17 Aug 21 – Let Us Wake Up to the Evil Around Us

[0] Welcome to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[1] My name is Terry Barber.

[2] And we do this once a week.

[3] And what's our purpose to introduce people to the person of Jesus Christ and his bride to church?

[4] Bishop Strickland, thanks for joining us again on your show each week.

[5] Thanks, Terry.

[6] Oh, God love you.

[7] Now, we talk about the tweets.

[8] For those who are brand new, we take Bishop Strickland's tweets, we take the catechism of the Catholic Church and read from that to teach people about the faith.

[9] But I really got excited this week when I saw all the quotes you had from Archbishop Sheen.

[10] I'm going to ask my engineer if he can play that whistle of this train when I was going to see your head for Bishop Sheen.

[11] That's because he's like a locomotive with all of his good stuff.

[12] Here's what Bishop Strickland said.

[13] More wisdom, from Fulton Sheen, he says, you said this.

[14] Let us wake up to the evils around us and seek the light of Christ.

[15] He is the way, the truth, and the life.

[16] That's very biblical.

[17] Now, my question is, or the comment is, the, there's four statements Bishop Sheen said that really apply to us today.

[18] So I want to hit one and then let's see what you have to say.

[19] You said, Bishop Sheen said this probably 60, 70 years ago.

[20] I think how this applies to 2021, everyone.

[21] It is a characteristic of any decaying civilization that the great masses of people are unaware of the tragedy.

[22] Are we applying that to right now, Bishop Strickland?

[23] Absolutely.

[24] Too many people are unaware.

[25] It's like complacent.

[26] just pretending everything's just humming along perfectly fine and the reality is that's not the case church state or anywhere.

[27] Amen.

[28] Amen.

[29] Here's another comment he says humanity in a crisis like now.

[30] He says is generally insensitive to the gravity of the times in which we live.

[31] Just what you just said.

[32] We're unaware.

[33] I think I have an analogy, we're asleep at the wheel, meaning we're living, we're going to work, we're going to our entertainment, and as long as I can still pay my bills and have my, you know, entertainment and, you know, everything's hunky dory.

[34] Well, it's not, that's a, that's a deceptive of thing that's happening in our culture right now, because for many of us, we don't realize that the, We talk about being vaccinated for the COVID -19.

[35] What about vaccination from sin, which is the sacraments, which is staying close to Jesus?

[36] But I don't think people realize that at their exit interview, it will come.

[37] And what they did on this planet for 60, 70, 80, 90 years will be all out in front of our Lord.

[38] And we're going to be judged by what we did.

[39] and I think many of us are going to ask that question, I didn't know.

[40] How could I know this?

[41] Well, the fact of it is, and I'm just going to be honest with the Bishop Strickland, inside the church, inside the world right now, it seems that we're acting like God doesn't exist.

[42] And I'm not pointing a finger at you.

[43] All of us, we are not proclaiming the kingship of Christ enough to a world that needs it.

[44] We're kind of just going along to get along.

[45] That's my take.

[46] Sorry I spoke so, but that had to come from me. All right, next one.

[47] He says, men do not want to believe their own times are wicked, partly because they have no standard outside of themselves by which to measure their times.

[48] If there is no fixed concept of justice, how shall men know it is violated?

[49] You've said that many times, Bishop Strickland on this show.

[50] You know, you said, If we don't know what is truth, then we just do what we want to do for as long, you know, whatever, whatever makes me feel good.

[51] So I think that you're repeating a Sheen statement in your own words, but have you not said that?

[52] You said, I want to know the truth.

[53] You constantly hit on what's the truth?

[54] Absolutely.

[55] Well, we really have an obligation to know the truth, and that's where the complacency and the ignoring the reality, that's where it becomes really.

[56] significantly bad is if we don't we need to be aware of the sinful world we live in and the sins that we commit.

[57] I mean, a good examination of conscience means you're awake, you're alert.

[58] You're not beating yourself up and denigrating yourself.

[59] You're actually elevating yourself when we acknowledge our sinfulness in our need for God's mercy.

[60] Thankfully, God's mercy is always offered to us, but you have to be aware of your need of repentance.

[61] And also, even beyond that, I really feel that we are called as people of faith, if we are believers, then we need to make reparation and atonement.

[62] for our own sins and for the sins of the world because the blasphemies and the atrocities being perpetrated around the world, shootings in our cities and just, I mean, we see it constantly.

