13 Sep 22 – Hold Bishops to Apostolic Tradition

[0] Welcome to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[1] My name is Terry Barber, and I'm honored again to be with Bishop Strickland.

[2] Thanks again, Bishop Strickland, for taking an hour every week to share the gospel with us.

[3] Thanks, Terry.

[4] Bishop Strickland, I have so many tweets from you because I was out for a week, and I just, I'm excited because you tweeted thanking Cardinal Burke because of a interview he did.

[5] You said, we must stand firm for the truth that Jesus Christ lived, suffered, died, and rose to share with humanity.

[6] And faithful Catholics must remain in the church, hold bishops accountable to the apostolic tradition.

[7] Now, I want to get into this because it inspires us lay people when cardinals and bishops like yourself tell us, hey, wait a minute, you need to stick to the perennial teachings of the church.

[8] You can't be making this stuff up.

[9] I made a promise.

[10] So let me just quote something that he said.

[11] He said, if everyone leaves the church, would otherwise fall into the hands of those who destroy the faith and the practice.

[12] Bishop Cardinal Burke said that he said he encouraged Catholics to remain in the church in fidelity to who?

[13] Christ, not to the bishop, sorry, bishop, but to Jesus Christ and the work from within the church for much -needed ecclesiastical reform even should it require openly correcting bishops when they betray the faith.

[14] Now, Bishop Strickland, I heard Pope Francis in 2017 to the Italian bishop saying, it's okay to criticize me if you think I'm making a mistake.

[15] You've said the same thing to me that when we study the catechism, if I said something that wasn't consistent, don't wait until after the show.

[16] Bring it up now, and I'll stand corrected.

[17] Now, Cardinal Burke is calling on guys like me to address things with bishops and cardinals and even the pope to say, wait a minute, how does this stand with our, you know, apostolic teachings.

[18] Does that make you a little uncomfortable?

[19] Are you glad the Cardinal did that?

[20] No, I tweeted it because I was very glad to see Cardinal Burke very clear and not attacking anyone, but supporting our faith in Jesus Christ.

[21] And calling all of us, we're really all in the same reality.

[22] We are merely human beings, men and women.

[23] And yes, we have.

[24] different roles and we have greatly learned people, but we all have to humbly look to Christ.

[25] He is the God man. He is God's divine son.

[26] And we are all humbled before him to look to him to see his truth more clearly.

[27] We can see that truth in the Eucharist and all the sacraments.

[28] He is the Word of God incarnate, so yes, in the Word of God.

[29] with the challenges and the beautiful messages of God as love, but also, just like in this past week's gospel, Jesus used very divisive words and very words that people in his time probably bristled at, and people bristle that still.

[30] He says, if you don't hate father and mother, brother and sister, wife or husband, you can't be my disciple.

[31] That's strong to say you must hate and what Christ is getting at and what I tried to say to the people and it's the same thing ultimately.

[32] It's about being of the truth and what Christ is getting at in that gospel and what Cardinal Burke is getting at is we have to do everything to stay with the truth.

[33] Christ is truth incarnate.

[34] So staying with Christ is by definition, staying with the truth.

[35] Like you just said, any Pope, Bishop, Cardinal, any other human being, we can all make mistakes, we can all misstep, we can all state things that we really didn't even intend to say it that way, but that's how it's interpreted.

[36] That's our human, weak, human reality.

[37] But we're all called to look to Christ.

[38] And I was so glad to see Cardinal Burke very clearly saying, we look to Christ.

[39] He speaks of the apostolic tradition.

[40] Another way of talking about that is the deposit of faith.

[41] Amen.

[42] And every bishop has, when they're ordained bishop or consecrated bishop, whichever term you use, when you become a bishop, you make many promises in public before the people of God and before the ordaining prelates.

[43] And one of those promises, which is key right now, is you will guard the deposit of faith.

[44] That's exactly what Cardinal Burke is talking about.

[45] You as a baptized husband, father, grandfather, you're called to guard the deposit of faith from your baptism.

[46] Not with the same gravity as a bishop has.

[47] You haven't made a public promise to do that, but you have made vows of baptism that you have repeated and renewed, I'm sure, many times over, and it comes down to the same truth.

[48] We are to guard a truth that is beyond us, that is outside us, that it's found in the incarnate Son of God.

[49] So both of us get excited about these things because we need to.

[50] The world is in desperate need of clarity and truth in the church, in our nation, nation in globally.

[51] Truth is real.

[52] Truth has a face.

[53] Truth is incarnate among us in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is still with us.

[54] That's what Cardinal Burke is reminding us that we can't just roll over and say, oh, well, this bishop or this church leader said something.

[55] We don't believe that's the truth, but we're not supposed to say anything.

[56] Yes, we are.

[57] We're supposed to speak up, all of us, to guard the deposit of faith, to guard the truth that is Jesus Christ.

[58] And when you know him personally, when you develop that personal connection to Jesus Christ as a real person, present in the Eucharist, in the power of His Word, present in our lives, deeply living within us, then we're going to stand up and like the saints and the martyrs.

[59] If we have to, we'll give our lives for the truth of Christ.

[60] Well, you and Bishop, you and Cardinal Burke are on the same page.

