pray, to receive the sacraments more?

[183] You know, to me, that's the emphasis, but that's a supernatural outlook.

[184] And I'm sometimes seeing that we're not emphasizing that.

[185] And I don't mean to pick on people like you that, you know, where pectoral crosses, but I just wish more bishops would lead us stronger in the supernatural.

[186] Okay, I said it.

[187] But, you know, that's how I see it from my perspective.

[188] well that's as i've said before if if we if there is no supernatural life if it's just this world yeah then i need to go get a job you know doing something else amen because as saint paul says very clearly if christ didn't die and rise then this is all you know this is all worthless meaningless.

[189] We know that he did.

[190] We know that so many saints have done wondrous things in this world and even after.

[191] Somebody gave me a video of the miracles of Saint Padre Pio.

[192] Some of those miracles happened while he was still alive.

[193] And certainly a lot of miracles.

[194] I mean, that's why he's a canonized saint.

[195] Those miracles have to be certified.

[196] And that's what canonization of a saint means.

[197] But I think we really, as I love to remind people, we really need the faith of the first century Christians.

[198] If you look to what happened to the apostles in the acts of the apostles, just like the story we just talked about, the woman healed with one Hail Mary, that's what the apostles did.

[199] Yep.

[200] That's what happened.

[201] I mean, people were healed with the name of Jesus.

[202] Amen.

[203] And the name of Mary has power, not because of her, but because it calls forth the power of Jesus, just like the name of Jesus does.

[204] Jesus told us to honor his mother, to honor the name of Mary.

[205] And so it's Jesus power flowing through her name as well as his name.

[206] Certainly, you can call on the name of Jesus.

[207] He at every knee shall bend at the name of Jesus.

[208] that's what the scriptures tell us and we need that supernatural faith we need to support those who have it that's right to deepen it Terry I can tell you yes that as a bishop my faith has grown deeper than ever before right and it needs to be I have a I have a real responsibility primarily to the people in this diocese but as a shepherd of Jesus Christ and in these days my voice can be heard around the world if that's what God needs.

[209] But it needs to be about Jesus Christ and his message.

[210] We just have to keep repeating it.

[211] As you say, I love the way you say it, with love and compassion and patience.

[212] But we've got to share the truth.

[213] Amen.

[214] Bishop Strickland, before I go on to the inspirational living quote of St. Henry Newman, I want to remind everybody on the 7th of November, Dr. Scott Hahn, Tim Staples, Jesse Romero, Dr. Michael Barber, Dr. Brant Petrie, all these great Catholic lay evangelists and priests did a series called What Every Catholic needs to know about the Mass, about Our Lady, about the Blessed, about the papacy, and also the one -hour video that we did on What Every Catholic Needs to Know About Hell, EWTN played all these videos that we produced 20 years ago.

[215] So what I'm doing is I'm going to play them, on November 7th at 9 o 'clock Pacific Coast time all day long it's going to be whatever Catholic needs to know series and it's free you just go to our website virgin most powerful radio .org and sign up and say yeah I want to watch the videos on this topic of whatever Catholic needs to know it's going to blow you away it's very inspirational these these shows were shown hundreds of thousands of times over the years and I'm just bringing it out of the archives because for those who don't know me I'm the founder of St. of communications, Lighthouse Catholic media, about maybe 35 million recordings have gone out in the last 40 years through the grace of God.

[216] See, God uses the weak, confound the strong, and that's me. And so that's why we're repurposing them as a virtual conference this 7th of November.

[217] Getting back to our topic of inspirational living quotes, Bishop Strickland, I love what you did with St. John Henry Newman.

[218] He said this, and this is awesome.

[219] God has created me to do some definitive service.

[220] He has not committed some work to me, which he has not committed to another.

[221] I have my mission.

[222] I'm a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons.

[223] He has not created me for not.

[224] I shall do good.

[225] I shall do his work.

[226] Bishop Strickland, that is what I call inspiration.

[227] Absolutely.

[228] And there's so many people, Terry, in our world today who have no purpose and are lost especially young people they get depressed because they have no direction for their lives right st john henry newman reminds us we may not make headlines we may not be on some news show yeah we may not have our name known by anyone beyond our family and a small circle of friends but we all have a purpose um and i think that it's just a reminder that we need to really turn to God, and it just makes sense.

[229] God made us, so he made us with a specific purpose.

[230] And to recognize that it goes, I mean, I always default to the sanctity of life.

[231] Amen.

