17 Nov 2020 – The Ninth Commandment (Pt. 2)

[0] Welcome to the Bishop Strickland Hour on Virgin Most Power Radio.

[1] We've been going through the Ten Commandments for those who just join us.

[2] Another couple thousand people from YouTube just joined us this week.

[3] So welcome.

[4] We are covering the Ten Commandments of the Catholic Church and the sacraments will be going on just teaching the fundamentals of the faith with our Bishop Strickland.

[5] And also we cover the first half hour of the show taking Bishop Strickland's tweets that he sends out almost daily.

[6] and talking about the tweets and why he sent that out for a specific reason and let him explain it verbally to us.

[7] So we're on the Ninth Commandment and when we'll come back after the first two segments to get back to the segments on the commandments, Bishop Strickland, thanks again for sharing the gospel with us.

[8] Thank you, Terry.

[9] I love you.

[10] Bishop Strickland, on your tweet of the 13th Day of the 40 -day devotion from Acts chapter 4 verse 12, you read something that is close to my heart.

[11] I told you off the air, I said, I love preaching this part, that there's no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are saved.

[12] You know, this verse, you said, expresses the firm foundation of the church from the very beginning, that Jesus is Lord.

[13] Bishop Strickland, why repeat that now in the, well, we're in the month of November now, but what's the, why are you bringing this?

[14] up?

[15] Is it because elections are going on or what?

[16] Tell me a little bit more.

[17] Well, I think there are just a lot of questions about who is God, who are we, and a lot of people deny the existence of God.

[18] And all of that denial doesn't change reality.

[19] And the Catholic Church's proclamation for 2 ,000 years, guided by the Holy Spirit, we're believe.

[20] And I think there's pretty good evidence of that guidance because what else is still here that was here 2 ,000 years ago.

[21] Well, said.

[22] Not anything, really.

[23] People and the church.

[24] But it really comes down to, and that's why I quoted that, it's one of my favorites also.

[25] And it's just such clarity from the scriptures to be reminded who Jesus is, the eternal son of God.

[26] God, who is with the Father and the Spirit long before this universe existed, and long after, long, I say, I mean, timeless.

[27] It's unfathomable for us as humans to really understand.

[28] And for us as mere humans to claim any other deity, any other idol, any other God, And whether we do that formally or informally, we talk about a lot of things that people turn into idols.

[29] I mean, we have a television show, American Idol.

[30] There are a lot of idols in our culture that take us away from God.

[31] But if we believe in God and we believe John 316, God's soul of the world, that he sent his only begotten son, then one of the things I love about our Catholic faith is that it's logical.

[32] It fits together.

[33] It makes sense.

[34] If there is one God, if God sent his son, then it's just logical that he's the only savior we have.

[35] There's only one son of God.

[36] Actually, no one has seriously, in the Judeo -Christian tradition, no one else has ever claimed to be the son of God.

[37] Other, you know, some of the Caesars claim to be God.

[38] But really the claim that Jesus makes, especially with his Hebrew brothers and sisters as part of the Jewish family, that's why in some ways, I mean, there were many reasons that they wanted to eliminate him.

[39] But that was one of the greatest accusations.

[40] he claimed to be the son of God.

[41] We believe he is the son of God.

[42] And so it just makes perfect sense that he's the only savior we have.

[43] And it takes us into the supernatural faith that as we've talked about before is so lacking.

[44] Even in the church, too many times people are going through the motions and saying, oh, I don't really believe that, or I'm not so sure about that.

[45] Did Jesus really rise from the dead?

[46] Absolutely.

[47] And that's the kind of response we need to help people.

[48] If they have faith, we can always deepen that faith.

[49] The saints show us that.

[50] All of the saints are people who grew in their faith.

[51] They may have started off as holy, but they grew in holiness.

[52] And the saints are sinners also.

[53] The Blessed Virgin Mary is the only human being that was ever sinless by the power of God's grace.

[54] Of course, Jesus Christ, but he's not just human.

[55] He's also God, fully God and fully man. So we have one Savior, and for those who believe, we need to be very clear about that.

[56] And for those who don't believe in God, or don't believe in a savior, we still have to keep repeating to them because they can come to faith too.

[57] It's amazing, Terry.

[58] How many atheists have become Catholic?

[59] Oh, yeah.

[60] I know a lot.

[61] They're well known in written books and many people that say at one time, I didn't even believe in God.

[62] And they have come full spectrum.

[63] Some of them stop along.

[64] the way at various religions and churches, but many atheists come directly to the Catholic faith.

[65] And I think that is because the Holy Spirit guides them, God's own spirit, guides them.

