19 Jul 22 – Respect for the Human Person

[0] Welcome to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[1] I like to call the Bishop Strickland Hour black and white Catholicism.

[2] And what I mean by that, nothing, you know, truth has no color.

[3] What we're saying is we know what our faith teaches.

[4] We quote the catechism every week here on the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[5] This has nothing to do with personal opinions.

[6] It has everything to do with the truth.

[7] So that's why I call it black and white Catholicism with Bishop Strickland.

[8] Bishop, thanks again for taking an hour of your busy schedule to share the gospel.

[9] thanks terry we need the gospel more now than ever before that good news you bet hey before we start i'm going to throw you a curveball from fulton sheen during the terry and jesse show we call it the fulton sheen quote and i thought i'd just throw it at you and get your your take on it bishop sheen said this 60 some years ago and see how it applies to us when a child is given to his parents a crown is made for that child in heaven and woe to the parents who who raised a child without consciousness of that eternal crown.

[10] Well, I want to just give you my take, and I want to hear your thought.

[11] As a father, when I read that from Fulton Sheen, I thought of that as me, my own fatherhood with my children, and saying that, you know what, I want to raise them with the vision of heaven, and that if they're doing anything that's going to stop them from getting to heaven, that I got that as woe to me for not speaking up.

[12] Now, Bishop Strickland, you're a bishop of the Catholic Church.

[13] I would say that reading applies to men like you that you have a moral obligation to speak up because you're our spiritual father and not to speak up when sin is abound, I think is an omission on fathers and also spiritual fathers, priests, bishops, and all the way to the Pope.

[14] That's my take.

[15] Absolutely, Terry.

[16] We've got to speak the truth to whoever we have authority over.

[17] And take that responsibility of authority very seriously.

[18] Today, it's not available on the calendar yet.

[19] It's such a new celebration.

[20] But today we celebrate Lewis and Zelle Martin.

[21] Wow.

[22] The parents of St. Therese, the little flower.

[23] and they're exactly that kind of parent.

[24] I was just reading about them today.

[25] Of course, they had the great saint who was a doctor of the church.

[26] Imagine your daughter being declared a doctor of the church.

[27] I wish.

[28] Lewis and Zellie are saints in their own right.

[29] They had, I believe, five daughters that lived.

[30] And they all went to the convent.

[31] Amazing.

[32] In the story that I read this morning talked about.

[33] how Lewis, Zelliot already died at a relatively young age, but Lewis was there with his daughters, all went to the convent, and he rejoiced in that, even though he was making a real sacrifice to have none of his daughters there at his side.

[34] They all went to the convent.

[35] I think a lot of them, maybe all of them, to the Carmelites, but certainly that's what Therese did.

[36] But that's the perspective we need.

[37] And these two, the only married couple, I believe, that's the only one that I'm aware of that actually a married couple canonized saints, Lewis and Zelle Martins.

[38] It's a beautiful reminder of exactly what you're talking about and exactly what Archbishop Sheen is talking about.

[39] We're made in the image and likeness of God, and that's how children are to be guided.

[40] And these days, Too many are silent or too many are guiding in the wrong direction.

[41] And we need to wake up to the truth.

[42] God is the creator of all.

[43] And we need to be, we need to return to God as a culture, really throughout the world today.

[44] And the church needs to be stronger and joyfully sharing that ancient truth, the deposit of faith that's all about God's design, not our.

[45] not some world order that we're creating, but following the design of God.

[46] It leads to happiness in this life and everlasting joy in heaven.

[47] That's what we're built for.

[48] So every parent, mother and father, of every spiritual mother and father, we need to speak the truth joyfully but vigorously and counteract us the voices of evil and ugliness and false teaching that are just the volume, they're cranking up the volume all the time, and they are very loud, and they're getting a lot of attention, but it's not the truth.

[49] And too many who should be speaking the truth, whether parents or spiritual parents, we need to wake up and joyfully proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.

[50] Well, said, that brings me to one of your tweets, and this is a tweet honoring the precious blood of Jesus Christ during the month of July.

[51] You said, Our Lord shed his blood for humanity and poured out a torrent of love and mercy.

[52] He still bleeds for us when innocent blood is shed in our troubled world, but too often we ignore the mercy he offers.

[53] Let us honor his sacrifice.

[54] I want to take your take it on what, why you said that and ask you for sure about ignoring the mercy of God.

[55] What did you mean by that?

[56] Well, too often we don't really act as if God is merciful.

