22 Feb 22 – Christ-Centered Marriages

[0] Welcome to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[1] I'm Terry Barber, your host for Virgin Most Powerful radio.

[2] Bishop Strickland, thanks again for spending an hour sharing the gospel with all of our listeners.

[3] Thanks, Terry.

[4] Bishop Strickland, today's topic is on marriage.

[5] We're going to be quoting from the catechism because you made a tweet recently and you said this, that strong Christ -centered marriages are the foundation.

[6] foundation of hope for our world.

[7] And then you pleaded, pray for married couples to seek deeper holiness.

[8] And he said, how do I incorporate ongoing formation into my marriage, Catholic East Texas?

[9] But that's for everyone, I imagine.

[10] How do we incorporate that into our marriage holiness?

[11] What made you do that?

[12] Well, that article that the, you know, it's, we celebrate.

[13] World Marriage Day last Saturday here in the Diocese and had a great anniversary mass with one couple been married 70 years.

[14] Oh, my gosh.

[15] I love to share the story from one of those masses in the past.

[16] Yeah.

[17] I think I've shared this with you before.

[18] Okay, I love story.

[19] But we asked the couple, they've been married, I think, 73 years.

[20] And we asked them, you know, how have you, you know, stayed married?

[21] for all these years.

[22] And the man, just very matter of fact, he said, neither of us died.

[23] That's cute.

[24] I just thought that's great, because that's what the vow say, until death.

[25] So if you're both still alive, you should both still be married.

[26] We know that sadly, many people go through broken marriages, and it's a heartache.

[27] And that's where we really just have to do a better job of marriage formation, and we're really working on that with the St. Philip Institute.

[28] A very first person hired, and she's still with us, great marriage formation director, marriage and family life, Deanna Johnston, and she works tirelessly to help couples that are engaged to enter into marriage in the healthiest, strongest way.

[29] And one thing that we've really tried to focus on, it's to have a solid marriage, you need a strongly well -catechized man and a well -catechized woman.

[30] You need true disciples entering into the beautiful sacrament of marriage.

[31] And so really, that's what we're trying to focus on, is helping the man be a better disciple and the woman be a better disciple.

[32] I'm sure we both dealt with marriages through the years where maybe it's a very faithful woman, but the man isn't.

[33] And it's, you can't do marriage one person at a time.

[34] It takes two.

[35] And so to really bring people together where both the man and the woman are committed to Christ and to each other, that it doesn't make life easy or simple.

[36] but it makes it doable to flourish in the Lord Jesus Christ in your marriage.

[37] And it becomes beautiful.

[38] Yeah, there's struggles.

[39] Yeah, there are challenges for all of us.

[40] I mean, and my commitment is a priest for 37 years.

[41] I'm a sinner and I've made mistakes, but thankfully, I've stayed strong with my commitment by the grace of God.

[42] It always takes God's grace, but it takes our commitment and our willingness to to live what marriage says for better for worse and sickness and in health until death do us part.

[43] I didn't take those same vows, but that's the attitude I have to bring to my commitment as a priest.

[44] It stops at death.

[45] It's not something we can opt out of.

[46] And when that happens, even though it may be for very valid reasons that it doesn't need to continue, but it always brings heartache if that's the case.

[47] I can't wait to get into the catechism, and you could do a whole seminar on this topic.

[48] I could tell by your comments.

[49] The only thing I would add to that as a married man and as advice for married couples is you need to be praying with your wife or your husband every single day.

[50] Absolutely.

[51] That is essential for continuing to stay married.

[52] And that's part of the formation we try to share with these couples.

[53] because many of them, you know, honestly, they're very honest and they're young and they're open.

[54] But they'll say, no, we haven't prayed together.

[55] But if they can start those habits, to be able to pray with your spouse and know that Christ is at the center of your marriage, it just brings strength and it brings greater flourishing for the man and for the woman just as human.

[56] beings and to make marriage what it really can be what I shared at the anniversary mass that we have especially as I've gotten older I realize more clearly what I've given up you don't have that and I've learned it through the years 37 years as a priest but I don't have that person when I go home tonight I go home alone of course thankfully I have a deep with the Lord, and through prayer, I have that sort of spousal relationship spiritually that a couple has.

[57] For you as a married man, you need to have a deep relationship with Jesus Christ, but also you have that woman, your companion, your friend, your spouse, that's there with you.

[58] And I'm sure, you know, Terry, I bet you get on her nerve sometimes.

[59] Of course they do.

[60] Ask her.

[61] She probably gets on your nurse.