[232] But that's the reason, or that's woven into why the church teaches that every life is sacred from conception to natural death because the value that that person brings, if they're allowed to live from the time they're conceived in the womb, they're born in the world, they grow up, and who knows what God has for them to do?

[233] When we devalue life, we devalue God's plan, and we mess things up, frankly.

[234] There's no telling how.

[235] we've messed up what God's plan was when we take life into our own hands and to say we can dispose of this, we can dispose of that, we can end this life, we can end that life.

[236] And sadly, it happens across the spectrum from conception to natural death.

[237] Certainly the death of the unborn abortion is one of the critical issues that we probably talk about on every episode in one way or another, but we need to.

[238] Absolutely.

[239] Because that is a preeminent issue.

[240] issue.

[241] But there are many issues where life is devalued along that spectrum and interrupted before natural death occurs.

[242] And when we do that, we're going back to St. John Henry Newman's quote, we're messing with what God planned for that person to do.

[243] When we eliminate a life before God plan to allow that person to return to him, we are all history in devastating ways.

[244] And again, it comes to believing that there is a purpose beyond this world.

[245] And it's interesting, as I think about it, Terry, even if we simply believed in this world to begin to alter those plans, it really messes things up.

[246] And even more so, when we know that this world is just a journey to fulfillment in God's plan for us, created in his likeness and image.

[247] So we really need to wake up everyone to the value of the person.

[248] And that's what St. John Henry Newman is getting at, that every person has a purpose, has a beautiful meaning for their lives.

[249] and it may not be their profession as far as how they make money.

[250] Hopefully, I mean, there's an intersection there.

[251] I mean, you have been blessed with having a job that was also your vocation.

[252] Absolutely.

[253] Not everybody's life works exactly that way, but I think we need to help, especially young people, to enter into their lives as adults with the call to look for what is God's plan, for them.

[254] If they can find that, then they'll find out that making a lot of money or getting notoriety or making it in the headlines or making it on the nightly news, that's not what it's about.

[255] It's fulfilling that plan that God has given us.

[256] Well said, Bishop Strickland, and I just want to put a plug for a new show we're doing with a young lady from Hollywood.

[257] She's a devout Catholic.

[258] She's a Hollywood stunt woman.

[259] She's about 29 years old, and she is deeply in love with Jesus and the church, and she's going to be doing a pilot program reaching out to young adults.

[260] And I'm just excited, so people can go to Virgin Most Powerful Radio and just wait in the next month, I think, is when we're going to be launching that.

[261] Bishop Strickland, we talk about the power of prayer.

[262] We've lifted up the Honorable Amy Connie Barrett, who's in the hearings for the Supreme court.

[263] Because I've been praying for her, I'll tell you why.

[264] She's a Catholic woman with seven children.

[265] We talked a little bit about her last week that she's being, I think, unjustly persecuted by some of our politicians who are drilling her regarding her pro -life stance and just her morals.

[266] And I just wanted to get a quick comment from you as a bishop, seeing this set up.

[267] What's your comments about this whole situation with the Barrett confirmations?

[268] Well, I could say a lot, Terry, but one comment connected to what we've already talked about, I think one lens to just look at what's happening and the things that are being thrown at Amy Coney -Barratt as she's being considered for the Supreme Court.

[269] Right.

[270] She's being attacked because she does have supernatural faith.

[271] She believes in God.

[272] She believes in the principles laid out by the commandments that we're working through.

[273] She believes she's a faithful Catholic who believes in the catechism, believes that life is sacred.

[274] Thankfully, she's a Catholic in the public scene that really believes in what the church teaches, that marriage is sacred between a man and a woman, that life in the womb is sacred that God has given us basic truth to God.

[275] We're going to come right back with more on the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[276] Hi, this is Jesse Romero from the Terry and Jesse show also from Jesus 9 -1 -1.

[277] Let's face it, we all need to use the internet, but we need screen accountability.

[278] Why?

[279] Pornography is a huge problem, especially on the internet.

[280] And every time we tap into the internet, we get bombarded with images and temptations.

[281] that degrade our humanity.

[282] So we need Covenant Eyes to block these pornographic sites and advertisements from infiltrating our lives.

[283] Covenant Eyes helps us take custody of our eyes and custody of our intellect.

[284] So I recommend you go to CovenantEyes .com and type in the promo code, the NPR, to support the network.

[285] Protect yourself and your family from the eminent threats on the internet.

[286] It's www.

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[288] Thanks in advance for supporting CRC and VMPR, and may God richly bless you and your family.

[289] This is Terry Barber.