[57] And mercy gets diluted to just sort of this sugarcoating of things.

[58] It goes to the very root of where we're broken and brings us back to the light and truth that is God, to reel up.

[59] And that's what God's mercy is, is real love that is unconditional, everlasting, love beyond our imagining.

[60] And I think we all need to really embrace that and see that more clearly.

[61] And people of faith, we can't be apologetic about this truth and say, well, if you don't believe, then we'll just be quiet.

[62] We have to joyfully proclaim this truth.

[63] And not in any way that denigrates any person, because we're all beloved in the eyes of God.

[64] And we need to really believe that for ourselves, believe it for every person we encounter, and believe it for the all of humanity.

[65] It's hard for us to grasp.

[66] And maybe that's part of the reason that so many don't believe.

[67] How can God love seven plus?

[68] billion people.

[69] There's seven billion plus in the world today.

[70] To believe that God loves every soul with all the suffering, people dying in Africa, people dying at the border of this nation, people dying in senseless gun violence in our nation, God loves every one of those souls.

[71] We need to really believe that and begin forming children to believe and live the power of God's love.

[72] it's really critical for all of humanity at this point.

[73] Well, well said, one of the things that struck me when I read that tweet, when you said too often we ignore the mercy of God, it seems to me, and this is just my take, that we assume, some people will assume that God's mercy is there without the asking for it.

[74] And that's just a false teaching.

[75] Without someone saying, God, have mercy on me, the mercy doesn't happen and so I got that real clear with that comment when you said too often we ignore the mercy he offers he offers us to go to confession but we have free will to say yes I'll go or no I won't go and so that's my take I thought it was a good tweet Bishop Strickland you also did a tweet here and I like it because we talked about faith hope and love you said and this is really something we could reread over and over again actually every day.

[76] You said faith, hope, and love are found where in Jesus Christ who is the way the truth and the life?

[77] Jesus is Lord of all and there is no other way to the Father.

[78] Turn to Jesus.

[79] Bishop Strickland, this is an evangelical call.

[80] My Protestant brothers would say amen, brother.

[81] So I just say, you know, black and white Catholicism.

[82] This is what is needing to be said to a world that acts like God doesn't exist.

[83] What made you say this?

[84] Well, there's too much of a diminishing the role of Jesus Christ.

[85] He's the son of God.

[86] He's the Savior of the world, not just of this little Catholic group over here, which, you know, even though we're over a billion Catholics in the world, that's not the majority of humanity.

[87] But Christ isn't about majorities or or this group or that group, he lived, suffered, died and rose for every human being for all time.

[88] And we need to, that's what the Gaticism teaches us.

[89] That's what the Word of God teaches.

[90] It's joyful news.

[91] And we need to share it and believe it and not allow ourselves to diminish the role of the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity.

[92] Jesus, Christ is Lord.

[93] He says that in the gospel very clearly.

[94] All power in heaven and on earth has been granted to me by the Father in the power of the Spirit.

[95] That's what the church has taught and believed for 2 ,000 years.

[96] And we can't let it be diminished by this worldly idea that, oh, we all need to be just sort of this world club and get along together.

[97] But if that means a lot of eliminating Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, for one thing, it's not going to work.

[98] Nope.

[99] And for the other thing, it's wrong.

[100] That's right.

[101] Because we cannot diminish the role of the Son of God.

[102] And with that image of Archbishop Sheen behind you, I think he would absolutely agree in our time.

[103] He would be a strong voice, and he was a strong voice 60, 50 years ago.

[104] we need to have that voice of truth in Jesus Christ, a joyful message for all humanity.

[105] Well said, Bishop Strickland, when we come back, we're going to continue with the tweets, and we've got the catechism of the Catholic Church, the second half of the show.

[106] Stay with us, family.

[107] Welcome back to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[108] My name's Terry Barber with Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[109] I just get excited each Tuesday, Bishop Strickland, when we get to talk about truth, about eternal truths, truth.

[110] It's something that the world hasn't a clue to it.

[111] And I think that it's so beautiful that our Catholic faith continually promotes the truth, which is Jesus Christ.

[112] You tweeted that this, and I love it.

[113] Truth is our greatest gift and our greatest strength.

[114] Amen.

[115] And this is so beautiful.

[116] To share truth is to love God and every person in church and state, business, family lives, destroy, truth builds.

[117] Yep, family lies destroy and truth builds.

[118] The most loving thing a person can do for another is to share the truth.