[66] Once they believe, their eyes open, and they turn to the true church that Christ established.

[67] We cannot be arrogant about that because the church is broken and human also, but she is holy because Christ established her and the Holy Spirit, as he promised, is with her.

[68] Bishop Strickland, what you just said, I've seen in my own eyes, I've seen people who tell me they don't believe in God, and I say, go visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

[69] They were baptized Catholics, but they lost their faith.

[70] And I said, ask Jesus Christ for more faith when you're there before him in the Blessed Sacrament.

[71] And gosh, I have to tell you, Bishop Strickland, I have seen people get their faith renewed through Eucharistic adoration.

[72] So that's, to me, what do I tell people, ask Jesus?

[73] I'll raise my hand.

[74] Me too.

[75] My faith has deepened with adoration.

[76] Me too.

[77] And I can say that I have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

[78] Amen.

[79] That is deeper than ever before.

[80] And I've got a long way to go.

[81] But it's deeper.

[82] I'm right behind you.

[83] I believe it or not before this show, I'll have to confess I fell asleep before the Blessed Sacrament this afternoon.

[84] but I was still there with Jesus, and I woke up, I said, I've got to go do the Bishop Strickland hour.

[85] But anyway, I'm blessed about 60 feet away from our studio.

[86] We have the Blessed Sacrament.

[87] Bishop Strickland, talking about the Blessed Sacrament that you talk about a lot, and I try to do the same thing.

[88] On day 12 of your 40 -day devotion, you remind us, kind of like what John Bosco, Don Bosco, said about the anchors of our faith.

[89] He said, you know, the Eucharist and the Blessed Mother, well, here's what you said.

[90] The two anchors that hold us steady in these times is Jesus's real presence in the Eucharist and the Immaculate Virgin Mary as a faithful intercessor.

[91] And then you said, turn to these sources of sheer hope as we pray through these days.

[92] I'm with you, but it seems to me that the church has been telling us for a long time.

[93] You're not the first one to say that.

[94] Well, you mentioned St. John Bosco.

[95] many of the saints speak of that kind of devotion.

[96] And again, it makes sense.

[97] If you really believe in what the church teaches, then absolutely the Son of God is the one we are called to grow closer to and to follow him as disciples.

[98] The Blessed Virgin Mary, the woman chosen to be his mother, was the first disciple.

[99] She said yes to the age of the gospel.

[100] She said yes to the incarnation of God's own son and conceived him in her womb in the power of the Holy Spirit.

[101] So again, it's just logical if you really believe.

[102] And that's what I would encourage everyone.

[103] If you have a hint of faith, let it come into a flame of faith and let it continue to grow.

[104] And you'll see the saints who were consumed by faith.

[105] and that's what we're all called to, ultimately.

[106] Well said.

[107] Bishop Strickland, you have also a little quote that fits right into that where you said, he's waiting for you when nothing else find.

[108] Here it is, St. John Paul Too's quote, he is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you.

[109] I'll tell you, the world is in desperate need of Eucharistic adoration, and some of us don't even know it.

[110] That's why I'm happy that you are communicating this to our, flock, that Eucharistic adoration is essential to living a Christ -centered life.

[111] Absolutely.

[112] Because it's being right there in the presence of Jesus Christ, the same one we read about in the Gospels.

[113] Well said.

[114] Bishop Strickland, I always like to have a plug for your institute.

[115] I know you smile every time I say it, but I mean this.

[116] I want people to know how they can benefit from all the good catechesis that you're doing in the Diocese of Tyler.

[117] tell us a little bit more about your institute yeah the st philip institute of saint philip institute dot org is the website philip with one l um it it exists to teach to teach the good news of jesus christ the gospel message and when i mentioned good news it's not all easy news i think people want things easy, but life is not easy.

[118] And that part of the good news of the gospel of Jesus is, as St. John Paul the second alluded to, when things get tough, when things get dark, when there's tragedy and sadness, turn to Jesus.

[119] He's the light of the world.

[120] Well said, we're going to come back also and talk a little bit about our lady.

[121] We'll be right back.

[122] Logan, what has Virgin most powerful radio done for you?

[123] Well, Virgin Most Powerful Radio, I've got to say, I've been a listener for about a year now.

[124] And this really helped me grow closer to my faith in the fact that I'm listening and I'm getting unsugarcoded, clear, charity with clarity, Catholicism.

[125] And it's really helped me even, you know, grows so much deeper in my faith as a young man and discern the priesthood and have a love for Jesus Christ.

[126] This is so seen on the Darian Jesse show, the Virgin Most Powerful, the Un -Sugar -coated Clear Truth of our Catholic faith that is so lacking today.

