05 Jan 2021 – Reflections on Advent and the Octave of Christmas

[0] Welcome to the Bishop Stricklandauer.

[1] My name's Terry Barber, and we're here every week on Virgin Most Powerful radio to talk about our Catholic faith.

[2] For those who are just joining us, the thousands of people who are joining us each week on YouTube, we want to welcome you.

[3] What we do is we talk about issues like the Ten Commandments, the Seven Sacraments.

[4] We're going to be talking next week about a series called the Seven Dead sins.

[5] But before we do all of that, we also talk about Bishop Strickland's tweets.

[6] And today's tweets are all about Advent and the coming of Christ and Christmas.

[7] So we're going to talk about that also today.

[8] But Bishop Strickland, put your seatbelt on because I'm going to ask you a question again regarding the COVID -19 and the ongoing debate about the vaccines.

[9] And the reason I'm bringing it up is a friend of a virgin most powerful radio who's on our network.

[10] His name is Father Chad Ripper at LifeSight News.

[11] It says, Exorcist Priest, abortion -tainted vaccines are ongoing theft of baby's bodies.

[12] Bishop Strickland, he says the only way to restore order of justice is you've got to bury the aborted fetal lines.

[13] He said, that's the only way because you've got to return them back to God.

[14] Now, I'm not a theologian.

[15] Bishop Strickland, but, you know, this priest makes sense to me. How about you?

[16] Does that make sense to you?

[17] Absolutely.

[18] And what Father is urging and pointing to is, to me, what we've forgotten too easily is that these are human persons.

[19] The aborted child is a person created by God like you and me and every other person walking the planet and they deserve a proper burial they deserve respect of the accorded a human person so as an exorcist he is urging that because he sees the evil that comes from allowing what the church calls an intrinsic evil to continue day in and day out it it has consequences So I definitely support what Father is saying to remember that they are human persons.

[20] And we certainly can't use them as spare parts or for scientific research.

[21] I mean, we are, but we need to call for that to stop.

[22] And so every voice that remembers that these are our neighbors, These are human beings, that that's what we need to do.

[23] Thank you, Bishop Strickland, because Father Ripper quote's building upon the 2005 and 2008 Vatican document and the 2017 Pontifical Academy for Life released a document in which it mentions that the cells from aborted babies are used in vaccines, and the cell line currently used are very distinct from the original abortions and no longer imply a bond of more.

[24] oral cooperation, indispensable for ethnic negative evaluation of their use.

[25] Now, Father Ripperker makes a comment, how does the passage of time affect morality?

[26] I thought that was a good question.

[27] Do you agree that?

[28] That's a reasonable question to ask?

[29] Yeah, one of my tweets kind of alluded to that this week.

[30] God is in the eternal now.

[31] God is timeless.

[32] And so in that dimension, and it certainly is beyond our fathom.

[33] How is God timeless?

[34] We're so rooted in time.

[35] But in that way, these children didn't die decades ago.

[36] They are part of an evil that is present to God and needs to be addressed in the present for us.

[37] So like you're saying, and I think that that's the challenge that I would bring for the whole conversation.

[38] there's something different when we're talking about moral treatment of a human being, of another person.

[39] And I think we're losing some of that in the conversation that we need to remember any time we're dealing with a human person, we're not just dealing about with ethical operations of a business or ethical use of some material.

[40] We're talking about human beings.

[41] And it brings it to a different ethical level.

[42] And I don't, I don't hear that that really is being focused on properly.

[43] Well said, and I want to just make the connection with abortion and euthanasia.

[44] It's the same issue, the dignity of human life.

[45] Am I onto something there?

[46] Absolutely.

[47] Let's say in some future world, we find something that only people 80 years old can produce, and it harms them to extract it.

[48] We say, oh, we need that.

[49] I mean, you know, certainly to murder them, you know, it is totally unethical, but that's what we're doing with unborn children.

[50] So we just have to pay attention to the human person.

[51] In the abortion industry, I'm sure that people, if people listen to this, they're saying every week they talk about this, but probably it needs to be talked about.

[52] Because the abortion industry is ignoring, you know, these human persons that are being, you know, killed and mutilated during their death and after their death.

[53] It's just, if we could just remember that these are other human persons, then hopefully our society will back off this whole rampant idea that abortion is somebody's right.

[54] Life is the right, and every person has a right to that life.

[55] Bishop Strickland, clarity with charity, what you're saying makes total sense.