[63] We need to make reparation for all of that evil and to be complacent and unaware means that we're not doing our duty.

[64] Certainly, to be aware of the evil, a lot of people shy away from it.

[65] But ultimately, it helps to highlight the good.

[66] And there is a lot of good.

[67] And I think we need, being awake doesn't just say, oh, the world's a mess and it's falling apart.

[68] In too many ways it is.

[69] But there's also a lot of goodness, a lot of people making sacrifices.

[70] a lot of truth being shared, a lot of efforts and initiatives by lay people, by priests, to really get the truth out there and to really make a difference.

[71] Just this week, one of my tweets that you may have seen, I commended our diocese and Knights of Columbus for raising the money for two sonogram units that.

[72] that can take the ultrasound and create an image.

[73] They said, when, and this is a non -Catholic organization that does beautiful work here in Tyler with helping women that are faced with an unexpected pregnancy, they can come there and get a free ultrasound, and they said 85 % of the time, when a woman sees that image of their child, they say no to abortion.

[74] Because it's just showing them reality.

[75] It's showing them the truth.

[76] And so that's just one of many, many, many good things people are doing to promote life, to promote marriage, to promote the goodness of our neighbors, to promote care for others, to promote the needs that people have.

[77] a lot of good initiatives that we need that's part of being awake and alert that's what part of what archbishop sheen if we're not aware of the evil or the good then we just are not engaging in in society the way we need to well said and i think of our lady of fatima when she said souls are going to hell because there's no one there to pray and make reparation for them And I just want to give a little plug.

[78] That's what one of the things here at Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[79] Every Thursday at the historic Sacred Heart Chapel, we gather to pray before the Blessed Sacrament for the Pope for bishops and all priests.

[80] What is this?

[81] It's part of our spirituality because on Holy Thursday, the priesthood came together.

[82] A Holy Eucharist came together on Holy Thursday.

[83] So we commemorate once a week to get down on our knees.

[84] and ask God to bless the Holy Father, the bishops, and the priest to confirm us in our faith.

[85] Yep, that's what we do.

[86] And I think that this reparation part is so important because everybody can play.

[87] Grandma, you're 96 years old.

[88] Imagine just getting up and doing, you know, simple things are very difficult.

[89] But we can offer that up to Jesus and make reparation for sins of the world for our own sins.

[90] All right, the last one, Bishop Sheen, you have quoted.

[91] is, he says, only those who live by faith really know what is happening in the world.

[92] The great masses without faith are unconscious of the destructive processes going on because they have lost the vision of heights from which they have fallen.

[93] Oh, boy.

[94] You know how I translate that?

[95] On the Terry and Jesse show, Sin makes us stupid.

[96] It does, because our eyes are closed.

[97] really see if we don't see the supernatural aspect of life and all we see is what's in front of us oh we are the we are living a life that's not very well balanced because uh reality really is life is short and eternity is forever you mentioned something about father mark goring father excuse me bishop strickland could you share that story of father's video because i think it applies to this yeah father mark gory has he does a lot of podcasts and he's out in the on a little paddle boat out in the middle of the the lake or basically he couldn't see any land you could just barely see land on one horizon but he wanted to be out there purposely and he gets an eye dropper and he drops one drop into the water this vast body of water and just illustrating What we're told that our life is, even if we live a hundred years, it's like one drop in the ocean.

[98] And that little drop disappeared very quickly.

[99] And to put everything into that one brief drop is wrong.

[100] Father Mark Goings, comments on that as a great analogy.

[101] We'll come back more on the Bishop Sixth or stay with us, family.

[102] Welcome back.

[103] Bishop Strickland, Joe family, we're glad you're here.

[104] We're talking about the tweets from Bishop Strickland that he sends out each week.

[105] And I got to tell you, there's not a week that goes by without talking about the sacredness of life.

[106] And on August 3rd, here's another one, Bishop Strickland.

[107] He said, we must acknowledge that many of the evils we see in our world are rooted in the rejection of the sanctity of life from conception.

[108] to natural death, abortion, child abuse, human trafficking, pornography, sexual immorality, euthanasia, elder abuse, and then you said all flow from this rejection.

[109] So this is, I think, you're nailing it, but what can we do about it, Bishop Strickland?

[110] I mean, how do we make this sanctity of life's reality?

[111] I mean, what can, what, what's, give us some, you know, action items of what Catholics and those of goodwill can do to help protect the life issues.

[112] Well, certainly pray.

[113] And just pay attention in your own community and your own circumstances to just remember that we are all precious to God.