[119] Jesus Christ is the face of truth.

[120] I want to repeat that because I love that line.

[121] Jesus Christ is the faith of truth.

[122] And then you say, then you point out on your tweet, share him, Jesus, share Jesus.

[123] That must have come from some prayer because that wasn't just an easy thing to write bishop stricken that had to come from your heart absolutely um and i think we've got to all of us yeah i'm a sinner i make mistakes i do things wrong but again going back to that mercy we were talking about yeah god gives us the opportunity to when we mess up to get it right again and to continue to grow and grace that's that's the call to holiness none of us are as as we can be or should be.

[124] It can always work to growing.

[125] What is growing in holiness?

[126] Growing in the good, the true, and the beautiful, growing in virtue, growing in goodness, and turning from all the temptations of evil that we all face and we fall into in our sinfulness.

[127] Yeah, well said.

[128] Bishop Strickland, I know you have a great love for the sacred heart of Jesus, as I do.

[129] And I saw this tweet, and I thought, well, I've got to keep this.

[130] This was a beautiful little prayer.

[131] It says, devotion to the most sacred heart of Jesus.

[132] You shared it on your tweet, I'm going to share it on the air.

[133] It says, Lord Jesus, enlighten what's dark in me. Amen.

[134] And you say, Lord Jesus, strengthen what's weak in me. Wow, amen.

[135] Lord Jesus, men, what's broken in me. Lord Jesus, bind what's bruised in me. Lord Jesus, heal what's sick in me. and lastly revive whatever peace and love has died in me amen well i talk about inspiration from the sacred heart that was beautiful yeah i thought it was that's why i shared it yeah yeah there elements of that that all of us have to deal with every day yeah oh yeah blind to the truth we need to see it um you know so it's and that is why God so loved the world and sent his son to give us the ability to know him and to really be guided in his life.

[136] That's what it's all about.

[137] Amen to that.

[138] And Bishop Strickland, it seems that a lot of times when we speak about the truth, the world will reject us, and I understand that.

[139] But even sometimes over the church history, I've seen the saints where they speak the truth and people inside the church persecute saints like a Padre Pio and others and so it doesn't surprise me today when many loyal sons and daughters of the church many times are being well let's just say not just ridiculed many times but are reprimanded for speaking for the truth but that still shouldn't stop the saints to preach the truth but it just shows the, and I'll just be honest with you, the fragmentation of the church right now that were polarized that in many corners, whether it's the German church we've talked about or other places of the world, but it seems to unify the church is the truth and Cardinal of Vienna, Cardinal, what's his name of Vienna?

[140] Do you remember his name?

[141] Cardinal Shunborn, thank you.

[142] Cardinal Shunborn just came out with a very strong statement.

[143] It's not my statement.

[144] It's not my statement, it's not yours.

[145] I just happen to agree with the Cardinal.

[146] And he said that the German church is in danger of schism with what's going on.

[147] They're using this method to just pick and choose what is true when the Cardinal said that objective truth is what we need.

[148] We don't need opinions.

[149] And I thought, there's an example of a Cardinal speaking the truth.

[150] Your thoughts on that?

[151] I absolutely agree.

[152] And it's critical that we listen to this Cardinal and everyone who's speaking truth because there's a real movement in the church and in the world to go with feelings and opinions.

[153] And I just read something recently that very simple, very often the truth is not this complex.

[154] I mean, certainly, God is beyond fathoming.

[155] He is complexity if you want to approach it that way.

[156] But also the truths that we can know and the truths that God has revealed to us, very often they're pretty matter of fact, not complex, you know, deeply, you know, scientific or mathematical, you know, complexities, but just basic truth.

[157] And one of those truths is that everything in this world is temporary, and God alone is eternal.

[158] Amen.

[159] Part of the beauty of our being created in the image and likeness of God is that we have literally have the potential of sharing his eternal life is his children for life everlasting.

[160] But we're the only part of creation that has that.

[161] opportunity.

[162] It's not even forced on us.

[163] We can choose to reject the opportunity of living with God for eternity.

[164] But the rest of creation will simply fall to dust.

[165] It might be better for us if we simply felt to dust, but because we're created in the image and likeness of God, we not only have that blessing, but we have the responsibility of truly living and choosing the truth.

[166] If we choose evil and falsehood, we reap damnation on ourselves, on ourselves.

[167] God doesn't do it to us.

[168] He gives us every opportunity in his mercy to when we mess up, which we all do, to get it right and to return to him.