[56] I just wish and pray that we lay people, the church in general, will have a clarity about this because I have to say it's ambiguous in certain cases.

[57] The world sees the Catholic Church not as clear as it.

[58] I think it should because there's so many voices speaking.

[59] I just want to say thank you for standing up for what I would call the perennial teachings of the church.

[60] Thank you.

[61] Okay, Bishop Strickland, you've got some tweet, and I want to shift gears from the negative of, you know, the COVID -19 issue.

[62] A year ago, we didn't even know what COVID -19.

[63] I mean, we weren't even talking about it.

[64] But I want to bring up something on your tweet from December 15th because people are listening to this at the octave of Christmas.

[65] So we have a Christmas season.

[66] You know, I know that some people will say, after December 25th, throw the Christmas tree in the trash.

[67] No, not if we're Catholic.

[68] We have this eight days of, you know, celebrating Christmas.

[69] So I just want to throw out some material that you've used to build us up in preparing for that great day of Christmas.

[70] And one thing you said is as we continue our Advent journey, let us ponder these beautiful words by St. John Henry Newman, a Catholic convert.

[71] We must never forget who we are, for we are precious in his sight, and he has a plan for each of us that is beyond imagining.

[72] And you said, let us pray for each other.

[73] Those are profound words for 2 ,000.

[74] when all of us right now, not all of us, but many people are frightened because of COVID -19, he said, we must never forget who we are, for we are precious in his sight.

[75] Can you build a little bit on what Henry Newman was saying there?

[76] Absolutely.

[77] And that's the world that God wants us to live in, where we treat each other as precious in the side of God.

[78] we're a long way from that in many ways there's much injustice and much mistreatment of human beings across the spectrum in society in economic ways and all kinds of ways it it kind of reminds me of the issue of God being in the eternal now God is timeless we need to have that godly perspective more we're created in the image and likeness of God.

[79] In our prayer, we need to ask ourselves, how does God our father see us?

[80] We hear a lot of that from his son, where we are called to treat each other, even those we may consider enemies.

[81] We're called to love them.

[82] We're called to love each other.

[83] What Christ is getting at when he tells us those things, is that perspective of the father, the perspective of God to treat every person as precious before God, not just there, but precious, precious children.

[84] Think of how that would transform our society.

[85] If for just one instant, every single person was treated as precious.

[86] People would have to live these commandments that we've talked about, they'd have to avoid the deadly sins that we're going to talk about, they would have to live virtuous lives.

[87] If they're really treating every person as precious, that's really the heart of morality is how we treat other people.

[88] Certainly, we care for creation, but that's on a lower level than how we treat each other.

[89] And it starts with certainly in the womb from conception to natural death, but all along the spectrum, to treat each other is when we see, even in traffic, you know, we all deal with traffic and you get road rage and all of those things.

[90] You better watch that, Terry.

[91] Don't get into road room.

[92] I'm in L .A. You know what cup happens.

[93] We're all vulnerable to that because traffic can be aggravating.

[94] Oh, yeah.

[95] But to remember that person in the other car is precious before God.

[96] even if they don't believe in God, they are precious in His sight.

[97] And we need to, those of us who know God, those of us who know His son, and those of us especially who have been blessed by the Holy Spirit sacramentally, we need to treat each other as precious before God.

[98] And that is life -changing for our whole world.

[99] Well, said, we're going to take a quick break.

[100] Bishop Strickland here on the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[101] I think of that attitude comes from reading God's word and prayer.

[102] You don't have an attitude like that without reflecting on life.

[103] And that's why it's worth living.

[104] Life is worth living when we have a examined life.

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

[106] Welcome back.

[107] Bishop Strickland Hour.

[108] My name's Terry Barber.

[109] I'm with Virgin Most Powerful radio.

[110] Bishop Strickland is responding to my comments about his tweets.

[111] And I would really encourage people to, Father, Bishop Strickland, how can people get your tweets?

[112] What do they need to do to get?

[113] I know there's thousands of people to get them, but how can they sign up to get your tweet?

[114] Well, I guess, I really don't know.

[115] Bishop of Tyler, I think, is the actual Twitter handle or whatever you call it.

[116] You can also go to the St. Philip Institute.

[117] My tweets are on there.

[118] Good.

[119] And that, I guess, is a way to view the tweets as well.

[120] St. Philip Institute .org.

[121] Now, Bishop Strickland, you endorse a lot of bishops who speak out, who are known for their clarity with charity.

[122] One of those bishops is Cardinal Burke from America.