[127] It's almost like the Terry and Jesse show.

[128] It's the oranges Catholicism.

[129] and it's filling things up.

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[131] I'm just so appreciative.

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[133] It inspires me to want to speak it.

[134] And it inspires me to even go as far as discerning the priesthood to think, I should speak this.

[135] We need to stand up for our beautiful faith.

[136] This is the unsugar -coded beauty, and this is just what I've seen on the Terry and Jesse.

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[138] It has just truly impacted my life, and all I just want to give us some praise to it.

[139] Ciroc 1124 says, Do not say I am self -sufficient.

[140] What harm can come to me now?

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

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

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

[144] This is Terry Barber.

[145] I want to thank you for your support.

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[151] Thank you so much for your support.

[152] welcome back to the bishop strickland hour on version of the most powerful radio i just took a break over to the chapel and there's 25 people on their knees praying with a month senior at our chapel they're all coming to pray for our country and i thought wow the message is getting out our churches are open for people to come and pray so bishop strickland was talking about great devotion to the euchrist and to our lady bishop strickland before i go on i this is the month of the poor soul in purgatory.

[153] We say the whole month of November, we can pray specifically for the poor souls and purgatory.

[154] As a matter of fact, can I just share a Padre Peele's story?

[155] And then I want you to kind of give us a catechesis on the teachings, why the church teaches that there's purgatory.

[156] This is my story.

[157] I read this a long time ago because I was at Padre Peele's canonization June of 2002, so I have a great love for him.

[158] But this is some friars who live in Giovanni Routondo once heard a mysterious sound coming from the friary.

[159] It sounded like one of the friars said like voices singing, a beautiful harmony.

[160] No one could find the source.

[161] So Padre Pio was deep in prayer at the time, and someone approached him and asked him if he knew where the singing was coming from.

[162] He was like, what?

[163] I was like, he says, as if it was in a deep sleep, he said, he answered, why are you all so surprised they are the voices of angels who are taking souls from purgatory into paradise so you talk about having a supernatural outlook bishop strickland that our church needs that padre peel saw that so i want to ask you the bishop teach us why we should have devotion and why we should be praying for the dead especially during the month of november Well, in many ways, it gets to the heart of what we believe.

[164] Both of us know, and anyone who is an adult really should know, that this life is over in a fleeting moment.

[165] We're both in our 60s.

[166] That's right.

[167] And, you know, we're not here forever.

[168] young people especially teenagers many times they lose their lives early because they take risk they do things they think they're indestructible none of us are indestructible we're all going to die we can talk a little bit later about the the four last things death judgment heaven and hell that's why we pray for the souls in purgatory and the concept of purgatory is simply it comes from scripture where Jesus tells us that we must be perfect as the heavenly father is perfect but if we're honest with ourselves even the saints may not be completely perfect they're closer than I am for sure probably closer than you but they they're not perfect or possibly not.

[169] Maybe some of the saints needed a little purgatory.

[170] One thing that we have to, I think that purgatory is a great moment, a great concept to get many different aspects of what it means to believe.

[171] Amen.

[172] Because purgatory reminds us that God is timeless.

[173] The timeless God has entered into our time.

[174] bound world, entered into creation through his son, becoming a human being who lived in a certain place in time.

[175] And it reminds us, Jesus Christ is that great mystery of human and timeless.

[176] How is that possible?

[177] We really don't know.

[178] We talk about the hypostatic union and use the deepest theology we have and it still doesn't explain how is a timeless being bound to time and jesus the risen lord is once again in his timeless reality so for us timebound creatures we have a brief time to live in this world that is natural not supernatural there's supernatural elements in the world there's always a relationship between the two.

[179] And the whole idea of purgatory is to remember that we are destined for eternal life with God.

[180] But if we take Jesus seriously, which we should, we have to be perfect to be in that beatific vision.

[181] So purgatory is about purgation, about being purified, being cleansed.

[182] And so that's why we pray for the holy souls, holy souls in purgatory.

[183] That means that they have embraced the faith.

[184] They've done their best to live virtuous lives.

[185] They die without stain of mortal sin, but they die as sinners.

[186] There's a whole mystery that the church talks about the temporal consequences of our sin.

[187] And frankly, Terry, I continue to pray every day in repentance of my past sins and pray that I can offer even the tiniest little inconvenience or the little pain that increases as you go older.

[188] But offer it as reparation for those sins.

[189] For this timebound world, we can, touching the supernatural, touching the timeless, we can make a difference for ourselves and for others.

[190] We were talking earlier about the idea of indulgences.

[191] And people say, oh, that's old -timey church.