[169] But ultimately, Christ says it so clearly, so often really in the gospel, if we're willing to read how often he says, I mean, just today's gospel for the daily mass. It talked about the cities that have rejected the truth in Lebanon in that time.

[170] Yep.

[171] And says that they will be like Sodom.

[172] Yep.

[173] They don't wake up.

[174] And that alludes to obliteration.

[175] and total destruction that leaves them empty and lifeless and eternally damned.

[176] I mean, that's what it comes down to.

[177] And we don't hear that language a lot and the idea of hell as a permanent reality that is the opposite of choosing everlasting life in heaven with God.

[178] But that's the choice before us.

[179] Archbishop Sheen constantly reminds us.

[180] of that and we need to be reminded of it today well said and i always think of father bill casey when he said the father general for the fathers of mercy he said the most merciless thing we can do is to let someone wallow in their sin and um i try to heed that because i don't want to ever meet my maker and say hey you know that person you met that was in mortal sin you've kept quiet you didn't call them to fidelity um i'm going to be accountable to that so i you know many times that comes to my mind that it's not mercy, it's merciless because I tell them I don't love them enough to tell them the truth.

[181] Okay, Bishop Strickland, you quote, you quote Mother Teresa, St. Mother Teresa, and I love this quote because of what it did for me when I was a teenager.

[182] My brothers went to Protestant churches because their friends in high school said, come on over to our church.

[183] And my brother said, why would I go to your church?

[184] You don't have the Eucharist.

[185] And so that's what stopped them in his tracks.

[186] So you've got good music.

[187] I mean, you guys preach, but you don't have the Eucharist.

[188] So here's what you did.

[189] You tweeted this wonderful truth about our Catholic faith.

[190] Like St. Peter, we say, Lord, to whom shall we go?

[191] You have the words of everlasting life.

[192] And I say that to Catholics right now, many of them are so frustrated.

[193] Don't leave the church.

[194] Hunker down, make reparation for the sins of our church, the world, and ourselves, and make reparation, and be holy.

[195] But here's what you quote from Mother Teresa.

[196] She says, once you understand the Eucharist, you can never leave the church, not because the church won't let you, but because your heart won't let you.

[197] My thought on that was many people have been leaving the church since the 1960s, and many of them just didn't understand the faith.

[198] And I'm thinking, you put this out with Mother Teresa.

[199] What are you saying here, Bishop Strickland?

[200] I mean, I want to hear your thoughts on that.

[201] Well, you've already pretty much summarized it, Terry, but nothing should separate us from Christ and his church.

[202] And as you said, you know, certainly there are other Christian denominations that do a better job of countless.

[203] things.

[204] Oh, yeah.

[205] But if you don't have the Eucharist, then what's it all worth?

[206] Because, and this is something that I want to emphasize more just for myself even.

[207] When we speak of the Eucharist, it's not a thing.

[208] It's not it.

[209] It's who?

[210] Yeah.

[211] Who is the Eucharist?

[212] Right.

[213] Jesus Christ is the Eucharist.

[214] He is really there, really present.

[215] And when you really believe that, as Mother Teresa is saying, nothing's going to separate you from that.

[216] Yes, we can be disappointed.

[217] And in myself, as a bishop, I can disappoint people.

[218] All of us can.

[219] All human beings who are going to ultimately disappoint people.

[220] I was just reading this morning, you know, a teaching that the church has developed, I mean, St. Augustine was one of the first to very clearly make it part of the church's teaching that the sacraments do not depend on the sanctity of the priest.

[221] I'm sure glad of that.

[222] The priest is called to sanctity, absolutely.

[223] And it's on him if he is not living as saintly a life as he possibly can.

[224] But the sacraments are Christ.

[225] And I think that it's not just reassuring.

[226] during us that a sin, we hear about a priest that we've worked with or that has been a someone we've looked up to and we find out he's a sinner.

[227] Big surprise.

[228] Yes, he's a sinner.

[229] And maybe we find out he's been living a duplicitous, corrupt life.

[230] That's tragic.

[231] He needs to reform.

[232] He needs to be converted.

[233] He needs to repent of his sins and return to God, just like all of us.

[234] But thank And it really theologically reminds us of what the sacraments are, of who the sacraments are.

[235] Christ is working.

[236] The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, works through the sacrament.

[237] God the Father offered us his son as the sacrament, the sign of God.

[238] I was giving a talk recently, and I really shared that beautiful idea that comes from the readings or the writing of St. Paul, that Jesus Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.