[123] You applaud Cardinal Burke's homily on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, especially his call to listen to our lady's call to live the way of Jesus, her son.

[124] And the Cardinal reminds us that our situation, is not hopeless but we must heed our lady and turn to Jesus and this he was referring to this idea of the great reset he commented I we played this on Virgin Most Powerful radio portions of it because we thought also it was very very on the spot but this was on the solemnity of Our Lady of Guadalupe and you can see it on YouTube but he talked a little bit about the reset, that people are trying to, you know, manipulate COVID -19 for a political reason and kind of get rid of what we traditionally would call morality and replace it with kind of a worldview rather than a subsidiary that you and I talk about all the time.

[125] So why did you endorse that?

[126] Is there anything else that you wanted to comment from your tweet by, for Bishop for Cardinal Burke?

[127] Yeah, as always, I think he's very solid.

[128] He's a true believer in Jesus Christ.

[129] He's a true Prince of the Church, a Cardinal.

[130] And he really just reminds us of like you brought up subsidiarity.

[131] Ultimately, like we were saying earlier, I think what I heard in Cardinal Burke's talk was the value of each individual person in every person that individual rights, the individual value is something that I honestly, I'd have to say, I don't know that much about this, the global reset that they talk about.

[132] But I think it's on an agenda of forgetting that we are human from the individual outward, and it's dehumanizing what the Cardinal is talking about in this effort to just treat us all like numbers.

[133] I think it was Joseph Stalin that said, you know, one person's death is tragic, a million, it's just a statistic.

[134] And I think that's the whole mindset.

[135] You just get millions and millions and billions of people, and you lose touch with that, what we were talking about earlier that every one of those is precious before God.

[136] God sustains every one of us in life.

[137] It's hard to fathom that with several billion people or even several thousand for us to really understand that.

[138] But that's what is wrong about this great reset that they talk about because it's frankly, it's leaving God out of the picture.

[139] And it's making the state God another quote that I've heard recently is that we're going to have a God that's built into our humanity because God is real.

[140] It's part of we're going to have a higher authority that we shape our lives around.

[141] And if it's not truly God, very often through history, the state or the emperor has tried to replace that, and that becomes your focal point.

[142] The way you organize your life is around the state or the leader.

[143] I mean, that's what Hitler tried to do.

[144] So many through history have tried to do that as kings or emperors or Caesars or whatever title they had.

[145] And that, I think, is on a global scale what this great reset is is after is treat us like God and shape your lives around this I don't know what's supposed to govern this great reset anyway but it's it's not of God and that when I find out it's not of God I don't want any part of it.

[146] Amen.

[147] I know that that's I don't need to know a lot more if it's leaving God out of the picture it's on the wrong track.

[148] Well, what you just said is what Archbishop Sheen said in the quotable Sheen 70 years ago.

[149] And again, there's another situation where Archbishop Sheen speaks 70 years ago, and you think he's speaking in 2020.

[150] Amazing.

[151] Bishop Strickland, getting back to the Advent season, you tweeted December 16th.

[152] And I love, you know, preparing for Christmas.

[153] We're just, you know, when we're recording this, just a couple days from Christmas.

[154] I really want to, I always say I want this Christmas to be the best.

[155] best Christmas ever.

[156] And I also want people to know that I have an Archbishop Sheen one -hour audio CD that I'm going to give away for free.

[157] It's called the true meaning of Christmas.

[158] And Bishop Sheen does a lot of meditations on preparing you to have a very nice Christmas.

[159] If you want that, you go to virgin most powerful radio .org or call 877 -526215.

[160] We will send it to you for free with a link.

[161] So you'll download the recording of Archbishop Sheen.

[162] But here's what Bishop Strickland said.

[163] Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates.

[164] Behold, the king of glory waits.

[165] The king of kings is drawing near.

[166] Amen.

[167] The Savior of the world is here.

[168] This hymn, Bishop Strickland says, reminds us to look up in joy and hope as we continue Advent.

[169] Look beyond the darkness.

[170] Yeah, what we see out in the world today.

[171] See that Jesus is the king of glory and it's coming.

[172] So Bishop Strickland, expand a little bit more on where our hope is.

[173] Because, I mean, it ain't in the world, that's for sure.

[174] Absolutely.

[175] And that, once again, reminds us to have that godly perspective to see beyond the darkness.

[176] Yes, there's darkness.

[177] People are suffering.

[178] There are a lot of things that need to be addressed.