[62] Of course.

[63] But you hang in there and you work through things.

[64] And usually it's nothing serious.

[65] If serious things come along, all the more you need that person to be a support, to sometimes be a challenge, to be a godly woman committed to Christ, who can say, Terry, do you really want to do that?

[66] And you do the same with her.

[67] that's what a marriage is.

[68] It's a partnership where you bring those complimentary gifts of a man brings different things than a woman.

[69] It's meant to be that way.

[70] That's how God made us.

[71] And so marriage is a beautiful thing when it really flourishes.

[72] And that's what our aim is to help every couple that enters into marriage, to help them flourish and not just make it, but certainly make it, you know, hopefully, but not just that, but to really grow in their relationship with Christ, in their, in their relationship with each other.

[73] And you could tell a couple that has been married for several decades.

[74] I mean, imagine seven decades of marriage, 70 plus years.

[75] Those people know each other.

[76] They laugh when I say something like, you know, your spouse isn't perfect.

[77] They know that.

[78] They laugh because they know all those imperfections and they love them in spite of those imperfections and embrace the whole person.

[79] I mean, that's what it's about.

[80] Mr. Strickon, I want to go the whole hour right now on marriage because you're giving some really good advice to couples and we will get back to that topic.

[81] I've got a couple tweets from you that we like to go to now and then we'll come right back to that sacrament of marriage issue.

[82] You had tweeted last week that about the word and this, you said, Jesus is with us in word and sacrament.

[83] This is right from Vatican too.

[84] And then you said cling to him.

[85] And you said, if his word is contradicted, stay with his word.

[86] This is great advice for us in the church today, folks.

[87] Then you said, if his sacraments are denied, remain with Jesus and his Eucharistic face.

[88] I like what the Fatima Girls always said, the hidden Jesus.

[89] I love that term.

[90] Now, he is here to nature and guide us through whatever darkness we may face remain in him.

[91] Now, that's a short little paragraph, Bishop Strickland, but there's gold in those words because we live right now where there's a lot of confusion and be a guy i i keep saying this to you and you don't you don't take it personal guys dressed like you they're the guys that sometimes have been confusing us as lay people and i we pray for them every thursday we get down on our knees and pray for our church leaders but your point to them about uh jesus is with us in word and sacrament can you kind of break that short paragraph down because there's a lot to say just in that statement jesus is is with us in word and sacrament.

[92] Well, as we've, I remember us talking about the catechism and a short paragraph that basically says all of scripture is about Christ.

[93] And that's a, you know, that's something the church learned early on.

[94] There were voices that said, oh, well, Jesus Christ is the best new thing ever.

[95] And he was.

[96] I mean, the incarnation of the son of God.

[97] But the church learned that the Hebrew scriptures, what we call the Old Testament, are about Christ as well.

[98] I mean, he's the incarnate word.

[99] And so that's what I was trying to remind people of.

[100] And, you know, we've both heard, sadly, priest and bishops, I haven't heard too many deacons, but they're probably in it, too, that are saying, oh, this word of God has been misunderstood or needs to be reinterpreted.

[101] That's not what the church teaches.

[102] The basic word of God, yes, we can understand it more deeply.

[103] It's always a mystery.

[104] And as I continue to read, I think a lot of the, I've always said that a lot of the heresies from the very beginning, they're trying to make it easy.

[105] They're trying to make it simple.

[106] They're trying to humanize it.

[107] Yes.

[108] And instead, Christ came to divinize us.

[109] I mean, we're not God, but he wants us to share so fully in the life of God.

[110] And we only do that if we're willing to be changed by him and not change him to fit us.

[111] We just see too much of that going on now.

[112] Bishop Strickland, you're on a roll.

[113] I love what this is saying because this is great advice for us, our listeners, to stay focused on Jesus Christ.

[114] When we come back, I want to continue on that paragraph you've given us regarding Jesus' and the Word of Sacrament and also how we should stay faithful.

[115] we'll be right back family welcome back to the bishop strickland hour bishop strickland after that first segment you made me just realize how beautiful our catholic faith is because everything you said had nothing to do with your personal opinion okay nothing you were just teaching what the church is always taught and it was centered on jesus christ i wish and pray that we have more of that in our church because that's what people are looking for now i don't want to get all sidetracked but i've seen so many people leave the church, whether it's in South America, that's turning Protestant because we started promoting liberation theology rather than Jesus Christ.

[116] And many of these Catholics, they didn't just leave the Catholic Church.

[117] They embraced Protestantism because our Protestant brothers were centering their worship on the Word of God, which is what they have, and that's good, the Word of God.