[290] I want to thank you for your support here at Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[291] Here's an easy way to do it.

[292] If you're going to sell or buy a house, call real estate for life 877 -543 -3871 because they're going to get you a Christ -centered age.

[293] to purchase your home or to sell your home.

[294] And at the close of Estro, a portion of his commission goes right back to Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[295] Call 877 -543 -3871.

[296] Thank you so much for your support.

[297] Welcome back to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[298] We got kind of short on time before that last break.

[299] We were talking about the Honorable Amy Cuny Barrett and what Bishop Strickland was talking about some of the persecution because she actually believes in the supernatural.

[300] Before we go on to the Eighth Commandment, which is thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbor.

[301] Oh, my gosh, think of what's going on in politics.

[302] We need to get to that.

[303] Anything else you want to say about Amy, Bishop Strickland, are you done with that, or did you want to finish anything more?

[304] Say anything more about that.

[305] Well, just to emphasize, I think people of faith need to listen to all of this in that context.

[306] And I'd love for someone to ask, it's not likely to happen, but, you know, for someone to ask one of those politicians that's going after her because she's a believer, to ask them, do you have any supernatural faith yourself?

[307] Great question.

[308] Do you have any religion?

[309] Do you believe in God?

[310] And, you know, if they're bold enough to say no, they don't believe in God, I mean, I think that that tells you something, at least, you know, certainly even the structure of this nation, and I think that that's what we need to go back to in so many ways.

[311] As we've talked about it, Terry, people don't know their faith in the Catholic Church.

[312] And people don't know the Constitution and the real structure of this country.

[313] And I've already heard Judge Amy Coney Barrett already speak about that importance of the three branches of government and the separation of powers.

[314] Right.

[315] People need to learn all of that and understand.

[316] We have flourished as a nation because of the great design that I believe God inspired with our founders to have that balance of power.

[317] that who else has that in a nation?

[318] Some have tried to copy it, but I think that that's important.

[319] We need to go back to belief in the United States and belief in God.

[320] Well said, Bishop Strickland.

[321] Now, Mr. Strickland, I find it interesting that we're going to the Eighth Commandment just a couple weeks before a national election, and we're going through debates.

[322] We hear where people are saying things, and I'm scratching my head and saying, What did she say?

[323] What did he say?

[324] You know, facts and fiction.

[325] I mean, it's like, what is going on?

[326] Well, maybe this is a good time to talk about the Eighth Commandment.

[327] You shall not bear false witness against your neighbors.

[328] Am I on to something, Bishop Strickland?

[329] Well, I think absolutely that it's probably hard for us to drill down to the problem in today's world.

[330] Because there are multiple problems.

[331] I mean, I think ultimately it's that we're too godless.

[332] We're too far from God.

[333] And for all of us who believe, we need to just draw closer and closer to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with the help of the Virgin Mary, to just strengthen our beliefs.

[334] But the problem that we have is one of the main problems is people ignore the Eighth Commandment.

[335] and it's it really is very much well that's what corruption is about i mean corruption is rooted in lying being deceitful right not not being guided by and sharing the truth um there's corruption in the church there's corruption in the united states government there's corruption in business there's corruption in world politics.

[336] Corruption is rooted in a lack of truthfulness.

[337] So the Eighth Commandment is one that is vital to the proper functioning of human civilization.

[338] And when we're willing to lie to each other, very often it comes down to power and dollars, especially.

[339] I mean, those are some of the key reasons.

[340] If you get enough money, you'll lie.

[341] If it gives you enough power, you'll lie.

[342] And it's destructive.

[343] It's destructive to the individual person, whether we believe it or not, that every time we tell a lie, we're diminished to one degree another, depending on how big the lie is.

[344] and that's i mean we all are challenged to tell the truth and you know the the reality is even swearing on a bible doesn't do it too often for people i mean we've seen it i mean it's called perjury and it happens in government it happens in the courts where people will swear on the word of god and and then go ahead and lie about it um because they think they can get some advantage from from telling the lie um sadly children and young people learn from what they see unfolding in society and it looks like if you're willing as we probably both heard yes if the lie is big enough you can get away with it tell it and and i think that's kind of what we deal with in the world of politics the lies are huge and that in that way people seem to be able to get away with it it's like well we're we're not going to call out that lie because it would expose my lies and it just gets so complicated if suddenly i mean we you know there was a rather silly movie i don't even remember the name of it i didn't see the movie but i saw it advertised but it was about a man who who couldn't lie and how he got into a lot of trouble because he simply told the truth in every situation.