[179] but Christ is still the light of the world.

[180] And that hymn is just a beautiful reminder of that, echoing the message of scripture at this time of year that we await a savior and we need a savior.

[181] I just today tweeted probably, if anybody read it, they're probably mystified maybe.

[182] But here we are approaching.

[183] Christmas.

[184] Yeah.

[185] And I put on my website and then tweeted the encouraging people to read it a, I'm sure you've read it before, Terry, but it's St. Faustina's testimony of when she was taken on a tour of hell.

[186] Oh, yes.

[187] I know.

[188] And it's like, why is this bishop talking about this?

[189] We're supposed to be talking about all the wonderful things of Christmas.

[190] Well, the reason I was inspired to send that out is it's the greatest reason for celebrating the greatest gift of all our Savior, Jesus Christ.

[191] It highlights why we need a Savior and why all of us need to repent of our sins and embrace the life of the Savior.

[192] So that's what that hymn is getting at as well.

[193] Jesus Christ is the way the truth and the life.

[194] He is our hope.

[195] And no matter how many, voices in the world try to shout that down and say, oh, he's not real.

[196] He was just a myth.

[197] Or he may have lived, but he was just a man. We know who he truly is.

[198] The second person of the divine Trinity, the son of God.

[199] He is our savior because God holds each of us precious in his sight.

[200] And that is our joy.

[201] That is the joy of Christmas.

[202] And all the things that surround Christmas, you know, we call it a holiday.

[203] And, you know, it's, it's been less emphasized because everything's focused on COVID -19 and vaccines and all of that.

[204] A couple of years ago, it was the issue of de -Christianizing Christmas, taking the Christ out of Christmas.

[205] And the reality is Jesus is Christmas.

[206] And if we don't recognize that, then we're left.

[207] with emptiness, so we definitely need to remind people, Jesus is the reason for the season.

[208] He is the light of the world.

[209] Bishop Strickland, you see, that gives me hope.

[210] You know, what doesn't give me hope is when someone tells me, if you go outside your door, you're going to get COVID and you're going to die, so you better be scared.

[211] See, the media, we've got to turn the media off right now.

[212] That's my opinion.

[213] I think I've heard you say the same thing.

[214] Am I right or am I wrong?

[215] I think you're right, but aren't you media?

[216] On media, yeah, but you're alternative media.

[217] We're not the...

[218] Alternative.

[219] The mainstream, absolutely.

[220] Yeah, because it's depressing.

[221] And see, what you're giving us right now, Bishop Strickland, I would have said this after the show, but you're inspiring me to fall deeper in love with Jesus Christ and his bride the church when you tell me these things about Christmas and saying, yeah, my Savior, he's born.

[222] there's no way to get to heaven unless the way Jesus, he came to earth, he was born, he died on a cross, he opened the gates of heaven for me to get to heaven.

[223] Without any of this, I'm lost.

[224] So why not, you know, take advantage and meditate on this great season of Advent preparing for Christmas because it's tied into our salvation.

[225] And I say as a group.

[226] One thing I'd like to really highlight is the church operates in seasons.

[227] I think there's a basic human understanding there.

[228] Yes.

[229] That we're so caught up in a fast -paced world where, like you said, there will be lots of Christmas trees out at the curb on Christmas afternoon.

[230] It's true.

[231] It's like, boom, it's over, we move on to the next thing.

[232] Humanly, we need time to reflect time to experience each other, experience the reality.

[233] So that's why we have a season of Advent and we have the octave of Christmas and then the Christmas season to follow that.

[234] We need to really embrace those wisdoms of the church that even in the church we've lost touch with in too many ways.

[235] But to really, if there are any families that are listening or parents, to really look at how do we celebrate that whole octave of Christmas and the whole Christmas season.

[236] And one way, I mean, your neighbors are going to think, well, they moved or they forgot to, but leave your Christmas decorations up all the way to Epiphany or beyond.

[237] Amen.

[238] Even to the presentation of the Lord, I mean, people would say, you know, what are they doing?

[239] But that's what we need to do.

[240] And there's some joy in that of reminding ourselves that Christmas changed the world, the nativity of the Lord transformed human history.

[241] That's worth celebrating for more than 24 hours.

[242] Amen.

[243] When we come back, a very interesting topic with Pope Benedict XVI.

[244] Back in 2005, at the conclave, he talked about the dictatorship of moral relativism has arrived.

[245] Just an article.

[246] We'll be back to talk with Bishop Strickland about that.