[114] Yeah.

[115] whatever our age, whatever our circumstance, if we could all just remember that, that's what Christ tells us, love your neighbor as you love yourself.

[116] And that's the sanctity of life.

[117] We are created in the image and likeness of God.

[118] We are sacred beings.

[119] And we see too much of that that is ignored.

[120] And, you know, I get a lot of people yelling at me, at least on Twitter, of how wrong I am and how much they vehemently disagree.

[121] But I still stick with what I've said so often.

[122] I mean, people accuse me of only caring about the unborn.

[123] But my point is, if we don't care about the unborn, then we're opening the door to not caring about anyone.

[124] And we see too much of that.

[125] See too much of people being used and abused for the purposes of another person.

[126] It breaks down civilization after you reach a point where no one's safe and no life is sacred.

[127] And there's just way too much of that.

[128] in it.

[129] Historically, I believe it's rooted in our abandoning of the sanctity of life in the womb.

[130] And there are many politicians that, sadly, I'm in both parties, but certainly there are many politicians that just ignore the sanctity of the life of the unborn.

[131] If we could just judge, just embrace that and then absolutely work on all the other ills.

[132] But if we keep working away at some of the other threats to humanity while we're undermining the life of the unborn, the weakest, the voiceless, it just doesn't seem logical to me that we're ever going to make much headway because there are too many people that say, I mean, it's almost like it's built into our DNA now that, you know, life isn't sacred.

[133] And life is something that you can just dispose of if you have the power and if you have the desire.

[134] And too many people operate that way.

[135] Well, said, I think of the, if you can't save the unborn, all the other issues will never come to about, whether it's immigration.

[136] And I think that's why I think your bishop's conference said it was the preeminent topic is killing of unborn, and saving, protecting the unborn.

[137] And I think that was duly said.

[138] So I appreciate that.

[139] I know there are a few people who might not agree with that, but generally the bishops, you know, we're very strong on that.

[140] So thank you, Bishop's Conference on that.

[141] Bishop Strickland, last week, this is a week later, but we celebrated what I consider one of the great modern -day saints, St. John Viani, that's the 4th of August.

[142] And you tweeted something about St. John Vieni that is like I remember.

[143] This is a great quote because we're talking about evil and the devil.

[144] You said, you quoted that if there were only three like you, this is the devil talking to John Vieny.

[145] If there were only three like you in France, I would not be able to set foot there, said Satan to the future saints serving at a little small parish.

[146] St. John Vieni lived from 1786 to 1859, and he was known as the cure of ours as the patron saint of parish priests, let us pray for good holy priests.

[147] Bishop Strickland, I don't know about your diocese I've never been there, but I always say there's a good sign of a parish when they have, are you ready?

[148] Confessions like more than just Saturday evening.

[149] I mean that.

[150] Am I right?

[151] Isn't it great when they say every day before Mass or, you know, this time of the day we're going to have confessions?

[152] It just seems like that's a good, sign that whoever's running that parish understands the value of the great sacrament of confession.

[153] Yeah, and St. John Viani certainly lived that, and he's the patron saint of priest, and that's a great model to be reminded of.

[154] I always love to remind people, as you know, I talk about the real presence of Christ, body and blood, soul and divinity, and the Eucharist all the time, because we need.

[155] need to reverence him and be more and more aware of his presence.

[156] But he's also powerfully and beautifully present in a different way, but in a powerful way in the sacrament of confession.

[157] Amen.

[158] I would imagine most priests, and I can tell stories about the beautiful transformations that I've seen, people weeping in the sacrament of confession.

[159] And sometimes I admit myself weeping at at the transformation that a person can experience when they know they're forgiven their sins.

[160] And if we really pay attention to what the sacrament of confession means, and that's what St. John Viani spent so much of his priestly life in the confessional, that's why he became so known.

[161] And people would travel to a little town of ours, France, to go to confession.

[162] he was a very spiritual man and that that's what a priest needs to do to to celebrate the sacraments especially the Eucharist and confession should be a part of the daily work of every priest.

[163] And thankfully, we're blessed with many priests who very generously give of their time to hear confessions.

[164] If we think about what's happening in a confession, whether the sins are serious or not, and especially when they are serious, but any freedom from sin, any washing away of those sins that we've accumulated in our lives, and we're all sinners, that is getting us back in touch with what we were talking about earlier of being aware of God's grace and being aware that every breath we take, every heartbeat is a blessing and an opportunity.