[192] that's passed and we don't do that anymore.

[193] Certainly, the selling of indulgences and getting caught up in worldly concerns about indulgences is inappropriate.

[194] But the idea of indulgences is simply that we can through prayer and sacrifices and doing supernatural things in this natural world, what we might call holy things, you mentioned visiting a cemetery during November or any time, but you can gain an indulgence.

[195] What is that?

[196] It's a spiritual blessing for doing something that you're reminding yourself, and you can offer that for a loved one that may likely be in purgatory.

[197] We talk about being in purgatory, and again, it reminds us, it's not a place the way, you know, there in California.

[198] I'm here in Texas.

[199] Pergatory somewhere to the left of California.

[200] No. It's not a place as heaven or hell are not really places as we think of them in our spatial world of geometry and the planets and everything.

[201] But it's the best language we have to speak of purgatory as a place, probably more accurate to talk about a state of being.

[202] Pergatory is that state of being where thankfully, thanks be to God, you're not condemned to hell, you're not in eternal damnation and devastation, but you're not in the beatific vision either.

[203] You're in an in -between place being purged, being cleansed by the grace of God, ultimately being forgiven your sins and your failings that cause you to not be perfect.

[204] Pergatory, again, Speaking of it in terms of time and place, it just doesn't work.

[205] For God, a thousand years is but a moment, in a moment is as a thousand years.

[206] God is timeless.

[207] So when we timebound beings enter into the godly realm that is timeless, it's beyond our understanding.

[208] Pergatory may be an instant in God's time.

[209] And it may feel like centuries.

[210] We don't know.

[211] So we do our best to make reparation, to repent of our sins, to grow in holiness, so that whatever purgatory is, it can be the shortest duration possible for each of us.

[212] I mean, I would imagine, Terry, that you and I hope to make it to purgatory.

[213] Absolutely.

[214] Then you know that you have been saved by the grace of Jesus Christ.

[215] and you have the opportunity to enter into that beatific vision, but you still have some work to do.

[216] God is still working on you.

[217] He's not done yet, even as we say in this world, God's not done with me. And that's what purgatory is about.

[218] You know, Bishop Strickland, thank you for that catechesis.

[219] I always think of at the second coming of Christ, when everything comes together, there will not be by purgatory.

[220] All those souls in purgatory will be released to heaven, so they know that.

[221] And so it's a matter of time.

[222] I just wanted to throw one more added thing in that in order to attain these indulgences, a Catholic in the state of grace must have the intention to obtain it and fulfill the following conditions.

[223] This is right in the catechism too.

[224] A visit to, like I say, a cemetery, praying for the dead, even if it's only mentally.

[225] Be, make a sacramental confession within 20 days before or after will suffice for the indulgences a person obtains from within that period.

[226] Also, receive Holy Communion.

[227] D, recite at least in our Father, Hail Mary for the Holy Father.

[228] And also, B, this is the toughest one, I always say, to be free from the attachment of all sin, including venial sin.

[229] Now, one plenary indulgence may be obtained each day.

[230] The indulgence become partial if the conditions are partially fulfilled.

[231] And I want to just note one more thing about the attachment to sin.

[232] and sometimes people wonder whether it's possible for them to be completely detached from venial sin.

[233] And this author that I read, I really liked the way he said it, Bishop Strickland.

[234] He said, I believe the answer can be found in Mark 10.

[235] When Jesus tells his disciples how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God, and they wonder, who can be saved?

[236] And for human beings, it's impossible.

[237] But for God, Jesus tells them all things are possible for God.

[238] and so I appreciate your catechesis.

[239] We're going to run right into the Ninth Commandment, and maybe next week we can have a little teaching since it's still the month of November on the four last things because that's such an important topic, Bishop Strickland.

[240] I also want to remind everybody when we talk about purgatory, Dr. Scott Hahn, we're going to talk a little bit just a quick note about a book that Bishop Strickland endorsed.

[241] It's called Hope to Die.

[242] Bishop Strickland, why were you endorsing?

[243] that book because I actually have read that book and it's awesome.

[244] Yeah, it is.

[245] And I think it brings Catholics and others, but certainly as Catholics, it's part of the treasure of our faith to understand what the resurrection of Jesus Christ really means.

[246] And he has some great discussion about the distinctions between life as creatures of this world and the life of the soul that is called to everlasting life.

[247] I think we need to ponder those kinds of things.

[248] And Dr. Hahn does a great job of, I love his writing.

[249] It's always clear.

[250] It's always very accessible, but very deep at the same time.

[251] And he talks about the resurrected body of Christ and what our resurrected bodies may be like.