[247] Welcome back to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[248] My name's Terry Barber and I am honored to be here to talk with Bishop Strickland about how we fall in love with Jesus Christ and his bride to church and I noticed that Bishop Strickland had tweeted back on December 15th that says Pope Benedict the 16th was more prophetic than anyone realized when he spoke in 2005 in the midst of the great confusion Bishop Strickland says let us turn to Jesus Christ the truth he embodies his light will guide us through this darkness and he is referring to an article which is a magazine called crisis magazine i want to say people should subscribe to it i've been with crisis for a lot of years but bishop strickland um why did you why did you tweet that at this moment years later is it is you know tell us why you did that well he mentions the the dictatorship of relativism.

[249] And I think that's a critical element of what we're dealing with because people are operating as if there is no objective truth.

[250] And it's all just whatever you decide, which really is pretty nonsensical, if you think about it.

[251] There are many things that we just take for granted as part of reality.

[252] But when it comes to moral questions, we like to act as if, well, there's really no basic moral reality.

[253] We certainly don't argue with physical reality.

[254] I mean, if you're driving down the road in a car and you just are saying, well, I think I'll drive in the other lane, you know, people are going the opposite direction.

[255] I just feel like it.

[256] Then people are going to say you're crazy.

[257] But when it comes to moral questions, moral relativism basically is the idea that, well, I've decided I feel like driving in the other lane and who can question me. It's a pretty clear consequence for that choice when you're driving a car.

[258] it gets a little less clear when you're talking about moral questions.

[259] But the reality that the church teaches is that concretely, there are objective truths that just like you can't drive through another car, you're going to be stopped by the impact of that other car.

[260] I mean, it sounds so simple and, you know, people, it's not an important.

[261] argument, I guess, but it's that kind of grasp of reality that we need with the moral questions.

[262] If this is intrinsically wrong, whatever it is, it's going to get you in a car wreck spiritually.

[263] Well, said, and I use the analogy of gravity.

[264] If I jump off a six -story building and I don't believe in gravity, I should at the end.

[265] There's going to be a sudden stop that's going to tell me that there's gravity.

[266] And so I think.

[267] we live in a world right now where I say I'm a I'm six foot eight when I'm only five foot five I'm a little guy but that's what I say see I have my truth you have your truth this is still going on after 2005 it seems like a lot of the problems we've into is because we don't understand revealed truth we think that it's about me myself and I and so if I say it's true it must be true and that's we get you in like you say, a lot of trouble.

[268] Thank you for that clarity there, Bishop Strickland.

[269] Hey, I have a friend who you quoted about Abby Johnson, who's recorded her for years, wonderful woman.

[270] I have to say she did a YouTube video, and I saw it, and obviously you saw it too, and she really didn't want to do this.

[271] She made it sound like, you know, you know what, I really didn't want to say it, but I just got to, I mean, and it wasn't disrespectful to our bishops who are saying things about the COVID -19.

[272] I mean, U .S. bishops publicly take COVID vaccine connected to aborted fetal tissues.

[273] She just said, I can't handle that.

[274] She said, I'm pro -life, and she said that I just have to tell it like it is in charity and clarity.

[275] And you made a comment, Bishop Strickland, that you appreciate a layperson like Abby's bold truth, that it really isn't complicated, but we like to hide behind complexities.

[276] I know people will scold me, Bishop Strickland says, because she mentions my name at the end.

[277] Of course she does.

[278] You know why Bishop Strickland?

[279] Because she was trying to be objectively critical of some of the bishops in our country who are saying, you know, don't worry about the COVID -19 connection to aborted babies.

[280] You know what?

[281] It was so long ago.

[282] Just forget it.

[283] And she, as a pro -life person, convert to the Catholic faith and says, Time out, Bishop, with all due respect.

[284] So what made you endorse her video?

[285] Because that was very bold of what she did.

[286] Yes.

[287] And what I especially appreciated what she said.

[288] Because, you know, the statement of bishops from this country and various places around the world have said, well, yes, it's morally questionable or it's not the preferred thing, but we don't have any other option.

[289] Yeah.

[290] But I liked what Abby pointed out is they basically said, but we need to really call for ethically produce vaccines.

[291] But they leave that basically, I mean, as Abby heard it, they left it on the shoulders of the laypeople to say, you need to work for this, but we're going to say it's okay to use these vaccines that are unethically produced.

[292] And I think she made a good point that if one way or the other, if it's immoral the way these were produced, then that morality doesn't suddenly disappear.