[118] But it seems to me that we need more of the teachings on the Word of God and the centrality of Jesus Christ.

[119] And that's what I'm hearing from you.

[120] So thank you for that.

[121] This paragraph was short, but I want to go right into it where it said, if his word is contradicted, stay with his word.

[122] I kind of got that interpretation that you're saying that, like you just said, some people aren't preaching the word of God and being loyal, and they're inside the church.

[123] Is that a fair statement?

[124] That's what I'm hearing you say.

[125] Yeah, absolutely.

[126] Okay.

[127] Okay.

[128] That's clear.

[129] Now, if his sacraments are denied, remain with Jesus, his Eucharistic face.

[130] What do you mean if his sacraments are denied?

[131] Well, the real presence, too many Catholics are polled as saying, oh, well, it's just a symbol.

[132] He's not really there.

[133] Got it.

[134] Yes, he is.

[135] Body and blood, soul, and divinity.

[136] That is Catholic faith.

[137] And that really, Terry, that's why it's such a shame that anyway, anyone walks away from the Catholic faith.

[138] Exactly.

[139] Because it's really the only one that offers you the full Jesus Christ.

[140] Amen.

[141] Word and sacrament.

[142] In word and sign, he is with us.

[143] In consecrated bread and wine, he is with us.

[144] In the sacred scriptures, he is with us in different ways.

[145] but bringing it all together, I love to, as I pray before Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord is really there, the one who, in the gospel yesterday, just an ordinary time gospel, but it said Jesus sighed deeply.

[146] Yes.

[147] And we were talking about, what a human statement.

[148] Here's the son of God.

[149] And he's exasperated with his disciples, who like us, they're just human, and they're not getting it.

[150] They're not understanding so often it doesn't always say it that way, but it was just a beautiful, simple expression of the God man. How often do we sigh deeply at our own failings, at frustrations in life, at disappointments with other people, whatever it is?

[151] the Lord sighed deeply.

[152] And here he is God's divine son, but clearly in a very human way, expressing deep frustration.

[153] And what occurred to me as I reflected on that gospel is how deep it is for the son of God to sigh deeply.

[154] I mean, I can't sigh.

[155] I can't sigh.

[156] as deeply as the Son of God does.

[157] We're just human, and we can sigh deeply.

[158] We can be very burden, but it's just a marvelous, one more marvelous facet of our Lord Jesus Christ really with us in this world since the moment of his incarnation.

[159] And we've got to know him in word and sacrament, in sacrament and word.

[160] It's always going back and forth, like we're.

[161] we, as simple as we are, human beings, we are multidimensional as well.

[162] That's one of the things that is the great Catholic truth, that we are good.

[163] Yes, we're sinners, but body and blood, soul, and humanity, we are a goodness, an expression of the goodness of the Lord.

[164] And we're called to flourish in that, to overcome our sinfulness.

[165] And we're hearing too much in the world today, even from the church, oh, don't worry about sin.

[166] God's merciful.

[167] Because God's merciful, we're obligated to turn from sin, to repent of our sins.

[168] And to think we can have all the mercy and have none of the repentance.

[169] That's just not reality.

[170] Amen.

[171] We're fooling ourselves.

[172] And too many in the church today, and certainly in the world, but even in the church, where we should know real mercy.

[173] Mercy is hard won by the Lord as he goes through his passion and suffers deeply, dies on the cross, and then rises from the dead.

[174] How do we unlock his mercy for each of us?

[175] We go through our own passion.

[176] We die to sin and rise to his life.

[177] And if we shortcut that, we lose it.

[178] We lose the power.

[179] Just as Christ didn't shortcut it, he was divine.

[180] He could have just said, oh, I'll save you without dying on the cross.

[181] But he poured out his last drop of blood.

[182] He completely sacrificed himself.

[183] We can't compromise.

[184] And there's too much compromise in all kinds of ways in the church today.

[185] Wow.

[186] Bishop Strickland, you made me think of, you know, this show is, well, the gospel for today, we programmed this a week later, is the gospel of Mark, chapter 8, 14 to 21.

[187] I know you know this.

[188] This was when Jesus and the disciples forgot to bring bread, and, you know, they were like...

[189] Again, he's frustrated.

[190] Exactly.

[191] That's why I'm bringing it up, Bishop Strickland.

[192] You nailed it.

[193] And I love what he says here.

[194] He says this.

[195] And this is what I'm asking us in the church, myself, yourself, yourself, everyone.