[252] To me, it inspired me to reflect on the reality that Jesus is the risen Lord.

[253] Yes, at a moment in time, he was dead and rose from the dead.

[254] But now he is once again timeless.

[255] And so he is the resurrection.

[256] It's not a past event, but it's a reality that he calls us to embrace and to live in the light of.

[257] Wow.

[258] If people want to get three CDs on the resurrection by Scott Hahn, I'll give him to him like a download.

[259] Just call 877 -52621 -5.

[260] Got a lot of Scott Hahn recordings.

[261] When we come back, we'll talk about the ninth map of the Bishop Strickland.

[262] Don't turn that title.

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[287] This is Terry Barber.

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

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[293] Thank you so much for your support.

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

[295] We're now going to move into the Ten Commandments.

[296] We're on the Ninth Commandment.

[297] For those who are brand new, if you want to listen to the past talks on the commandments, all you have to do is go to the podcast at Virgin Most Powerful Radio .org.

[298] and on our website and also on our free app for your phone.

[299] You can listen to them for free.

[300] Bishop Strickland, our Ninth Command, but I think we can finish it up today.

[301] We're talking about you shall not covet a neighbor's house.

[302] You shall not covet your neighbor's wife or a man's servant or his man -made servant or his ox or his ass or anything that is your neighbor's.

[303] So we're talking about paragraph 2520 and says battle for purity.

[304] And we're talking about baptism.

[305] And we're just talking about purity in general.

[306] Lots of paragraphs.

[307] Why purity?

[308] I mean, the sixth and ninth commandment, obviously purity is essential to be able to implement staying faithful to those commandments.

[309] But can you give us some pointers on the benefits of how do we battle purity and how do we overcome these bad thoughts in one's life?

[310] Well, I think that the whole issue of the battle for purity comes down to really taking seriously the great commandments.

[311] Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.

[312] And a lot of people might think, well, that's not talking about purity, but all of the sins against purity ultimately are about loving something more than God, being something that is more attractive than the truth that God is revealed to us.

[313] And certainly, we don't consciously, I don't think many people, if anyone, seriously, as we're falling into some sin against purity, whatever it may be, we're not saying, okay, I'm going to reject God and I'm going to embrace this.

[314] But purity gets to the very, to the appetites that really are very powerful in each of our lives, the appetites for, and certainly a lot of times, and certainly it's appropriate to think of purity in terms of sexual purity and chastity.

[315] But I think that the battle for purity certainly includes that, but it's also broader than that.

[316] Anything that is taking us, is replacing the love of God with heart, soul, and mind is impure.

[317] And even in the Old Testament, they talk about sacrificing to idols and things become impure because of that.

[318] So purity is, I think one other way to describe it is to be godly, to be godlike, to be, God is total purity, purity of love, God is love.

[319] And we tend to let our love be corrupted by false gods and by attractions of all.

[320] kinds, certainly sexual and physical, but also attractions of power, attractions of influence, attractions of popularity.

[321] All of those ultimately make us impure in the sense that we've replaced God with something else.

[322] And to an extent, in my life and your life, when we commit a venial sin at least for that moment if it truly is sinful we've in a small way we've said i choose this rather than loving god with all my heart soul and mind and strength and so and also the question of purity i think flows also over into the second commandment to love your neighbor as yourself to really do that purely, to be pure in your love for neighbor, it means you're not using them for your own pleasure, for your own fulfillment, not using them as an object of your ambition.

[323] There are all kinds of ways that we can really be impure in violating that second commandment as well, to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

[324] And it's interesting, Terry, because as I think about those great commandments, even loving ourselves becomes a challenge.

[325] A lot of what I believe in the psychologist and spiritual experts tell us that a lot of what's broken in our world is that we don't believe God loves us.

[326] And so we don't love ourselves.

[327] and many people are caught up in really sinful and destructive behaviors because they don't believe that God loves them and they don't really love themselves.

[328] We don't value ourselves the way that we should know that God does.

[329] So I think as we talk about the battle for purity, it really is connected to all sin in a very real sense.

[330] Bishop Strickland, you nailed it and you made it very, you covered a lot there.

[331] I have had the experience talking to young girls on purity.

[332] And young men, I always quote 2521 about purity requires modesty and integral part of temperance.

[333] Modesty protects the intimate center of the person.

[334] It means refusing to unveil what should remain hidden.

[335] It is ordered to chastity to those sensitivity bears witness.

[336] It guides how one looks at others and behaves towards them in conformity with the dignity of persons and their solidarity.