[293] And it needs to be worked against as many immoral things need to be worked against in today's world, in today's society.

[294] And so I thought you made a good point that if we need to do this, as a bishop, I feel the requirement that I take the lead and that I really call others to join an effort, to really make a concerted effort to say, we are calling for ethically produce vaccines for COVID -19 and for every other vaccine that is immorally produced, and there are too many of them.

[295] Yeah.

[296] Well, said, Bishop Strickland, I love this quote from a, that you sent a tweet on December 17th because I am convinced the school district, Jefferson County Schools, did a fantastic thing where it says, you put it, sometimes we all need to just go build a snowman.

[297] I don't want to, this was great.

[298] Because I'm into, I'll just give you my tyke, I've got a one -year -old grandson, and you know what his favorite thing is to do?

[299] Watch the chickens eat.

[300] We sit there and watch the chickens eat.

[301] And then, of course, the rhino rides.

[302] He likes to get on grandpa's lap, and we drive around the yard with a little four -wheel drive vehicle, and he steers, and we just spend time together.

[303] And I think there's a lot of value in that, but tell me exactly what made you do this tweet, Tell us the circumstances of the Jefferson County Schools in West Virginia.

[304] That's great.

[305] I love this story.

[306] Well, one of the parents in the community just shared it with me, and it was a reminder of how quickly life passes, how quickly children grow up.

[307] And to capture some of those moments and to appreciate them.

[308] I think the basic gist of it was this school was saying, you know, we're going to let you just go home.

[309] and enjoy your family.

[310] Take some time to enjoy your family.

[311] Build a snowman.

[312] And someone joked with me that, Bishop, you're in Texas.

[313] You can't build snowmen.

[314] Well, we get enough snow that, I mean, it may not be the beautiful snowman of the places in the northeast, but I've built a snowman before.

[315] A few twigs in there, a few leaves, but you know, you can get a decent, you know, least the body of a snowman going.

[316] It may not be the pristine snow of others, but the point is enjoy each other.

[317] And we all get, I know, I mean, I need to be reminded of that.

[318] We get so serious, we get so caught up in issues and challenges.

[319] And sometimes you need to just relax and go make snow angels or make a snowman and just like you said you enjoy the chickens i know eating just watching watching nature i think you're talking about leisure something that our culture has forgotten because we're so stressed out about modern living and you know one other thing i'm just going to make a suggestion and i'm not a big bird watcher but i love where i live there's redtail hawks flying around.

[320] There's crows.

[321] I think there's eight or ten different types of birds.

[322] And I would go up with my kid.

[323] I'd say, okay, what kind of bird is that?

[324] What's that one?

[325] Oh, look at this bird tail.

[326] He's going to...

[327] And the thing about it is we would stop to see God's creation.

[328] And I think that there's a lot of value.

[329] I was taught that as a child and I just carried that on and I find it very, very, not just relaxing, but in a sense you're praising God through his nature, through what God has made, whether it's snow or whether the chicken coop with the chickens.

[330] Okay, Bishop Strickland, here's a beautiful thought, December 19th.

[331] You said this, but I am equally certain about what will remain at the end, because that's what the bottom line is, not the church of the political cult, which is deadly already, but the church of faith.

[332] This quote is from Faith and Future, a book which interviewed then the Cardinal Joseph Ratson.

[333] her and then you ask us let's pray for a deeper faith i always say this bishop every single day ask jesus christ for more faith tell everybody that because that's what i get up in the morning that's part of my prayer at the beginning of the day jesus give me more faith so what made you quote this before christmas that's my question well it just to me it really brings home the idea of what Christmas is about.

[334] And certainly, it's the birth of the Son of God.

[335] But radiating out from that, even in the more secular world, there's some good things about family coming together, sharing gifts and taking some of that leisure time.

[336] But I think that when you do that in a context of faith, it really enriches the experience in the way that God intends.

[337] beautiful bishop strickland here at our sacred heart chapel we have confessions before mass all the time folks and so this is something that i'm going to when we come back from this a break we're going to talk about uh as we approach the birth of jesus talk about repenting of our sins great thing to do before christmas which is get the confession we'll be back with much more on the bishop strickland hour on virgin most powerful radio think we're back yes welcome back for our fourth segment.

[338] We've been talking about Advent, the coming of Christmas.

[339] I'm loving it.

[340] Hey, and the octave of Christmas, it's awesome.