[196] Jesus says do you not understand or comprehend here's the part are your hearts hardened do you have eyes and not see ears and not here and don't you remember when I broke the five loaves for the 5 ,000 how many wicker baskets full of fragment you picked up they answered him 12 when I broke the seven loaves for the 4 ,000 how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up they answered him seven he said to them and this is what I think he says to us today individually, here comes.

[197] Do you still not understand?

[198] And when we want to start changing, like you said, no compromise, we have these ideas in the church right now, people dressed like you, who say, you know, I don't know if St. Paul was really, you know, the gospel's wrong on this issue of homosexuality.

[199] No, no, you're wrong, okay?

[200] And that's what I almost feel like saying, and I know you quoted last week, Fulton Sheen in the sacristy when he told that guy, you're wrong get out of here i just wish that this gospel can be applied with right now to what jesus said he says they said do you still not understand and i asked the question what do we think that we're going to build what jesus christ taught it's true today as much as it was 2 ,000 years ago and bishops drinking the last time i looked 500 years from now a thousand years from now it's still going to be true that's the message i think is important to give to our flock.

[201] Okay, I'm done.

[202] But thank you for that paragraph.

[203] Absolutely.

[204] And it really what's sad is the harm that's done.

[205] I mean, the greatest harm is that people maybe denied their salvation.

[206] Yeah.

[207] Because they're fooled into thinking, oh, I don't have to worry about this sin.

[208] And I could just keep doing my own thing.

[209] And if they never repent, then they're on the path to perdition.

[210] to help.

[211] I mean, that's what the church teaches.

[212] God's mercy is abundant.

[213] And it's beautiful to realize that God is always, I mean, the scriptures say this.

[214] God is always working for our salvation.

[215] Yeah.

[216] He takes time with us to give us more opportunity to repent of our sins and to truly embrace him.

[217] I mean, look at the story of, I think it's Abraham saying, if they're only 100, if they're only 90, if they're only 10.

[218] And each time the Lord says, if they're only 10, I will be merciful.

[219] I will hold my hand of judgment.

[220] But I think that's, you know, I'm no scripture scholar, but I believe that's in the whole Sodom and Gomorrah story.

[221] That's what he's talking about.

[222] And ultimately, we know, even, you know, just from secular history and geography, they tell us that that really happened.

[223] That's right.

[224] There's artifacts.

[225] Those communities were obliterated.

[226] And the Bible tells us why.

[227] And in whatever the issue, if it's a false message, it does harm.

[228] And we're about the truth.

[229] We're about truth incarnate.

[230] That's the beauty of the Catholic faith.

[231] That's the beauty of Christianity.

[232] And we can't let false message.

[233] hijack the beauty of the church.

[234] And like I said, it does the harm of causing people to maybe lose their salvation, which is the ultimate, devastating harm.

[235] But it even does harm in this life where people get totally despondent in their life, sometimes take their life and suicide, or just have a mess of a life, because they bought these false messages that tell them, go on sinning and we'll change the teaching someday.

[236] Yeah.

[237] It just, reality doesn't change.

[238] No. And as you look at history from the time that the church began, one of the great things that the church brought into the world was that we've got to be engaged in reality.

[239] We've got to embrace that time is not some cyclical where you just keep reincarnating.

[240] And all of those are devastating messages ultimately.

[241] We're in a message of hope and light.

[242] In John's gospel, Jesus says over and over again that your joy may be complete.

[243] Joy will never be complete in this world.

[244] We've just got to get over it.

[245] Our joy will never be complete.

[246] But he longs for our joy to be complete in everlasting life.

[247] with him.

[248] That's the only way to complete joy.

[249] All as I can say a big amen, I'm a big Protestant.

[250] Amen, brother.

[251] Wow.

[252] Bishop Strickland, I love having these conversations about the eternal topics of our soul, because what else matters?

[253] If souls are saved, everything is saved.

[254] And if souls aren't saved, nothing is saved.

[255] When we come back from the break, I want to take a scripture verse you quoted from First Peter, which is one of my favorites, because there's a lot of suffering going on in the world, and how do we deal with that?

[256] The Bible gives us great advice.

[257] I want to remind our listeners, we're going to be having a marriage seminar, May 7th, here at the Sacred Heart Chapel, with Dr. Sandoval, my faithful bride, Mary, and myself, we're going to be using Fulton Shees 3 to get married, Cardinal Sarah's book, Couples Awaken Your Love, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

[258] We're going to have Mass at the end of the day.

[259] We're going to have confessions available.

[260] We're going to pray our rosary together.