[165] to live what God has given us.

[166] Confession reminds us that life is a gift, and it reminds us that when we sin, we diminish that gift to some degree, but thankfully God in His mercy offers the sacrament of his son for giving us.

[167] God acts through the sacrament, and I've seen, I can witness to that myself.

[168] I've seen that happen, and I've, you know, I've gone to confession where not every time is it a great emotional event, but there have been times when I really felt the impact of what it means to hear those words of absolution from the priest where he speaks in the name of Christ, just like a priest speaks at the altar in Christ's words and confects the blessed sacrament, bread and wine become Christ.

[169] In the Sacrament of Confession, Christ is speaking his forgiveness, just like he said so often in the gospel, and that healing and forgiveness that Christ offers, we need to make people more aware of it.

[170] We've grown up in a church where for much of our younger adult lives, the confession wasn't emphasized.

[171] And too many people will say it's been years.

[172] I've even heard priest confessions where they would say, it's been 20 years since I went to confession.

[173] Wow.

[174] And that's tragic for them and for the church because we all need to be freed from the sins that weigh us down and prevent us from growing in the grace the ways we need to.

[175] Bishop Strickland yesterday, Father Charles Murr told us a story, and I know you have stories about as a priest hearing confessions.

[176] Well, this was when he was 28 years old.

[177] He had just been ordained, and he was in Mexico in an orphanage.

[178] And everybody knows about the revolution in Mexico in the 1920s and 30s with the Masons and how the Custeros were fighting the government, and Catholics were being persecuted, priest, remember of Padre Pro being shot at the Jesuit?

[179] Well, here's what happened in this.

[180] I'll tell it briefly, but if people want to hear it, I think we actually put it on the YouTube, and it's yesterday's Terry and Jesse show, but it touched me because here was a man who was a murderer.

[181] He killed Catholic priest during the war.

[182] He ended up becoming a general after the war.

[183] And now he's 1979.

[184] He's 88 years old.

[185] Remember when he grabbed his wife to be, she was 15 years old.

[186] He's on a horse.

[187] He just grabs this woman and says, you're my wife now.

[188] That's how it was done in Mexico 60 years ago.

[189] Then he has 10 children.

[190] That woman, he didn't marry, he took as his wife, brought forth 10 children.

[191] She raised them all devout Catholics, and he was a mason.

[192] He was out doing his stuff and didn't pay attention to what his wife was doing.

[193] Here's what happened.

[194] He's on his deathbed.

[195] It's got gangrene.

[196] His 10 kids are praying the rosary in the waiting room.

[197] They've been praying for their dad's conversion all their lives.

[198] They're in their 50s and 60s.

[199] and Father Muir comes because the doctor said no other priests would come to visit this man because everybody thought he was a murderer which he was but they unfortunately were very bitter with this man but the American priest went, heard the confession well first of all he wasn't even Catholic and Father Murr the story is phenomenal I'm just going to give the short part and you can always listen to it bottom line is he wanted to throw the priest out but Father Murr said well can I just watch you die because the doctor says you've got about three hours with this gangrene, you're going to die of a heart attack because your blood's going to be cut off.

[200] And I've never seen anybody die.

[201] Are you okay if I sit in this green chair?

[202] Preach, do you really believe that?

[203] Yep, I do.

[204] So if you're okay with me, he got into a conversation.

[205] He talked to him about the meaning and purpose of life and through the grace of God, baptized that man on his deathbed, but not only baptized him, heard his confession, and he confirmed him.

[206] And he said, you're going to take the name of Dismas says your confirmation name because you did the same thing he did you're stealing heaven and wait a minute have you uh you didn't marry your wife right no and she's just been my you know living for 60 some years well let's call her in with all the kids now that you're baptized and let's do your wedding wedding vows right now so all 10 kids are there and he does the wedding vows and now they're married he's confirmed he receives holy communion and 10 minutes after the wedding God calls that man home and like he said he stole heaven but that's the power of the sacrament of confession and we come back to have more at the Bishop Strickland Hour that story always touches me folks I hope I tested my heart stay with us family we'll have to inspire you all deep in love but Jesus is true welcome back to the Bishop Strickland Hour I was just telling a powerful story of a general who was a Mason who had killed Catholic priest during the revolution in the 20s and 30s.

[207] And at the end of his life, Father Charles Murr tells the story of him coming to know Jesus Christ and was baptized as a Catholic and was married and it's beautiful.