[239] He is the sacrament.

[240] And the sacraments do the same thing.

[241] One more tweet about the universe, and then we're getting into the catechism.

[242] Stay with us, folks.

[243] We'll be right back.

[244] Welcome back to the Bishop Strickland Hour, a black and white Catholicism.

[245] In other words, it's only what the Catholic Church teaches.

[246] We're going to be going right to the catechism in a few minutes.

[247] But there's one last tweet that I thought was so beautiful.

[248] And that, you tweeted the image of this deep space image that this new telescope that went out into outer space that you said, it's awesome that God who breeds into us being even as we gaze on the wonders of his creation, may we be inspired to return to the path of light that shines from Jesus, his son.

[249] Bishop Strickland, it's just, this, this is so beautiful because, you know, it shows the order of the universe, And we can see more and more that it's hard to deny an existence of God because none of this can happen without his hand.

[250] And is that why you sent this out?

[251] Absolutely.

[252] We need to remember God.

[253] And thank God that we have this marvelous technology that can show us pictures of deep space that we would never have imagined.

[254] Oh, no, not in my life.

[255] And I think what's important about that and what hopefully is humbling is to realize that ancient peoples before we invented all the light that we have, even here in a rather small city in Northeast Texas, the light from artificial lighting, streetlights and cities and buildings, it causes us not to be able to see the heavens in the glory in which God created them.

[256] And I think that's a great metaphor for where we are in the 21st century.

[257] So many people have forgotten God because the bright lights of the big city have apparently drowned out that ancient light from the stars.

[258] But this picture reminds us that all true light, all everlasting light, comes from God.

[259] And we're part of that wondrous universe created to share in the life of God.

[260] So, and I've always loved science, the Hubble telescope.

[261] Oh, yeah.

[262] It's not as far out into deep space as this new telescope is.

[263] There are some images there that are just mind -blowing if you really look at and recognize.

[264] And like we were talking about before we began recording, Terry, even the way the planets are aligned, Jupiter and Saturn and all the planets, God is orchestrated so that we could be that we human beings.

[265] It's, and many of the scientists who may or may not be believers, but as believers, we can see the beauty in God's creative plan that makes everything work so beautifully.

[266] And if the earth were just a few miles, one way or the other in a different place, it would make life as we know it impossible.

[267] And life as we know it comes from God.

[268] I love an image like that.

[269] It just came out, I believe, from this telescope from deep space, and it's a reminder that God is the origin of it all.

[270] We say it on the creed every Sunday, but I believe as Catholics, we really need to listen to what we're saying much more deeply and let it guide us more profoundly, rather than just letting it be, say, oh, yeah, we say this creed, and then we go on.

[271] with the rest of the mass, but to really think about what we're saying.

[272] And we say that God is the father and creator of heaven and earth.

[273] And we need to, we believe that, and we need to reflect on what does that mean for your life and mind today, that God is in charge, and we've got to look to his revealed truth to guide us.

[274] Well said, you know, in a book called Is Atheism Dead?

[275] they made this comment that I thought was just fascinating, what you just said about the planets being lined up just perfect, I didn't realize that Saturn and Jupiter play a very important part of our life on planet Earth, because without their massive gravity, asteroids and comets would be bombarding planet Earth throughout entire history of our planet, disrupting the stable limit of living here on planet Earth.

[276] The point you just mentioned, I agree.

[277] I mean, how does this all come just by chance?

[278] I mean, you've got to have intellect and will, you've got to have design.

[279] It's God giving us this universe.

[280] I think the more we develop with our technology, the outer space, I've read from even non -believers saying, well, they're almost like agnostics.

[281] They go, you know what, I'm not sure, but there's got to be something out there that design this.

[282] I just don't know who it is.

[283] I think it's fascinating.

[284] I think we should continue to do that.

[285] Bishop Strickland, I'd like to shift gears to the catechism of the Catholic Church last week, and I just got lots of good texts from people saying they enjoyed the show that we did on social justice from the catechism, and we are on paragraph 1931.

[286] And why do we go to the catechism?

[287] Because this is the sure norm that St. John Paul 2 tells us, And I encourage everyone in these times of some confusion and ambiguity, please don't be confused.

[288] Open up your catechism to a section, but you need to have an address, because it's very clear.

[289] Every paragraph, I think, is written without any ambiguity.

[290] So paragraph 1931, and then I'll have Bishop Strickland comment on it.