[261] To register, go to vmpr .org or, hey, just call us at 8775 -26215.

[262] And if you can't make it, we'll make it so that you can get it on the internet and watch the seminar.

[263] Why is it important?

[264] Because St. John Paul, too, said the way the family goes is the way the culture goes.

[265] Strong marriages, strong families.

[266] You're listening to the Bishop Strickland Hour on Virgin Most Power Radio.

[267] we're going to come right back family stay with us welcome back to the bishop strickland hour i hope you're sitting at our breakfast nook here having this conversation about how to fall deep in love with jesus christ because bishop strickland that's what you're doing right now you are giving us really good reasons why we should all fall in love with jesus because he's the truth the way in the life now uh there's a scripture verse that you quoted on a tweet first peter four 13 to 14 it says rejoice beloved in the measure that you share in Christ's suffering sufferings when his glory is revealed you will rejoice exultantly happy are you when you are insulted for the sake of Christ for then God's spirit is in glory has come to rest on you boy is that appropriate for our time yeah I think so insulted wow yeah go ahead I'm listening the reality is It's one of the great revelations of Christ that we as Christians and Catholics really need to very clearly recognize and embrace, he brings meaning to suffering.

[268] It's the age -old question, why do we suffer?

[269] And he brings meaning, it's redemptive suffering.

[270] He suffers for a reason that I think with the whole, you know, just one basic reality of the whole COVID situation that began in early 2020 and continues now in its 2022 people have suffered people that have found out that having all the material things they needed having money it didn't it didn't shield them from suffering and it's been devastating to people the depression level, the suicides, the devastation of people's lives, and without Christ, we can all fall into despair.

[271] But with Christ, here's the Son of God who came to us to share our human journey in reality, always God and always man, fully God and man, but he really suffered.

[272] And certainly we don't have to seek out suffering.

[273] Suffering comes our way.

[274] But when we're united to Christ, as that few verses from the letter of St. Peter, it reminds us that that it's talking about redemptive suffering.

[275] It's talking about suffering in the body of Christ with a meaning, so that it's not just meaningless and, you know, just empty suffering that devastates people.

[276] But instead, it's a reminder in the whole mystery of suffering is part of a broken world that has turned from God.

[277] the idyllic world that God intended, that God created, because God is love.

[278] God didn't create brokenness, but the mystery of brokenness enters into our human history through human sin.

[279] So it all gets to the very basics of what every human being deals with in Jesus Christ.

[280] gives us, he reveals the divine truth of who we are and what our destiny is.

[281] And that's basically what those verses from First Peter are talking about.

[282] If you remember your destiny is to be with God, then all the suffering pales in comparison.

[283] Bishop Strickland, I was listening to you and thinking all the fall in a way.

[284] Catholics, you know, like one out of, for every Catholic that comes in, there's eight Catholics that leave the church.

[285] And when they leave the church, many of them don't leave for anything.

[286] They just become secular.

[287] And if you think about it, we have a tremendous amount of sickness, mental illness, drug addictions, pornography addictions.

[288] I'm convinced that many of the people are there because we as a church haven't convinced them about the gospel.

[289] We really haven't.

[290] We haven't given them an opportunity, and I'm pointing to finger at myself, okay?

[291] We haven't given them the opportunity to really engage in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

[292] That's my take.

[293] Now, I want to shift gears because I want to get back to the marriage topic with you, but this is a huge topic.

[294] Now, Cardinal Mueller was the former prefect for the doctrine of faith years ago.

[295] I met him at Mundaline Seminary and I was so impressed with him because he was really orthodox and he was the gatekeeper there at the congregation and when things came up with whether it was homosexuality or women priests or all these other issues that came in, he would always just give a traditional teaching of the Catholic faith.

[296] Now you quoted him in a tweet and this is a very bold tweet that he said, the statement.

[297] He said the role of the priest and the substance of the faith is in danger now that's a cardinal saying that is he calling that we are in a crisis mode right now that that's how i read it you tell me yeah but i think that's exactly what he's saying and when priesthood is undermined really the the whole message of jesus christ i mean we know we don't have eucharist without the church Yep.

[298] And so as we were talking earlier, we are word and sacrament people.

[299] Yep.

[300] And without sacrament, certainly we still have the word, but the nurturing presence of Christ.

[301] So priests are essential.

[302] And when priests are in crisis, the church is in crisis.

[303] And priests are are being canceled.

[304] I mean, I don't know the details, but there are too many of them that are, being canceled.

[305] And frankly, you know, the reality is when a bishop these days says, oh, just trust me, people question that.