[208] But the part I didn't tell was the priest in that area of Mexico were pretty upset that Father Murr would do all that to this evil man. They were jealous.

[209] So they said that they called him out and said to the bishop, hey, this guy, this American priest came in and baptized somebody who was excommunicated.

[210] you can't do that so he got called into the bishop's office and can you imagine bishop i'll put you in the seat the guy comes up to you and he says okay uh that you're the bishop and the priest comes and you get that all the time i'm sure and here's the story the man that he baptized and brought into the church confirmed and married is the man that killed your father during the revolution bishop strickland your father and you as a bishop tell the priest good job and bringing him into the kingdom that must have been a holy bishop because you could be tempted not to do that would you not absolutely but yeah it's about supernatural faith that's not a natural reaction that's not a natural thing to do but if you believe in the supernatural faith in the mercy of God You thank God that a person had a change of heart, even 10 minutes before they died.

[211] Yeah, it's amazing.

[212] Bishop Strickland, we got lots of tweets, but I want to get to the catechism.

[213] My only other topic I wanted to hit is what you said earlier about the bishops in Colorado.

[214] You congratulated them for the fact that they're telling the flock that, yeah, if you're eligible for.

[215] religious exemptions with the COVID.

[216] If you object, your conscience tells you you shouldn't take the COVID -19, we recognize that as a Catholic, that it's religious freedom and that we should not, if that's your issue with the abortion -tinted vaccine.

[217] And I think not only did Colorado do that, but Wisconsin, and I understand other bishops are saying the same thing.

[218] Bishop Strickland, would you agree that this is very very, very important?

[219] very important for religious freedom that Catholics and everybody of goodwill should have the option to not being forced to take the vaccine.

[220] Absolutely.

[221] The conscience exemption, I'm glad that bishops are coming out to support that because what have we just been talking about?

[222] We've been talking about the ability to confess our sins.

[223] Once with a good examination of conscience, we become aware that we need to ask forgiveness for specific sins.

[224] That's that gets to the very heart of what it means to be believers, what it means to be trying to live as those created in the image and likeness of God.

[225] Human beings are the only part of creation that has a conscience.

[226] Animals don't have a conscience.

[227] plants don't have a conscience but human beings can choose between right and wrong and can with a well -formed conscience know the truth and and make the choices accordingly and so to force someone to go against their conscience is that's what happened in too many authoritarian states in the 20th century and really through the centuries.

[228] Many of the martyrs, not just in the concentration camps of those Second World War, but many martyrs through the ages died because they were unwilling to go against their conscience.

[229] They were unwilling to not live the truth as they knew it.

[230] They were ready to give up their life rather than to go against their conscience.

[231] And so for the state, which too often it has through history, but in a country that prides itself on real freedom, we simply have to speak up for the freedom of conscience, because that is as sacred as anything.

[232] And if that isn't held sacred than nothing is.

[233] You know, the bishop said the same thing in Colorado, but they said, furthermore, the free exercise clause of the U .S. Constitution First Amendment requires state accommodation of individuals who object to vaccinations on religious grounds.

[234] Government neutrality has also required religious accommodation when the state offers secular exemptions, which is in the case to Colorado, for the medical and non -medical exemptions.

[235] and an exemption through the Americans and Disability Act of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

[236] I want to just finish with this, and people can go online to the bishops in Colorado.

[237] They say this, and this is basically what you said, Bishop Strickland, you're on the same page.

[238] Vaccination is not a universal obligation, and a person must obey his or her own conscience.

[239] Therefore, if a Catholic comes to an informed judgment that he or she should not receive the vaccine, and the Catholic Church requires that person to follow the judgment of conscience and refuse the vaccine.

[240] They say the catechism is clear.

[241] I quote, man has the right to act in conscience and in freedom so as to personally to make moral decisions.

[242] He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience, nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience, especially in religious matters right from the catechism bishop strickland our friends i have an article have told me and i have the article here that the government is going to force by september all the military people all the personnel to uh be vaccinated and i'm hoping that many of the Catholics have all called me and others you say what do we do and i just want to read a short little letter that I wrote for people who want a letter from me here at the Historic Sacred Heart Chapel, I said this letter is to confirm the individual person as a member of the Catholic Church because they're members here.

[243] I affirm that this person has a religious objection to the origins of the currently available coronavirus specifically due to the unethical nature in which the vaccines were tested and manufactured using tissue cells, lines from previous abortions.