[345] If suddenly God just flipped a switch and said, okay, kids, for 24 hours, no one can lie, that would really be, I mean, it would create chaos because so many things would be exposed that have not been exposed because one liar covers for the other lie.

[346] and we're all prone to that.

[347] I mean, before pointing the finger at anyone else, we have to look at our own hearts and see, am I being truthful?

[348] And Bishop Strickland, that comes to the idea of an examination of conscience.

[349] I think sometimes without doing that examination of conscience, I know for me, now I'm just speaking for me, that if I don't reflect on my day, I slip.

[350] And I, you know, my conscience tells me, hey, you know, you exaggerated there, you knucklehead.

[351] I call myself a knuckleheading when I do my examination, because if I'm not examining my day, then I don't get better, and actually I go down, I go down fast.

[352] And so examination of conscience, would you say, is really standard operation for committed Christians?

[353] Absolutely.

[354] It's very necessary.

[355] A daily examine, as it's called, is really essential.

[356] It's kind of like, you know, you're breathing.

[357] then you need to really stop and examine your conscience and reflect.

[358] Have I been truthful?

[359] Have I been charitable?

[360] I love to, I mean, I say love to, but I'm challenged by the seven deadly sins.

[361] Lust, greed, gluttony, sloth, wrath, envy, pride.

[362] You just go down that list.

[363] And, you know, I don't think any day I can.

[364] just sit back and say, oh, I'm fine on all seven.

[365] I have got an issue.

[366] Hopefully nothing too serious, but if we're honest with ourselves, and I think that's part of what the examination of conscience in our Catholic faith is about.

[367] Like you said, if you go through a day without examining your conscience at all, you start to slip.

[368] And I think that's an important thing to remember if it's like anything else bad habits um if you're asking yourself here i have i really been truthful today in my business dealings and talking to my spouse and talking to my family in dealing with everyone if you're asking yourself that every day then it's going to keep you from getting into the bad habit and in getting into hot water with telling bigger and bigger lies It's like anything else.

[369] If you don't do a daily checkup to see how you're doing, then you're going to start to slip.

[370] You're going to start to, you know, it's sort of self -maintenance of the human person.

[371] You know, you've got to keep things tuned up.

[372] Just like with, I've, for all my life, I've believed in exercise and I tried to get exercise.

[373] But sometimes I'll confess, I'll be truthful.

[374] I'll let a day go by and then another day go by and then maybe another day go by and not get any exercise.

[375] You know, we all use the excuse.

[376] I'm busy and had too many, you know, appointments and had to talk to Terry Barber so I didn't have a chance to exercise.

[377] But in that physical reality, and it's hard to deny the physical reality, especially soon to be 62 years old, if I don't get exercise for several days in a row my body says hey buddy watch it you better slow down and go back into it easy because your joints are not going to take it the way they did 20 years ago or 40 years ago and the same is true for our spiritual health we if you let it slide it gets less and less in tune more and more out of shape and we can let ourselves get into real trouble because the temptations are out there for both of us.

[378] Yes.

[379] It's been in the world today as women in the world today.

[380] Right.

[381] And we need to tune up spiritually to be able to ward off those temptations that are coming at us constantly.

[382] Well said, when we come back, we're going to talk about paragraph 2478 to avoid rash judgment on the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[383] This is Terry Barber with Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[384] We'll be right back.

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[409] Jesus said in Matthew 26, Stay awake and pray that you may not enter into temptation.

[410] According to St. Ephraim, Jesus, who feared nothing, experienced fear and asked to be freed from death, although he knew it was impossible.

[411] How much more must we persevere in prayer before temptation assails us so that we may be freed when the test has come?

[412] May God grant that we may withstand temptation and carry out his will in all things.

[413] This is Terry Barber.

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[420] five four three three eight seven one thank you so much for your support welcome back to the bishop strickland hour my name's terry barb i'm with virgin most powerful radio we're working on the eighth commandment with bishop strickland i like to say this that bishops are to teach govern and sanctify that's what my catechism tells me and we're so honored that bishop strickland takes the time to go through the commandments with us each and every week here at virgin most powerful and we're on the eighth commandment, if you just joined us, and I gave a teaser.

[421] I said, everybody read paragraph 2478 in the catechism.

[422] It says, to avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor's thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way.

[423] Bishop Strickon, I'm going to be honest with you.

[424] That's tough for me a lot of times.