[306] Of course.

[307] I mean, that's very tragic.

[308] I mean, and that's sad for the church and for the priesthood because bishops are our priests, ultimately.

[309] We are to be fathers to the priests that serve in the parishes.

[310] And, you know, as we've seen with the abuse, use crisis and all.

[311] Priests are human, and there are bad apples.

[312] There are men that have not served well as priests, and have been very harmful, but that's a very small percentage.

[313] The vast majority of the priests are hardworking and are, but they're hurting because they're not getting the support they need, even sometimes from their own spiritual fathers.

[314] And so I think that's why tweeted that because I think the cardinal says something that we need to be very aware of.

[315] And like you said, marriage is essential to humanity and to the church.

[316] Right.

[317] Priesthood is also.

[318] Absolutely.

[319] We are a priestly people.

[320] Yep.

[321] That whole idea of priesthood is, again, it ties in with the meaning of sacrifice, in the meaning of what it, what, how it transforms us when we join the sacrifices we make, the sacrifices that we choose, or that are imposed on us, if we join that to the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Mass, it takes on a redemptive power that is glorious and beautiful.

[322] You as a married man, I mean, again, tying it into marriage, you're called to.

[323] And some of the passages from St. Paul that people don't like if they don't read the whole message.

[324] Yes.

[325] Because they say, you know, wives be submissive to your husband.

[326] If you stop there, I think we can understand that women would say, wait a minute.

[327] But if you continue, St. Paul says, husbands love your wives as Christ loved his church.

[328] And how did he do that?

[329] He died for his church.

[330] as I said to the people at our marriage anniversary mass just this past Saturday, you know, we hear the phrase, oh, so -and -so or that or this, it's to die for.

[331] Would you die for your spouse?

[332] That's a question for the husband and the wife to ask.

[333] And I pointed to Christ and he said, he died for your husband, he died for your wife.

[334] He died for each of us.

[335] So Christ said he was willing to die for us.

[336] That's what love is, that kind of commitment.

[337] And I would imagine, Terry, that you would be willing to die for your wife?

[338] Absolutely.

[339] And she's called to be willing to die for you.

[340] Hopefully it doesn't come to that.

[341] But that's the kind of really powerful love that Christ demonstrated for us.

[342] a love that was willing to die for us all.

[343] He did die.

[344] Yeah, sacrifice is the language of love.

[345] It is.

[346] And Bishop Strickland, you got me excited.

[347] I don't know if it's because I drank too much tea, or is it just this topic?

[348] But when I saw that quote from Cardinal Mueller, what came to my mind was, yes, you know, the role of the priest and the substance of the faith is in danger.

[349] I thought of the German church.

[350] I just came to my mind because I've been watching different things about they're voting on whether we need a priesthood.

[351] I mean, are you kidding me?

[352] What planet are they on to think that you can decide democratically about eternal truths of the faith?

[353] I mean, I just get stretched my head and say, I want to pray hard for those Germans because they're all mixed up.

[354] Now, I had a friend, he's a German priest, and he told me this story.

[355] story.

[356] And this kind of is indicative of where the church is coming, because I like stories.

[357] And this was when he was visiting Germany back in 2007 on the Feast of the Epiphany, which is a big feast day.

[358] And this was, he went to the mass, he's concelebrated at the mass, and there were only 14 people in the church.

[359] This was a big church.

[360] They had 61 paid employees on the staff at the parish, because it's a big parish.

[361] And Father, I won't say his name, but he says, I said to the pastor, I said, well, where are the people who work here at the parish?

[362] Why aren't they coming?

[363] This is a big feast day.

[364] And are you ready for this?

[365] They said, the pastor, oh, well, they never come to church.

[366] Okay.

[367] They never come to church.

[368] They work for the church.

[369] That's a problem.

[370] And that's what I see in the German church is that they've lost that supernatural view of Christ, and they've come down to.

[371] just a human institution.

[372] We vote.

[373] It's a done deal.

[374] It's all about us.

[375] And I think that's what Cardinal Euler is talking about.

[376] When we come back, I want to tie it right back to some of the beautiful things you're saying on marriage, because, again, I'll repeat myself.

[377] The way the family goes is the way the culture goes.

[378] St. John Paul II said it.

[379] Stay with us, family.

[380] We want to help you at the heaven.

[381] Welcome back to the Bishop Strickland Hour on Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[382] I get pumped.

[383] I'll tell you why.