[244] I respect his decision to decline the vaccine and affirm that this is in accordance with the Catholic teaching on the sanctity of human life from the moment of conception.

[245] I put director of the historic Sacred Heart Chapel in Covina.

[246] Now, I know many priests in L .A. who will sign a letter, so I would say nurses, they've been calling me. Doctors, I got a doctor.

[247] He wrote to you, Bishop Strickland.

[248] I found out later all the way from L .A. He says, Bishop Strickland.

[249] I said, no, you just go to the local parish.

[250] I got a priest that'll do it.

[251] it.

[252] You don't have to have Bishop Strickland.

[253] It was funny.

[254] The point I'm trying to convey Bishop Strickland is there is a way out in the sense of you don't have to go along with this.

[255] And I think people are starting to realize with all the problems with the vaccine in the sense of health issues, that not just the moral issues, that I think the pushback is starting.

[256] And I would encourage everybody to push back when it comes to life issues because not compromising on this, I believe will be a feather in your cap at your exit interview.

[257] I believe this.

[258] I really do, Bishop Strickland, that they say, well, Terry, why, Mr. Strickland, why didn't you just go along with everybody?

[259] No, because I really felt that if I meant to die 10 years early because I didn't take this vaccine because, you know, I got COVID and I died because I didn't do it.

[260] That's okay.

[261] I'm okay with that because I'm not here to live forever, but I want to live a life that's centered around the moral teachings of Jesus Christ.

[262] And I believe that any connection, my conscience tells me, any connection.

[263] I don't care if it's 50 years away.

[264] It's connected to the killing of an unborn child.

[265] Did you talk to those babies?

[266] I want to throw one more thing at you, Bishop Strickland.

[267] This is a letter, this is an article from Crisis Magazine.

[268] And they use the example that I think is very, very good saying that, You know, the bottom line is an example people give is, let's check this out.

[269] If you had red hair and with sniffles and the only vaccine available was tainted by abortion, you want to get this straight, then Catholics should refuse the vaccine because the evil that resulted from the virus is so minimal.

[270] In the case of any viral pandemic, each Catholic is to decide whether it raises enough significant evil that the remote participation of evil abortion is justified.

[271] Let me just say this.

[272] Less than 1 % of the people who get COVID are going to die.

[273] Okay?

[274] So this is, as doctors have said, as dangerous as the flu, people die from the flu.

[275] Do I get, do I have to be vaccinated for the flu?

[276] No. The point I'm trying to convey Bishop Strickland is, I just think that, you know, we've overreacted to this pandemic where we're wearing, you know, all these masks here in California, and doctors have already pointed out that they're useless.

[277] The virus, the mask doesn't help.

[278] And so it just seems like we've been bamboozled by this virus.

[279] And again, Bishop Strickland, you're a bishop of your diocese in Texas.

[280] But the fact that Catholics are standing up and saying, I'm not going to take the vaccine because I morally think it's objectionable because of my moral conscience regarding the sanctity of life.

[281] I just want to commend people that do that.

[282] That's my take.

[283] Well, I agree.

[284] All right.

[285] Well, let's get to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

[286] There's so many other tweets, but check out Bishop Strickland's tweets on Twitter.

[287] Bishop Strickland, I'm going to open up the Catechism of the Catholic Church to paragraph 223.

[288] We've been talking about the implications of faith in one God.

[289] Now, again, folks, why are we reading the Catechism?

[290] Because the Catechism is a summary of our faith.

[291] And let's just say you were a scientist studying.

[292] bugs, but you never took any courses in bugs.

[293] You just decided, I'm a bug scientist, but you never were taught about it.

[294] It wouldn't make sense.

[295] So we're Christians, and we don't study our faith?

[296] That doesn't make sense.

[297] So the catechism is that tool that we can learn more about our faith.

[298] Well, I'm going to read paragraph 223 under the implications of faith in one God, it says, and people, if you don't have a catechism, I continue to say, let me know.

[299] I'll get you one.

[300] So it says, it means coming to know God's greatness and majesty.

[301] Behold, God is great, and we know him not.

[302] Therefore, we must serve God first.

[303] Well, when we come back from the break, we'll cover that paragraph 223.

[304] I call it the attributes of God that we hardly ever remember anymore in our culture.

[305] But God is great.

[306] We'll talk about that and much more on the Bishop Strickland Hour, on Virgin Most Power Radio.

[307] Stay with us, family.

[308] I'll be right back.