[341] Bishop Strickland, on the 21st of December, you gave us a tweet that I thought was inspiring.

[342] It said, let us approach Jesus' birth with deep faith and resolve to repent of our sins.

[343] The gospel message.

[344] And know that the Lord loves us more deeply.

[345] The world is shaking deeply, but we know that Jesus has all.

[346] power in heaven and on earth hold firm to jesus he is the way the truth and the life rejoice the king is near i like that so tell us and the reason i like it bishop strickland is it really calls me to the gospel message which is repent and believe in the gospel so what made you do that just a couple days before christmas well i think it's important to remember what we really celebrate at christmas is the mission of the Son of God in the world to free us from sin and death, to free us from the power of evil.

[347] And that can easily get lost, even on Christians.

[348] If we are celebrating the birth of the Son of God, absolutely, that's what we're celebrating.

[349] But we are celebrating the beginning of his presence in the world as a child born among us.

[350] And then he's, grows up to be a man who is on a mission.

[351] And what the church fathers talk about is that Jesus was on his mission from the moment of his conception.

[352] We see that in the beautiful gospel passage we just had yesterday in these Advent days where Mary, hearing the message of the angel of the enunciation that she has conceived the son of God in her womb, she goes to visit Elizabeth, who is carrying in her womb, John the Baptist.

[353] John the Baptist leaps for joy.

[354] And the commentary on that is that Jesus was already bringing the holiness of the second person of the Trinity, the son of God, into the world in his incarnation, even as he is in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

[355] He begins his mission.

[356] Yes.

[357] That's so beautiful.

[358] Bishop Strickland, you have obviously a big, you know, you're a fan of St. Faustina.

[359] I mean, the Diary of St. Faustina, many of us have been reading for years.

[360] And you tweeted this, a recent, it was on your website, actually.

[361] He said, I pray St. Faustina's words remind us all of us the depth of the wonder that we celebrate at Christmas.

[362] And I like this line because there's so much depression out there.

[363] she says never despair we must repent of our sins and embrace the fullness of god's mercy can i just say bishop strickland that message needs to be loud and clear in holy mother the church and i'm i appreciate you as a bishop saying quoting her never despair we must repent of our sins and embrace the fullness of god's mercy not it's okay you're living in mortal sin we love you don't worry about you it, God will love you the way you are.

[364] See, that's a message sometimes I hear, but it's refreshing to hear a saint, and then you quote it, never despair, we must repent of our sins and embrace the fullness of God's mercy.

[365] I said it three times for a reason.

[366] That has to get through our thick head.

[367] What's your thought?

[368] Well, and I would add the word transformative mercy.

[369] Ah, transformative mercy, got it.

[370] Because we hear a lot about God's mercy, which is beautiful.

[371] Yeah.

[372] It flows from the Eucharistic altar of Jesus Christ.

[373] It flows from the cross.

[374] Amen.

[375] But the real mercy of God is transformative because God is merciful because he knows that sin and death destroy us.

[376] His mercy is directed toward freeing us from those burdens, freeing us from destruction.

[377] And that is really the message.

[378] of St. Faustina.

[379] And what I quoted directly was her vision of hell.

[380] And you might seem like a strange thing to be quoting in Advent as we're approaching the wonderful festival of Christmas, the great feast of our faith, the birth of the son of God.

[381] But the reason I did quote that is because I think her vision of hell, which is very gruesome and very, I mean, it should wake us all up and say, I don't want to be there.

[382] I don't want to go to hell.

[383] And one of the most chilling things that St. Faustina says at the end of that quote is she says that it's her impression.

[384] And this was certainly a mystical vision that she was given.

[385] But she said it was her impression that most of the people were there on earth didn't believe hell existed.

[386] Wow.

[387] And to me, that is, it says it all.

[388] It kind of takes your breath away.

[389] It gives you a chill down your spine to think, if you don't believe it exists, that's exactly where you're likely to head.

[390] And there are a lot of people in the world that scoff at the very idea of even believers in God.

[391] But we've come to a point where many believers, oh, of course there's heaven and we want to embrace that beatific vision with God.

[392] But how could a loving God allow us to go to hell?

[393] Well, it's complicated to some extent, but God allows us free will.

[394] He's not going to force us to love him, force us to live his truth.

[395] He gives us free will that's bound up in being created in the image and likeness of God.

[396] But God, in his mercy, is always giving us the opportunity to turn from sin and to live according to his truth in the path that takes us to heaven.