[337] I have asked, this is paragraph 2521, and I've noticed when I've talked to, especially young women, and it's difficult for me this old man to talk to them about purity, but I tell the women, I mention to them that they're temples of the Holy Spirit and that they shouldn't be exposing themselves to anybody, that they're sacred, and that God loves them.

[338] and I found this to be the case.

[339] What you just said, many of those women, when I talk to them, don't believe that they're loved by God, and they're searching, and they're reaching out.

[340] And you know what else I noticed, Bishop Strickland?

[341] And this is something as a dad, I realized, as I have a couple daughters, that if the daughters don't get the love from their father at home, that they're going to look elsewhere to get it.

[342] Now, that's been my experience, Bishop Strickland, and I've read that in books but I've also tried to make it so that my daughter's got a lot of hugs from their daddy all through growing up and even today when they're adults guess what I do when I see my daughters they know daddy's going to give them a big hug and I think that's important for our culture that they see that in culture so here's my question do you think I'm on to something about the women especially who don't understand their own dignity that they're wearing clothes that they think the culture says is cool, but they don't really have an understanding of their own dignity as temples of the Holy Spirit.

[343] Absolutely, Terry.

[344] And I think that many of those issues are deeply embedded in the struggles that people have.

[345] If you talk to young people, young women, young men, they very often are the idea of, a healthy love of self and a respect for yourself is often very missing and it's rooted very often as you were talking Terry it reminds me how do we live all of this how do we manage to be pure and be chased and and avoid sin and all the things this perfection that we were talking about earlier in terms of purgatory um as you pointed out it's It's impossible for us, but by the grace of God, it is possible.

[346] And what occurs to me is with all these issues, with all the things that we are challenged for ourselves and for our families, that's what it comes down to.

[347] The place where you can grow in purity, where you can grow in a healthy love of self, where you can grow in your love of God and understanding of who God is as a healthy love.

[348] Heavenly Father, it's all in the family.

[349] And when the family's broken, as St. John Paul the second said, when the family is broken, it affects the world, it affects the church, it affects the nation, it affects every other family.

[350] And that's a lot of what we're struggling with at this time.

[351] That's why we need to go through the Ten Commandments and remind people of these basic truths because that the the font of a sanctified soul is the family for those daughters you know and you may think well what difference is a hug or two going to make but it's a way of living and as you've seen as you've watched your children grow up yeah they're like little sponges right they pick up on everything they absorb the good and probably I think in my own experience and experience in dealing with others struggling with sin.

[352] I think we're even better at absorbing the bad.

[353] I hate to say it right.

[354] Yep.

[355] You know, for you as a loving father, you have to reinforce that your love for your daughters and your sons over and over again.

[356] And it doesn't take many episodes of a father or mother demonstrating a lack of love and that's what it's like it leaves spiritual scars for that child that make it very hard to overcome we talk about that with our you know there there's a lot of discussion of family of origin issues and even that's more or less psychological term it reminds us the what of origin issues family of origin issues it's in the family where we flourish or we don't and so these issues of living the perfection that the gospel calls us to that feels impossible and is impossible without God.

[357] The laboratory for that, the hot house, you might say, where humans can grow and flourish and become the beautiful beings that God wants us to be is in the family.

[358] Well, said, we're going to take a quick break here on the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[359] We're going to wrap it up with this last segment.

[360] just summarizing the Ninth Commandment, and we'll have that one in the bag, so to speak.

[361] And I just want to thank all of you who have been supporting us here at Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[362] If you'd like to make a donation, you can go to virgin most powerful radio .org or call us at 877526215.

[363] We'll be right back with more to inspire you.

[364] Paul Deeper in Love with Jesus.

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

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

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[377] Thank you.

[378] God bless you.

[379] Keep the faith.

[380] Jesus said in Luke 17, When you have done all that you were ordered to do, say we are unprofitable servants, we have only done our duty.

[381] According to St. John of the Cross, God is pleased with the little deeds we do in secret.

[382] He takes more pleasure in these than in a multitude of grand works that we may do out of the desire to be seen by others.

[383] May God help us to do the things that please him and not just to appear great in the eyes of others.

[384] This is Terry Barber.

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[390] Thank you so much for your support.

[391] Welcome back to the Bishop Strickman Hour.

[392] I'm excited because anytime I can study my Catholic faith, and I hope you're like me out there, it inspires me to fall deeper in love with Jesus Christ and his bride to church.

[393] And this catechism I'm holding, everybody should own one of these books, along with the Bible.

[394] And I want to just say that I know we're all kind of locked down here in California and maybe out in Texas, you've got some restrictions.

[395] Take the extra time to study your faith.

[396] the rewards are out of this world.

[397] Okay, I mean, and so what I want to do in this segment, Bishop Strickland, is just kind of summarize this ninth commandment.