[309] Welcome back, family, to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[310] We're at the part of dealing with the catechism of the Catholic Church, and we just read paragraphs and we talk about it.

[311] And I hope you're like I am.

[312] I just love catechisms because the catechism says things that are so clear.

[313] You really, you know, you just say, wow, somebody really worked on putting that point out.

[314] So here it is The paragraph 223 It means coming to know God's greatness and majesty Behold God is great And we know him not Therefore we must serve God first So priorities But go ahead Bishop Strickham That's a short little sentence Well it just puts in perspective What we're How we're called to live And to be aware How The irony of it To me Terry is that we're so insignificant.

[315] If you think about God, if you think about the creator of the entire universe, but the irony is if we will be humble enough to say yes to God, to seek His will, to repent of our sins, then we become part of his life.

[316] We become more than we could ever imagine we this life is such an interesting journey because we get the impression and we're told especially in modern times I mean here we are using electronics and you're in California and I'm in Texas and we're surrounded by so much of this that it's probably logical that many people have forgotten God because we can do amazing things as it's human beings.

[317] But if we forget God, we're diminished back to that brief at the most 100 years or maybe a few more than that.

[318] And then it's it's over.

[319] And not just over, but we are, if we are, if we're, if we're we reject God, we reject him for eternity.

[320] And that means we're still there, but we're there in darkness and in the absence of God that we call hell.

[321] So the great irony is that this world can so easily tempt us to embrace only this world when we have a destiny that goes that is meant to be eternal.

[322] We're built for eternity.

[323] And that's what we need to remember through God's word, through the sac, through the catechism, with the help of the sacraments, to remember we are built for eternity.

[324] Eternity with God, not just eternity and some, you know, void, but eternity with a relationship of love with the creator of all.

[325] So beautiful.

[326] And paragraph two, two, four, follows up.

[327] It means living in Thanksgiving.

[328] An attitude of gratitude, I was safe.

[329] That's so beautiful.

[330] It means living in Thanksgiving.

[331] If God is the only one, everything we are, and have comes from him.

[332] What have you that you did not receive?

[333] What shall I render to the Lord for all of his bounty to me?

[334] These are all scriptural verses.

[335] But the point of it is it's a Thanksgiving.

[336] You want to share something about that, Bishop Strickland?

[337] Well, absolutely.

[338] If we really, one way of saying it, Terry, is if we really become conscious beings, if we are conscious of the reality, then we immediately are drawn to Thanksgiving because even as you and I are talking, we're breathing and we're being given another moment of life.

[339] the ability to say these words, to have these thoughts, all of that is gift.

[340] We have our free will in how we choose to use that gift of the next breath of life.

[341] And too often, for all of us at times, there are sinful choices that we make.

[342] Some people, it's just on that path of sinfulness.

[343] And what I'm always reminded of is, God is like the story you told about the man who was murderous for most of his life and then converted at the very, very end of his life.

[344] But God was loving him into existence throughout of that time of murder and hatred and evil.

[345] God doesn't stop loving us.

[346] That really is a great manifestation of God's mercy.

[347] Amen.

[348] That he continues to give being to those who are rejecting him and acting in evil ways.

[349] Because God is always playing the long game.

[350] He's always pulling for us to finally wake up like the man did in your story at the very end of his life.

[351] What we need to, part of Thanksgiving is awareness and to be aware that we may not have the next hour or the next day.

[352] We need to be in the spirit of Thanksgiving aware of what we're being given right now and begin to honor the God who has given us the very life we have.

[353] That's the attitude that we need to cultivate.

[354] And the more you cultivate that, the more you are drawn to Thanksgiving and awe of the wondrous gifts that God gives us.

[355] Well, said, you know, Bishop Stricken on a practical level, I always say to people at the end of the night when they do their examination, also after their examination, count their blessings every night.

[356] One thing that my wife and I have, we have a little patio where we can see the sun go down each night.

[357] And as the San Gabriel Mountains are covering the sun, sun when the sun goes behind the mountain our prayer is this we give thee thanks almighty all merciful and all loving god for all the blessings that we have received from thy bounty through christ our lord amen it's typical little prayer but again that day that just you know ended by the sun going behind the mountain that's not going to come back that's it i i mean i might not have tomorrow like you just said And I think that when we think in that sense, we appreciate every day, every moment that we have in our life.

[358] And that's the attitude of gratitude that I think is really needed to be able to deal with our culture today also.

[359] Because if you don't have that, you live in fear.