[291] Respect for the human person proceeds by the way of respect for the principle that everyone should look upon his neighbor, without any exception, as another self.

[292] That's very gospel, right?

[293] Above all, bearing in mind his life and means necessary for living it with dignity.

[294] No legislation could by itself do away with the fears of prejudices and attitudes of pride and selfishness which obstruct the establishment of a truly fraternal society.

[295] Such behavior will cease only through the charity that finds in every man a neighbor, a brother.

[296] Wow.

[297] Your thoughts?

[298] Well, once again, the catechism just gives us clear, easily understandable truth that's very challenging.

[299] And I think that as I read this and reflect on it, because it is so challenging, I think a lot of people just throw up their hands, at least spiritually, and just basically say that's beyond even possibly living up to, to see every person that we encounter as another self.

[300] It's another way of saying what Jesus says in the gospel.

[301] the second part of the greatest commandment, love God with all that you are and love your neighbor as yourself.

[302] If we really take that seriously, it's beyond us.

[303] And I really think, Terry, that that's the reason that so many don't even attempt it, don't even make a decent effort at loving every person as another self.

[304] And so they kind of carve out these people that they value, and the rest, you know, forget it.

[305] I think that's our big sin in the world today.

[306] Because look at all the veins of evil and destruction and violence and hatred that flow from forgetting this paragraph.

[307] In some ways, Terry, we need to just say, okay, people, we got love.

[308] one paragraph that we need to tackle for the rest of our lives.

[309] Because so much flows from this that it's corruption and brokenness in our society.

[310] Corruption and brokenness that destroys individuals and destroys families, destroys communities, destroys states and nations, and threatens to destroy the global family of God.

[311] I mean, this is what it comes down to.

[312] And it is deeply challenging.

[313] And all of us need the grace of God and the strength of the Holy Spirit.

[314] We need the help of Jesus in order to do this.

[315] And to not, when we fail, which we all do, to not give up.

[316] And I think that's a lot of what's happen.

[317] A lot of people have given up, I mean, loving as another self, they've given up on loving themselves, on believing that God loves them.

[318] And we have to believe that we are sacred to God and that every person is sacred.

[319] I mean, it gets into the sanctity of life issues without mentioning any of that directly.

[320] Right.

[321] But it points to why the destruction of any other self, whether in the womb or wherever a long life spectrum, when we freely destroy that person that is another self, we're doing damage to ourselves and doing damage to the human community.

[322] That's what we see happening constantly.

[323] Well said, Bishop Strickland, and it's right from the catechism, this is so important.

[324] I always think that the greatest thing we Catholics in America can do is live our Catholic faith and a country could be turned around because this is what our Lord is teaching us to do.

[325] And much of that violence, much of the selfishness would go by -bye because if we live out our Catholic faith, as some of the founders of America said, America is only going to work with immoral people.

[326] And we have to be moral through the gospel.

[327] Okay, paragraph 1932.

[328] The duty of making oneself a neighbor to others in activity serving them becomes even more urgent when it involves the disadvantaged in whatever area this may be.

[329] As you did it to the least of these brethren, you did it to me. Right from the gospel.

[330] Absolutely.

[331] And just last Sunday, we proclaim the gospel of the Good Samaritan, and that's what it's talking about.

[332] It's, we all have to be the good Samaritan to the other person.

[333] And we can all find ourselves in that place of being disadvantaged in different ways.

[334] We need to reach out to each other in the compassion of Christ.

[335] Amen, and we get to paragraph 1933.

[336] Put your seatbelt on, folks.

[337] This is an incredible section of the catechism that really shows what Christians are all about.

[338] We'll be back with more.

[339] Stay with us.

[340] Welcome back to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[341] I just think it's great that Bishop Strickland takes time to teach us from the catechism of the Catholic Church.

[342] I say that Bishop Strickland because there's so much confusion in the church.

[343] What does the church really teach?

[344] Is this disguised personal opinion?

[345] No, this is right from the catechism.

[346] And I think that it's important that every Catholic owns a catechism so that when you hear something or see something in the news and you go, hey, that's kind of weird.

[347] Ask yourself this question.

[348] What does the church really teach on that?

[349] And you can look it up in the catechism.

[350] Now paragraph 1933, Bishop Strickland, is pretty hard hitting.

[351] It says this same duty extends to those who think or act differently from us.

[352] The teaching of Christ goes on so far as to require the forgiveness of offenses.

[353] He extends the commandment of love, which is that of the new law, to all enemies.