[398] I think you've eloquently stated the sixth and ninth really are connected.

[399] But in brief, on the catechism, it covers a section after each commandment.

[400] It'll give you a brief explanation.

[401] So it quotes 25, 28, which is a paragraph in the catechism that's quoting the gospel of Matthew, who says, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

[402] Now, Bishop Strickland, I have had to share that, quote, that scripture verse with young men.

[403] And they go, what?

[404] Are you kidding me?

[405] I say, yes.

[406] That's why the custody of the eyes are so important, dude.

[407] You've got to be able to say no to yourself, and that's going to take effort.

[408] And, guys, we all fall.

[409] I just want you to know, I've fallen.

[410] I've got to go to confession.

[411] I'm not perfect.

[412] So I just want to ask you, Bishop Strickland, that brief section that you have in the catechism that quotes Matthew Chapter 5, I just think that sometimes people think that that's hyperbole, that that's not true that you can really sin with, can you explain what the church teaches on what it takes to commit a mortal sin?

[413] Because I think people need to hear the elements that are involved in committing a mortal sin?

[414] Sure.

[415] For one, one of the main things is that you have to know it's wrong.

[416] Yep.

[417] And you have to intend freely to commit the sin.

[418] And you have to actually commit it.

[419] That those elements of, so, you know, you probably don't remember, or maybe you do, you're old enough.

[420] But Flip Wilson.

[421] Yeah.

[422] The devil made me do it.

[423] Certainly, the devil can tempt us and evil can tempt us.

[424] But ultimately, that's a blessing that God has given us.

[425] It's part of being in the image and likeness of God is that we have free will.

[426] And I guess one important aspect of committing sin of any kind, but certainly mortal sin, is that you freely choose.

[427] use your free will to choose something that you know is wrong and you choose it anyway.

[428] So, you know, there can be circumstances where, and, you know, you talk about culpability and invincible ignorance and all of that.

[429] But in simple terms, if you know it's wrong and you consciously choose it, you're committing sin.

[430] Certainly, one element is conscious.

[431] I know without getting into detail, one thing that people can struggle with is things that happen in their sleep.

[432] If you're truly asleep, you're not committing sin.

[433] You don't have free will there.

[434] If you're not sure you were asleep, just go to confession, get it over with.

[435] But, I mean, I think it is important to recognize.

[436] And a lot of times, I mean, it's interesting when you get into the moral theology, And I'm certainly not an expert in moral theology, but the basics are if you place yourselves in a situation where your freedom to choose between good and evil is diminished, something like drinking alcohol, certainly.

[437] And it goes back to, we haven't really talked about that much as we visited through these weeks, but the church does not say that it's immoral to have a beer or to have a glass of wine.

[438] Right.

[439] Where the immorality begins to come in is freely choosing to have too much beer or wine or really any substance to the point that it begins to diminish your ability to choose.

[440] You nailed it.

[441] And so the whole question like you're talking about with talking to teenage boys or girls about, you know, some of the challenges.

[442] And specifically, the Matthew 5, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

[443] That's a pretty challenging for all of us, especially in our world today.

[444] You can hardly turn on the television without being at least tempted in that direction.

[445] In what I was talking about with that freedom to choose, if you've had too much to drink, you're much more likely, your inhibitions are reduced.

[446] And so you're much more likely to fall into that sin that Matthew 5 talks about.

[447] I think we can put it back into the context that we talked about already.

[448] God calls us to be perfect.

[449] and that is about as high a bar as we can have as human beings and we can say that's impossible how can I live this part of the mystery is becoming wise enough to know that yes you're right it's not possible and to rely not on ourselves but on the grace of God and that's why we seek holiness.

[450] That's why we turn to those indulgences that we were talking about earlier ultimately to grow in holiness.

[451] Many of the saints talk about tremendous temptations and very often the saints witnessed to us that because they were very holy in this life, very often they are greatly tempted.

[452] St. Teresa of Calcutta, often called Mother Teresa.

[453] still talks about that a lot she was tempted to despair and you know the world saw her as a very holy woman she was a holy woman but she was tempted into that darkness of despair and we're all tempted so ultimately I guess you could say we just need to get over it yeah we have to have God's grace in the strength of his holiness to help us do these impossible things like avoiding sins of lust and in chastity.

[454] And Bishop Strickon, if I can add something to that, I always encourage people to ask Jesus Christ for more faith every single day.

[455] And I want to mention something to a married man. I have a lot of married men who I call me from our radio shows and they're still dealing with the issue of pornography, which is huge in our culture.