[360] And fear is useless.

[361] All right, let's get to the next paragraph before we have run out of time.

[362] 225.

[363] it means knowing the unity and the true dignity of all men everyone is made in the image and likeness of God you just said that all through the show you yeah that's a consistent theme that you're saying even someone who's a murderer even you know Fidel Castro when he died someone just told me that they go oh I was you know I love Fidel Castro he just was so good the point of it was God loved him.

[364] I have no idea, you know, what happened at the end of his life because it was God to judge him, but he did some evil things to the people in Cuba.

[365] And that didn't stop God from loving him.

[366] So God loves everyone.

[367] And that's, that I think is very important, especially when I tie it right back into the pro life.

[368] Look at Bernard Nathanson, Dr. Nathanson, killed over 70 million babies through abortion and late in his life, about eight years before he dies, He becomes a Catholic.

[369] And for the last eight years of his life, he runs all over the world trying to make restitution for what he did as a young man. And I want to make a plug.

[370] We just had it shown again at our church chapel here, Roe versus Wade movie, that demonstrates his life story.

[371] Powerful video.

[372] I think 40 days for life are promoting it all over the country.

[373] And I would recommend people to see that.

[374] And you can appreciate how Bernard Nathanson had that attitude of Thanksgiving the last eight years of his life.

[375] There you go, Bishop Strick, and I think we have three minutes.

[376] Let's try and get one more in.

[377] If it means knowing the unity and the true dignity of all men, everyone is made in the image and likeness of God.

[378] So, yeah.

[379] So basically, there's no one that's here that's not made in the image and likeness of God.

[380] So that's something I think we need to think about, especially when we see homeless people, are people we don't like because that can give us the impression that God doesn't make junk as the little kid said to us once everybody's got a dignity so how do we get that dignity and I will say this Bishop Strickland in the last minute it seems to me that we as Christians have a great opportunity to give people true dignity in Christ because let's be honest our Catholic faith has the fullness of the truth for every single soul on planet earth.

[381] But somebody has to go out and share that good news with those people.

[382] And that someone is you, me, the bishop, layman like me, mom, dad, how do we do it through our daily duty?

[383] And I think that that's really the key to having that dignity.

[384] When you think about this Bishop Strickland, and I thought about a attorney friend who for 30 years was with a guy, and you heard the story for 30 years, for 30 years they were Catholic he was Catholic he was non -Catholic the non -Cathic was dying of cancer was in the hospital and the wife of the good Catholic attorney goes up and gives him a rosary and says hey you know let me tell you about the Catholic faith and the guy that hadn't you know been baptized for 30 years he never heard about his Catholic faith and he said to the Catholic man there's the attorney for 30 years his partner dude if if this was important why'd you wait 30 years to tell me about Jesus Christ.

[385] Rejected it.

[386] So don't wait 30 years.

[387] When you're with someone in the employment that you work with, yeah, you don't have to push, you be pushy, but you know what?

[388] There's opportunities for them to say, hey, why are you wearing that piece of, why is that dust on your forehead, or an opportunity, you know, I'm going to midnight mass, or I'm going to go to Easter.

[389] In other words, find opportunities to share your love for Jesus Christ and his bride to church.

[390] That's the message I have.

[391] Bishop Strickland, your final thoughts and then a blessing we're out of time i think coming up what final thoughts we just need to to know who god is so that we can know who we are exactly well said give you a blessing man thank god we ask your blessing for everyone listening and participating that we all may cherish each other as the lord cherishes us and help to build a better world by loving each other in the name of the father the Son and the Holy Spirit.

[392] Amen.

[393] And I want to give them a last plug for your Institute, Bishop Strickland.

[394] We have 55 seconds, but I love giving plugs to your institute.

[395] Can you share that one website for the folks?

[396] Sure.

[397] St. Philip Institute .org.

[398] It's just an institute about catechesis and evangelization, sharing the truth that sets us free.

[399] Amen.

[400] The good news of Jesus Christ.

[401] I love it.

[402] We have it on our screen if you're looking at it right now, folks.

[403] Bishop Strickland, thanks again, and we thank all of our listeners who make this possible and share it with your friends.

[404] You can get all of the podcasts of Bishop Strickland and all of the shows from Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[405] And I'm going to say, may God bless you all, and I hope to see you again.

[406] And thanks again for all the support.

[407] You can go to vmpr .org to get our website and to download our free app.

[408] You can listen to the show anywhere in the world.

[409] God love you and your family.