[354] Liberation in the spirit of the gospel is incompatible with hatred of one's enemy as a person, but not with hatred of the evil that he does as an enemy.

[355] I think those are great distinctions.

[356] Your thoughts?

[357] Very critical distinctions for this time, Terry, because the spirit of our age is, well, you can't speak against anything that anyone does because you're speaking against that person.

[358] And this makes the clear distinction.

[359] That's right.

[360] it's incompatible to have hatred for one's enemies is contrary to what Christ said.

[361] But you hate the evil that the enemy does.

[362] Or in terms of immoral behavior, you hate the sin that the person.

[363] I mean, they're not enemies.

[364] But this paragraph really covers a lot.

[365] Because what is going on in our society today.

[366] It's like you can't point out any difference and say that's wrong.

[367] It's like, oh, no, that's that person's, that's how they identify today, or that's who they say that they are.

[368] That's their truth.

[369] This paragraph is what all of us need to return to is the understanding that no, no one, God loves us all.

[370] God has created us with tremendous differences.

[371] differences of strengths and weaknesses.

[372] And so much of that divides us now.

[373] But we've got to all humbly bow to the truth that God has revealed to us.

[374] Many of us have qualities that the world labels as a strength and a blessing and something that's great.

[375] But it can be twisted, no matter how positive it is, if we misuse those gifts.

[376] All of us have differences.

[377] differences and deficiencies that the world will maybe label as something different, but we need, we can all overcome those deficiencies, those weaknesses, those tendencies to do things that diminish us rather than help us to flourish.

[378] And this paragraph really is something that all of us need to reflect on and to really bring into our own perspective.

[379] Liberation in the spirit of the gospel is incompatible with hatred of one's enemy.

[380] Just stopping right there.

[381] That is something that definitely today needs to be remembered.

[382] To bring hatred for another.

[383] And we see so much hatred right now.

[384] Hatred for us.

[385] Hatred for me as a Catholic bishop.

[386] Hatred for you.

[387] as a Catholic man, committed to your wife and family, there's real hatred and venom being spewed against us, and that's the tough part.

[388] That's what you and I, me as a Catholic bishop, you as a Catholic man, we can't give in to the hatred ourselves.

[389] We can get angry, we can get fired up, but we need to always remember that that person who gloats in the idea, that they're our enemy and they want to destroy us, we've got to continue to love them and to love the truth that they may be ignoring or pulling other people away from.

[390] What were each of these paragraphs, if we think about saints and martyrs, they're people that live this.

[391] They're people that modeled this kind of life.

[392] And very often in their own lifetime were recognized as extraordinary.

[393] like St. Teresa of Calcutta.

[394] We had a quote from her earlier on.

[395] She is, she was Mother Teresa in our lifetime.

[396] We remember her.

[397] She only died in 1997.

[398] She's now St. Teresa of Calcutta.

[399] She lived this and she challenged all of us to live it like all the saints do.

[400] So I think that's a great reminder for me and for all of us, Terry.

[401] It can feel overwhelming.

[402] It can feel.

[403] Impossible.

[404] How do you live up to this?

[405] By the grace of God, you can.

[406] And the saints remind us that you can live up to it.

[407] And the martyr saints remind us that it's worth dying for if it comes to that.

[408] St. Teresa of Calcutta wasn't martyred.

[409] She died of old age.

[410] But she, I believe, would have been willing to die if she had been placed into that situation.

[411] all of us need to have that same kind of commitment of the saints and martyrs well said bishop stricken to put a picture on that story i had that happen to me when i was 20 years old where an individual stole $20 ,000 from my brother's business and my brother died of brain cancer at the time so he thought well the business is going down he's his general manager he stole the money i met him a year later down at Skid Row in downtown L .A. where I was helping feed the poor and the homeless.

[412] And when he saw me, I could tell he got scared and I gave him a big hug and I said, I forgive you, brother.

[413] And he knew what I was saying.

[414] He started tearing up and, you know, I said, as God forgives you?

[415] I forgive you.

[416] I mean, ask God for forgiveness because it's water under the bridge, bro.

[417] And that worked out well.

[418] But I have to say, I mean, I went to confession on Sunday.

[419] I go to confession on a regular basis because I'm weak.

[420] I went to confession this morning because I need it Not because I'm holy It's because I'm not holy enough Exactly And the last story is a weakness I had years ago At the religious Ed Congress in Anaheim I got surprised Father James Martin Jesuit priest who's a progressive Catholic priest who says things That just turned me upside down I was walking down a venue Where the vendors are And there he is in front of me and my temperature arose so much that I was angry and I turned around and walked the other way because I knew I was out of control and I could not be civil with him and loving with him.