[397] But he gives us the freedom to choose to reject that.

[398] And the many people in the world today that believe hell isn't real, they'll take heaven, but they reject hell.

[399] It's not logical for one thing, but it's also not what God is revealed to.

[400] us in sacred scripture, in the deposit of faith in the Catholic Church.

[401] We believe in heaven and in hell, and we are called to heaven.

[402] God, we are precious in his side.

[403] He wants us all to be with him, but he gives us the freedom to choose.

[404] And from what St. Faustina had revealed to her that she wrote down in as part of her diary, we need to pay attention to that vision of hell that is pretty awful and gruesome and devastating to think of eternity without God, but also an eternity of very dark suffering.

[405] You know, Bishop Strickland, all the saints have talked about hell as, you know, the four last things, you know, death, judgment, heaven, and hell.

[406] And they clearly have taught the perennial teachings of the church on these issues.

[407] And it seems to me, I've seen more.

[408] books coming out.

[409] I've seen your book from Catholic Answers.

[410] You talk about the very fact that I remember correctly where you talk about the dangers of universal salvation, that somehow everybody gets that free pass to heaven and that it really doesn't matter what you do here because God is all merciful.

[411] So don't take responsibility and try and live a Christ -centered life.

[412] You know, do what you can do and don't worry about it.

[413] It seems like that's a big trick of the devil.

[414] I mean, honestly, I really think that the devil would like every single person on planet Earth not to even think about that there's some kind of a hell and then surprise them at the end of their life.

[415] I think that's a game plan from the devil.

[416] So I'm going to say it this way, and you correct me if I'm wrong as a bishop.

[417] I think those individuals who teach universal salvation, I can't judge them, they don't know, maybe they just don't know better, but objectively, they're doing the devil's work by making it sound like there's no hell.

[418] Is that a fair statement?

[419] Absolutely.

[420] And what's interesting that I think we have to get to the next level in a sense is recognizing, like we were talking about before, if every person was treated as precious in the eyes of God.

[421] man how that would transform this world will never be heaven but it is meant to be a much more peaceful world of justice and harmony than we have now and that so living the way that takes us to everlasting life with god living the commandments is the best way to live in this life this life is going to have because sin is real and we live in a a world of original sin, they're going to be disease and consequences of sin constantly.

[422] But the more we can pull out of that, the more virtuously we live, the better our life here is.

[423] It's not all just, oh, well, all you care about is salvation and everlasting life.

[424] It's about transforming this life as well to be on that path to heaven to be on the path of heaven is the best life you can live here as well I mean we look around and there are many people that say there is no hell and very often if you really start to know their life they're living a portion of it right here because their relationship they're broken they're depending on medications sometimes addictions to get through the day they are not having a fulfilling and happy life, even in this world.

[425] And here they are, not believing in hell, but they're getting a taste of it right here in the suffering they're enduring.

[426] God wants us to flourish.

[427] He wants us to seek heaven.

[428] And the best way to have a good life here is to be seeking heaven, to be seeking everlasting life.

[429] Well said, Bishop Strickland, I got to tell you, the suicide rate has skyrocketed since COVID -19, and I'm convinced that when people don't have a spiritual life, and I know that the Pew Research did it, those people who go to church, and I'm not even talking to just Catholic churches, I'm saying church in general have been able to handle the COVID -19 pressure so much better than secular people who have freaked out and gone to drug overdoses and suicides, like I said, have just gone through the roof.

[430] I always like to say it this way.

[431] Life is short.

[432] Eternity is forever.

[433] Bishop Strickland, you talked a little bit about the St. Philip.

[434] We got one minute.

[435] I just want to get, what's the website where people can get to that St. Philip Institute?

[436] And then if you can give us a blessing, that'd be grand.

[437] St .Philip Institute .org.

[438] Philip with one L. Just St. Philip Institute .org.

[439] and the Lord be with you and with your spirit almighty God we ask your blessing for everyone as we continue this octave of Christmas may it be a time of celebrating the wonder of your love that you have shared your only begotten son with all of us for all time help us to turn to him and to listen to his words and teachings and be guided by his truth and we ask your blessing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen.

[440] Thank you so much, Bishop Strickland.

[441] For those who want to hear the old shows, you can go to virgin most powerful radio .org at all the podcasts and many other shows, the Terry and Jesse show, Jesus 9 -1 -1, so many shows that help you build a relationship with Jesus Christ and his bride, the church.

[442] May God really bless you in this wonderful festive time.