[425] When I hear something, my first reaction, says that knucklehead or you know and I and I my wife is so good for me because she always says now Terry it's possible that maybe X, Y or Z is here and she's right and I say yes dear so let's talk about that paragraph because it underneath it says every good Christian ought to be more ready to give a favorable interpretation to another statement than to condemn it but if he cannot do so let him ask how the other understands it and if he and if the later understands it badly, let the former correct him with love.

[426] If that does not suffice, let the Christian try to suitably ways to bring the other to a correct interpretation so that he may be saved.

[427] What a great approach.

[428] That's gold in those words.

[429] Yeah.

[430] And, you know, I think you can say it to give the other person the benefit of a doubt.

[431] We say that a lot.

[432] And as you confess, I confess, you know, that's a mistake that I've made.

[433] That's a sin I've committed when, you know, you, in the heat of the moment, you can really judge the other person.

[434] And the Lord says, judge not less you be judged.

[435] We all have a tendency to that.

[436] I think we need to, that's where the examination of conscience comes in again and to do our best to really amend those mistakes that we all make one time or another.

[437] I think also, what I have to do our best.

[438] hear in that, giving the benefit of a doubt, presuming good in the other person.

[439] To me, we can drill down into one of my favorite themes, but the sanctity of life.

[440] Amen.

[441] That person is beloved of God.

[442] And I try to remember that even with, you know, politicians or others, even people within the church who have very different interpretations of what I know to be the truth and very different approaches to how do we share that truth.

[443] I think we do, we are challenged and I'm challenged to always remember if it's a human being saying it, then that human being is beloved of God.

[444] Amen.

[445] God may be very disappointed with me or them with sinfulness and the mistakes that we've made, but I think we're all challenged, and that's what I hear in that paragraph, is to remember that we are this person speaking that message, whether if it's totally not true, and we know that, then we need to lovingly try to bring that person to correction.

[446] But I think, especially in the political world today, I think we both acknowledge that in the recent debates, both with the presidential debate and the vice presidential debate, whichever side of the aisle, as they say, you're leaning toward, I think we both, I mean, we all have to be really aware that a lot of lack of respect for just the basic value of the other person was present in these debates.

[447] Sadly, that is, I mean, and not, to point at those four people and say, oh, it's just terrible.

[448] They're a reflection of where we are in society.

[449] Too often, we forget exactly what that paragraph talks about.

[450] We forget to give the benefit of a doubt to the other person, to value them, and to seek the truth together.

[451] That's what we're called to.

[452] And I think that ultimately, I don't know if you've ever heard of Dale Carnegie.

[453] I read all of his books when I was in high school.

[454] Yeah.

[455] I actually took a Dale Carnegie course one time.

[456] And he emphasized, not in a Christian context, but certainly it accompanies those who want to live the Christian gospel.

[457] It certainly fits.

[458] But to respect the other person to see, you know, how are you bringing good out of that other person?

[459] And I think that's what that paragraph is talking about in the catechism, to just not presume ill will on the part of the other person, but to try to understand.

[460] And if you know what is being said is absolutely false, it's just not corresponding to reality, to the truth, then to lovingly bring that person to that truth that you already, in a sense, you have to humbly recognize.

[461] you're blessed to know the truth and it's your obligation to share that truth with the other person that we're a long long way from that in discourse in the modern world within the church within the nation within whatever interaction of God's people we forget that basic respect for the other person that it really should be built on well Bishop Strickland you nailed it and the dignity of a person.

[462] You know, I'd like to ask you to read paragraph 2479.

[463] I think this is going to surprise people because it talks on detraction and other things that we might not hear too often in our church.

[464] I'm going to be honest with you.

[465] I think that some people are going to be surprised what that paragraph says.

[466] Paragraph 2479.

[467] Detraction and calumny destroy the reputation and honor of one's neighbor.

[468] honor is the social witness given to human dignity and everyone enjoys a natural right to the honor of his name and reputation and respect thus detraction and calumny offend against the virtues of justice and charity wow and i think we can all stand accused i can of sometimes failing to live that as fully as I should.

[469] And I need to ask the other person's forgiveness, and I need to ask God's forgiveness of those mistakes that can easily become sinful in nature when we really are ignoring what we should be living and detraction and calumny are sinful because they are, if we're choosing to do that, then we're devaluing another person.

[470] And I think, again, remembering that that person that is receiving detraction or calumny is beloved of God.

[471] That doesn't mean that I'm always right or they're always right, but that basic respect needs to be there.

[472] And I think a lot of what's broken in our society today is forgetting those, basic golden rules that come from scripture, that come from the deposit of faith, that come from the catechism.