[384] I'm pumped up about my faith when I can spend an hour talking about the person of Jesus Christ and his love for me. And I want to thank the bishop because it's so important to have a successor of the apostle just give the teachings of Christ and not his personal opinion.

[385] Even if he has a personal opinion, he holds it off and says, this is what the church teaches because that's what we're looking for, Bishop Strickland.

[386] And I thank you for that.

[387] I wanted to take this last segment because I would like to continue on the sacrament of marriage for some time because it's a critical topic in our culture because I think it's St. Faustina.

[388] Sister Lucy in the Fatima message said that the final battle will be with the family.

[389] And so it's marriage, family.

[390] So I want to have everybody open up their catechism to paragraph 1601.

[391] And I'll read the paragraph and then Bishop Strickland, I have to tell you, At the beginning of the show, people just tuned in, listen to what the bishop had to say about marriage because there's gold in those words because what you told us is really what the Catholic Church's teachings are on this beautiful sacrament.

[392] And I would encourage everybody to, like I do every morning as part of my formation, I have a catechism, I have a Bible, and I have some little devotionals that I read and study every single day.

[393] And I've been doing this for decades, Why?

[394] It helps me know more about the person of Christ, so I want to encourage you to open up your catechism daily.

[395] Paragraph 1601, the matrimonial covenant by which a man and a woman established between themselves a partnership of the whole of life is by its nature ordered towards the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring.

[396] this covenant between the baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament your thoughts bishop well one of the the key phrases there I think is partnership of the whole of life and I think that's where I worked in the marriage tribunal here for 15 years wow and very often I was often shocked at you know sadly people had gone through a divorce and they're seeking a decree of nullity yeah which is not a Catholic divorce it is establishing that a marriage in our belief never really took place it takes a bit for people to to fully grasp the Catholic approach to this but very often it fell apart because it was not a partnership of the whole of life people get married and it's like well I'll share this part of who I am and this part, but not everything, not the wholeness of their spiritual life, of their physical life, of every aspect of who they are.

[397] And if it's not a partnership of the whole of life, that's not just, well, I'm leaving some things out.

[398] But as you journey through life, then you start not being truthful.

[399] And you start doing things behind your spouse's back.

[400] Maybe sometimes they initially it's just fairly innocent and you're just not sharing everything but then it can grow into maybe not telling them that you have a gambling problem and that you've keep blowing the paycheck on gambling or drinking or whatever the issue is but that partnership of the whole of life is very key.

[401] And really, I can apply it to my life as a priest.

[402] My priesthood has to be involving the whole of my life as well.

[403] And we can look to priests that have gotten off track or ceased to be priest or been caught in terrible situations.

[404] I mean, we're all sinners.

[405] And it's a challenge to give the whole of your life to anything.

[406] But we have to keep that challenge before us.

[407] We have to keep that ideal of marriage.

[408] And I'm sure for you and your spouse, there have probably been times when you've had to say, honey, I'm sorry.

[409] I know on a daily basis.

[410] Sorry.

[411] Stay the same to you.

[412] Every day.

[413] Because we failed to give that partnership of the whole of life.

[414] But we've got to keep that before us as the challenge.

[415] For me as a priest, I may have failed to really respond to the needs of aversion or gotten very selfish about some of my time or done things that were sinful.

[416] That is limiting how much we're sharing.

[417] And again, Christ is the model.

[418] He shows us what it is to pour yourself out completely.

[419] And we might argue, well, he's, yeah, he's human, but he's also divine.

[420] Yeah.

[421] But he gives us the model of how to live.

[422] as a holy man and a holy woman.

[423] As the Immaculate Virgin Mary shows us another model, she's not divine.

[424] She's fully a human woman, but she says yes to God's will.

[425] And that's what unlocks the ability to give a partnership of the whole of life.

[426] So one thing that I would point out in this, just as paragraph 1601, it's already highlighting that we've got to have God with us.

[427] I have to have absolutely for me to be a priest and not be in relationship with God, Father, Son, and Spirit.

[428] It's contradictory.

[429] But it's it's the same with living a marriage to really live a marriage as God intends.

[430] Yeah.

[431] God has to be part of it because God gives us the strength and the grace when we fail to keep striving to give a partnership of the whole of our That is beautiful, but it's also challenging.

[432] And many marriages suffer and don't flourish, even if the people stay together.

[433] It doesn't flourish because the man or the woman or both say, well, I'm not going to share this part of me. You know, maybe the man loves to go out hunting and fishing and basically just, you know, leaves his wife at home.

[434] Certainly, you can have things that you enjoy separately in life, but you need to share that with each other.