[456] And one thing that I recommend, and I just say that I put a little image of Our Lady on your computer, but also renew your marriage vows with your wife on a regular basis.

[457] Don't wait to the 25th anniversary of the 50th, if you make it that far.

[458] Start doing that on a regular basis because what that does is it recommits you to your spouse, to your wife, or to your husband, and that should help when it comes to temptation because love, Bishop Sheen said it this way.

[459] He said, if one loves, everything is easy.

[460] If one doesn't, everything is hard.

[461] So it really comes down to renewing your love for your spouse, for your husband or wife, and that also helps a heck of a lot when it comes to lust.

[462] Because so many times when you are a married man and you're in love with your wife, and you really truly love her, when other things come your way, you're going, I mean, you get out of here.

[463] I'm a married man. I mean, I've had that where someone came to do that.

[464] I said, I'm a happily married man. Get out of here, woman.

[465] And it was someone who was trying to, you know, be an appropriate thing.

[466] And so here's my point is keep your marriage strong by renewing your vows.

[467] And also, I make one other comment, and I'll throw it back to you, Bishop Strickland.

[468] The greatest thing I can do as a father is love my kid's mother.

[469] And vice versa.

[470] I found to be a very effective thing.

[471] So wrapping up the Ninth Commandment, we were wrapping up on modesty, Bishop Strickland, we have, gosh, just a couple minutes, three or four minutes.

[472] I just want to reach out to the folks who are listening who have been wounded by sexual abuse.

[473] Women, one out of three women have been abused sexually, and that really affects their view of themselves and their relationship with Christ.

[474] Do you have anything to say to people who have had sexual abuse?

[475] as a youngster and how they can overcome this in their adult life with purity?

[476] Well, absolutely.

[477] And that, I mean, that is devastating because it leaves scars that people carry very often through the rest of their lives.

[478] I think that certainly helping them and them helping themselves to really believe God loves them and that they are precious before God.

[479] they may not feel that and it takes some time to be healed from that but I think that that's a that's probably the best place to start is just with really remembering that they are beloved of God and that whatever was done to them we call it abuse because it was a disrespect for the precious gift that they are amen well so Bishop Strickland how about if we pray a prayer for the poor souls in purgatory since this is the month of November.

[480] Maybe you could lead us in that and then a blessing for our audience.

[481] Sure.

[482] In the name of the Father and the Son of the Holy Spirit, amen.

[483] Heavenly Father, we ask your blessing and grace for all those who are in purgatory, who have died and are seeking the perfection that you call them to in order to be in your everlasting presence.

[484] Help us to pray for those who have died and to remember it is a holy and pious thought to pray for the dead.

[485] Because you are the Lord of Life and you call us all to share in that gift of life.

[486] We pray for those who have died, died with some sin on their souls, but seeking to live and love you fully, that they may be forgiven their sins and allowed to enter into your everlasting presence.

[487] We ask your blessing for all who are listening, that they may be guided always in the light of your Holy Spirit.

[488] And we ask this, in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

[489] Amen.

[490] Thank you, Bishop Strickland.

[491] I just want to recommend Dr. Scott Hahn did a series called Answering Common Objections, and one of those are on purgatory, all kinds of objections.

[492] He did it in their audio recordings, and I want to give this to our listenership here that listen to you each week.

[493] And the way they can do that is ask for the answering common objection series.

[494] I'll download it a file to you, our listener.

[495] If you want to make a donation grade, if you don't, that's okay.

[496] I want you to be a high information Catholic.

[497] Remember, St. Henry Newman said the worst thing in the Catholic Church is an ignorant laity.

[498] But with Bishop Strickland teaching us every week, we've got no excuse.

[499] Bishop Strickland, I want to thank you again for taking the time out of your busy schedule to teach.

[500] I know you're supposed to teach governed and sanctify, but you're teaching us.

[501] here at Virgin Most Powerful to fall deep in love with Jesus Christ and His Bride, the Church.

[502] May God bless you in your Hilo Diocese, and I pray that we can do this again next week on the same Christ time, same Christ station.

[503] May everybody here listening, have a wonderful week, and may the Lord bless you abundantly in your family life.

[504] God love you and your family.

[505] St. Faustina's Prayer for Priests O my Jesus, I beg thee on behalf of the whole church, grant it love and the light of thy spirit and give power to the words of priests so that hardened hearts might be brought to repentance and return to thee, O Lord.

[506] Lord, give us holy priests.

[507] Thou thyself maintain them in holiness.

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

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

[510] For thou canst do all things.

[511] Amen.

[512] Virgin Most Powerful, pray for us.

[513] Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[514] Sharing the gospel with clarity and charity.