[473] Wow.

[474] Bishop Strickland, I would also say not only in our culture, but also in our church, and I don't mean to be pointing it at us, but as the Catholic Church today, we've got a long ways to go, especially in America, because of some of the corruption that's going on in our church.

[475] And we have to call it for what it is.

[476] It's what Paul VI said back in August.

[477] of 1973, the smoke of Satan has entered the church.

[478] And so we have to clean out that cancer.

[479] And I'm hoping and praying, I got word, and maybe you heard about this, that the Holy Father's going to be releasing the McCarrick papers, which I'm going to be happy to see either in December or by the end of the year.

[480] And I'm hoping that happens because I think that's part of what we need to get cleared out of our church.

[481] and that is the problem with former Cardinal McCarrick, and who knew what that was going on in the church so we can clean our house up.

[482] And I would say this, Bishop Strickland, that I know there's some statutes of limitations, but I'm of the opinion, and correct me if I'm wrong, but just because you're a bishop or priest or a cardinal, if you commit a crime, you need to face the charges, and if it's criminal charges, then you have to face the jury.

[483] And that's my take.

[484] And that's why I'm happy that I got word just last week that this report on McCarrick is coming out by the end of the year.

[485] What's your take on that?

[486] Well, I hope it does because the Word of God says the truth shall set you free.

[487] And I don't think the church is going to be free of a lot of the hurt that this has caused until we know the truth.

[488] And absolutely, just because I'm a bishop or whatever position in that.

[489] the church doesn't mean that that person should be protected from if they've committed a crime.

[490] It's the same kind of double standard that happens in the government so often.

[491] Oh, well, this person in high office or in business.

[492] This person that has enough money or has enough clout and power or has the position can get away with things that the average Joe can't get away with.

[493] And that's not justice.

[494] That's not of God.

[495] Certainly to hide behind for a politician or a person of the church, for anyone to hide behind their position and say, well, I've got this position, so I'm, you can't touch me. Sometimes it happens that way, but that is corruption.

[496] That isn't justice the way in God's plan.

[497] And I think especially as we go back to super, natural faith.

[498] Yes.

[499] As a believer, Terry, I pray daily in asking God's forgiveness of my sins to try and, you know, that firm purpose of amendment that is built into the act of contrition.

[500] Yes.

[501] And I think that's what we all need to remember.

[502] When I die, it won't be Bishop Joe who shows up in front of God and is judged by Jesus Christ as he tells us, we will all be, have that personal judgment.

[503] It won't be the bishop.

[504] It'll just be Joe.

[505] It'll just be me. All the titles, all the trappings of this world fall away.

[506] I mean, hopefully, if I can accomplish some good in this burdensome office as a bishop, then that will be to my credit.

[507] But it's also the responsibility that's more is expected of me. But I think that all of us, Pope, Cardinal, Bishops, priests, deacon, laity, religious, all of us need to remember the titles fall away once we take our last breath.

[508] And we are judged by God on what our actions were.

[509] Did we live His commandments or not?

[510] He tells us that's how we follow him.

[511] That's how we love him by living His commandments.

[512] Amen.

[513] And I'm doing my best.

[514] I fail.

[515] I confess.

[516] I sin again.

[517] I confess again, but I am trying to make progress along the way.

[518] Bishop Strickland, could you give us a blessing before we have to run, please?

[519] Sure.

[520] The Lord be with you.

[521] In the name of the Father, the Son of the Holy Spirit.

[522] Amen.

[523] Thanks again, Bishop Strickland, for joining us here on the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[524] We're covering the Ten Commandments, and I hope you're enjoying this.

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[527] May God richly bless you and your family.

[528] And until next week, enjoy the week and enjoy all of our shows here at Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[529] God love you.

[530] St. Faustina's Prayer for priests.

[531] Oh, my Jesus, I beg thee on behalf of the whole church, grant it love and the light of thy spirit, and give power to the words of priests, so that hardened hearts might be brought to repentance, and return to thee, O Lord.

[532] Lord, give us holy priests, thou thyself maintain them in holiness.

[533] O divine and great high priest, may the power of thy mercy accompany them everywhere and protect them from the devil's traps and snares, which are continually being set for the souls of priests.

[534] May the power of thy mercy, O Lord, shatter and bring to naught all that might tarnish the sanctity of priests.

[535] for thou canst do all things.

[536] Amen.

[537] Virgin Most Powerful, pray for us.

[538] Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[539] Sharing the gospel with clarity and charity.