[421] I couldn't do it.

[422] So I just said a little prayer and walked away.

[423] Now, Bishop Strickland, that was my weakness time because I should have been able to love him with the truth.

[424] But you know what?

[425] I'm a sinner.

[426] So what did I do?

[427] I went the other way because I knew.

[428] I couldn't handle that situation at that moment.

[429] I was getting out of control.

[430] I share that with you just because that shows my weakness, man. And how do I stay strong?

[431] The sacraments.

[432] So I just want to encourage everybody who's going, hey, I can't do that.

[433] You guys are asking way too much.

[434] No, our Lord asks us, but he gives us the grace to do it.

[435] And that's a great story that you share, Terry.

[436] And we can all share those kinds of stories.

[437] We all fail to be as forgiving.

[438] and loving as we sure and should.

[439] But what I would encourage people, just like you, you pick yourself up, you confess your sins, and you try again.

[440] You try to learn.

[441] And we do learn.

[442] You learn from those mistakes.

[443] You learn from the times when we let our tempers get the better of us.

[444] Or when we kind of like you did, it reminds me of the story of the Good Samaritan.

[445] You saw someone really and needed.

[446] of help, in need of truth, in need of a loving word, and you went on the other side of the street.

[447] You walked away.

[448] I don't blame you.

[449] I mean, I probably would have done the same, but we were challenged to do the most loving thing.

[450] And that's tough.

[451] It needs, it's only by the grace of God that we can even attempt it, much less continue to grow in holiness.

[452] Amen.

[453] Bishop Shirkland, before I ask you for a blessing, your St. Philip Institute is always coming up with new material for our listeners.

[454] Can you share a little bit about the Institute?

[455] Yeah, it's all about sharing the truth, catechizing and evangelizing.

[456] And there's some great young people committed to the faith, sharing their great talents, and making some great progress for the diocese and for anyone who wants to listen in to what the St. Philip Institute is doing.

[457] right and i just want to thank all of our supporters who are supporting us here at the virgin most powerful radio i want everybody to know bishop athenacea schneider has agreed to be part of virgin most powerful by being on our shows once a month in his busy schedule he's going to be teaching uh from his book the catholic mass and other material he's going to do what bishop strickland does and you know i just feel very blessed that bishops like bishop schneider and bishop of Joseph Strickland here as associated with Virgin Most Powerful because we have one role, the role that the church has, Salvation of Souls, Canon Law.

[458] The last canon says everything we do is for the salvation of souls.

[459] And those who have been supporting us here, I have to really thank you.

[460] I want to also mention that if you want to be a monthly donor for us at $25 more a month, you're going to get hundreds of dollars worth of downloads of people like Dr. Scott Hahn, Tim Staples, Jess Romero, all these people that I've been recording for the last 30 or 40 years to help form you in your faith.

[461] And the way you do that is go to vmpr .org to sign up for that.

[462] Also, we have a fireside chat once a month that I have people who I just did Father Charles Cologne yesterday.

[463] He's a historian.

[464] He's lectured at Cambridge.

[465] He's an on -fire Catholic man. One of the great Catholic historians.

[466] He's now going to go once a month with Virgin most powerful, teaching us history, because I believe history will help us stay focused and see things in perspective in the 2000 -year history of our Catholic faith.

[467] Bishop Strickland, could you give our listeners a blessing, please?

[468] Almighty God, we ask your blessing for all of us, participating in this radio show and listening.

[469] Help us to continue to grow in grace.

[470] And when we stumble in sinfulness, help us to trust in your mercy calling us to humbly confess our sins, repent of our sins, and to seek your mercy and healing grace to help us to continue to live in your light.

[471] And we ask your blessing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

[472] Amen.

[473] Thank you very much, Bishop Strickland.

[474] I want to thank all the listeners.

[475] You can get past history shows by going to VMPR .org under podcasts.

[476] Matter of fact, all the shows are podcasts for your convenience.

[477] And I want to thank you again for sharing the gospel with us by sharing this podcast and many others.

[478] May God richly bless you, and until next week, I want to say thank you from Virgin Most Powerful for listening and for sharing the faith with family and friends.

[479] God love you and your family.

[480] Keep the faith.

[481] And thank you for supporting Virgin Most Powerful Radio.