[435] That's what the partnership of the whole of life, and I can't tell a couple how to do that exactly, but to keep bringing that challenge to every couple, it's how a marriage flourishes so that maybe a woman, I mean, we just had the Super Bowl.

[436] There were probably plenty of homes where the woman could care less, or maybe.

[437] maybe sometimes it's reverse.

[438] I mean, I know women that are very much into football.

[439] Yeah.

[440] But even if you're not really into that to support your spouse and to share that with them and they share that with you, that's the beautiful witness that I've seen from couples that learn how to navigate that when, yeah, you have things that men enjoy, you have things that women enjoy, but you find ways for that partnership of the whole of life to enjoy both.

[441] And a man doesn't, I mean, you know, I know my sisters love to go to flea markets and look at all of that stuff.

[442] Most men could care less.

[443] I mean, some men are into that.

[444] But I, you know, but I've seen spouses that would, men that would accompany their wives in doing something they love.

[445] And then the wife accompanies them in doing something, maybe going fishing or hunting when the wife's not really into that.

[446] And it doesn't even necessarily mean you have to go and do what your spouse is doing.

[447] But it's sharing your heart, sharing your life, sharing what excites you, sharing what scares you, sharing every aspect of who you are, a partnership of the whole of life.

[448] You know, Bishop Strickland, you've given a lot of marriage advice out over the years.

[449] It's really obvious because what you just said is critical.

[450] I have it in part of my presentation that I'm going to be giving at the marriage seminar.

[451] I say that, like, for example, I love baseball.

[452] My wife wasn't a baseball fan.

[453] Guess what she is now?

[454] I took her to the game.

[455] I explained the game to her, and she knew, you know, about my background in baseball, but she really didn't understand.

[456] But she made an effort to understand the game of baseball.

[457] And likewise, there's things that I needed to understand.

[458] And to be quite frank, I'm going to be honest with you.

[459] Some things my wife likes to go do, that she wants me to come, I do it not because I enjoy it I mean all truth be told I do it because it's important to her and this is why Bishop Sheen said the advice about marriage he said your marriage will not last because you're strong your marriage will last because you have the power to renew it and I would encourage couples to renew their marriage vows often don't wait for the 75th anniversary and then Bishop Sheen three to get married that book we make available on our website for free.

[460] I want people to have that access to listen to what the good bishop has to say.

[461] Bishop Strickland, I'd like to continue this talk on the sacrament of marriage, but before you give us your blessing, can you say a few more good words regarding couples where the advice you've given already is gold, but is there any other thing that you want to share before we go off the air that couples, I know we talked about praying, praying together.

[462] My take on it is even the family rosary is something that's not only uniting mom and dad but the entire family.

[463] So that would be my take.

[464] But is there any other nugget you'd like to give before the blessing?

[465] Well, one thing, and I've learned this from couples because obviously I've never been married, but I think that I would encourage any husband or wife that's listening right now to think about things that maybe they haven't shared as deeply with their spouse as they could have.

[466] And to trust, it takes trust to really share.

[467] Maybe they're, you know, failings or maybe it's just dreams that you never thought that your spouse would really engage with.

[468] So I think the more that I've seen couples that really flourish in their marriage, they share everything.

[469] And they're different people.

[470] So some things are more important to one person than the other, but if you're really just sharing from the heart, sharing your fears, sharing your hopes, sharing your desires, sharing your disappointments, and being honest with each other, it's beautiful to have that person that you know knows everything and they still love you and they're still with you.

[471] They support you.

[472] That's very freeing.

[473] I think there's a lot that all of.

[474] us need.

[475] And I have to continue to learn to do that in my prayer with the Lord to, you know, I mean, with the Lord, it's different.

[476] The Lord knows everything.

[477] But to verbalize it and to share with him, that's my challenge.

[478] And for people that are married, to share with your spouse in that intimate way and not be fearful of rejection, but to trust in their love.

[479] I think that that really helps to deepen a relationship and it strengthens you when the big challenges come well said bishop stricken how about a blessing please the lord be with you and with your spirit my almighty god bless all those listening married or not having suffered a broken marriage or flourishing in their marriage help us to all trust that you're with us lord and guiding us in your life thank you for the father this and the Thank you so much, Bishop Strickland.

[480] Folks, if this is your first show, you can get all the podcasts by going to vmpr .org.

[481] Check out all the different shows we have available.

[482] They're all centered on the person of Jesus Christ.

[483] May God richly bless you until next week.

[484] We'll see you then.

[485] Thanks for supporting Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[486] God love you.