[61] He said this about the Senate.

[62] I just thought this one paragraph said it well.

[63] He said, Catholics must bear witness to the truth.

[64] How many times have you said that all kinds of times?

[65] He said, Cardinal Burke said, addressing the distress of Orthodox Catholics at an agenda of a pro -senadal bishops, such as those in Germany and Ireland, who are aggressively pushing for another church and another faith.

[66] That says it pretty clear.

[67] Burke tries to bolster the laity in their witness to Christ, saying, in the tradition of the church, a senate, is a way to find out how to, are you ready?

[68] I've heard this from too many bishops.

[69] Defend and promote the Catholic faith, not to create another church or another faith.

[70] I think these good Catholics, as painful as it is, must remain in their communities and fight for the truth of the faith.

[71] To me, that's inspiring Bishop Strickland.

[72] They have a cardinal say, don't run, fight this out.

[73] Absolutely.

[74] And then the last thing I won't last thing, but one of the things he said was so beautiful.

[75] He said, we thus remain with Christ, even if we have to speak very openly with our own bishops, when they propose something that does not correspond to the Catholic faith, we must return to sacred tradition.

[76] You've been saying that for a couple years with me, but you know, Bishop Strickland, it's nice to hear a cardinal just say the same thing you're saying to us because he's emphasizing a need to be faithful to the church's apostolic tradition.

[77] The cardinal declared to call fidelity to Catholic doctrine, and I like what he says when we get accused of rigidity.

[78] He says it's simply wrong.

[79] Bert reminds the lay faithful that they have a right and duty to express their concerns about the church to their pastors.

[80] He also recalls to the bishops their duty to uphold the faith which they undertook by an oath at their Episcopal consecration.

[81] Can you explain what you made that promise?

[82] What is that all about?

[83] Well, it's what we were talking about, guarding the deposit of faith.

[84] And there are many questions in there that are asking various facets of that.

[85] Supporting the church that Christ died for and rose for.

[86] That's what it's about.

[87] It's about Jesus Christ.

[88] We use apostolic tradition to positive faith, but it's about what did Jesus say?

[89] What did he tell us?

[90] What is the tradition of understanding of what Jesus said when he was with us?

[91] He's the son of God who rose from the dead.

[92] We better listen to him.

[93] Amen.

[94] Cardinal Burke, thank you for your clarity.

[95] we need this.

[96] If you want to read the whole article, it's at LifeSight News, folks.

[97] I love giving references to resources for you because you won't go wrong with Cardinal Burke.

[98] You know, his background, what do you call him as the head canon lawyer?

[99] What's that term, Bishop Strickland, that he was the head of the canon law in Rome for many years under Benedict the 16th.

[100] And so he should know canon law better than anyone else.

[101] And he keeps saying, I hear him say it a lot, that the last canon of canon law says it's all canon law is for is for the salvation of souls and i like the way bishop sheen says it if souls are saved everything is saved if souls aren't saved nothing is saved when we come back from the break i'd like to uh comment about uh bishop robert baron he i listen to him all the time i don't necessarily you know the thing about salvation i have questions on but i love his scripture commentaries and he seems to uh and i'll just tease the audience before the break Now that he's an ordinary of a diocese rather than an auxiliary bishop, and correct me if I'm wrong, but when you're an auxiliary bishop, you're kind of like, you don't have authority that a bishop has in his own diocese.

[102] He's kind of just working for the archbishop of that diocese.

[103] But it seems that when Bishop Barron became a bishop up in Minnesota, I mean, he just came out with a strong statement against the President of the United States, which I'd never heard him say regarding abortion.

[104] coming out and calling the president to repentance.

[105] And I thought, wow, Bishop Barron, thank you for doing that.

[106] And I want to talk about that with Bishop Joseph Strickland on the tweet that you said, because you seem to be going all over the country saying ,ada boy, bishop, that a boy.

[107] And I just say, it's nice to hear that.

[108] Stay with us, family.

[109] We'll be right back.

[110] Welcome back to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[111] My name's Terry Barber, and we've been covering a couple tweets that Bishop Strickland has talked about.

[112] and one of them was with Bishop Robert Barron, who's now an ordinary, and I guess Bishop Strickland, I should turn it to you what that means versus an auxiliary bishop, but he's really just speaking up for the unborn, and I'm hearing more and more bishops, you know, pointing this out, because I think, and maybe I'm wrong, but an ordinary bishop like you are, you're not an auxiliary bishop, is it true that you have more responsibility for the diocese than a an auxiliary bishop for a larger diocese, is there a distinction made there for authority?

[113] Yeah, absolutely.

[114] The ordinary or the diocese and bishop is the authority in the diocese.

[115] Certainly the auxiliary bishop or bishops, if he has an auxiliary, collaborate with him.

[116] But the bishop is the canonical authority for the diocese.

[117] Just like a pastor is for a parish and then may have assistant priest.

[118] but they just don't have the same responsibility or authority that the bishop does.

[119] So I'm glad to see, frankly, Bishop Barron, it's an added responsibility, a more weighty responsibility.

[120] But he seems to be speaking up more.

[121] And we need to, as we've talked about before, we need a chorus of bishops calling President Biden and all the other elected officials, Nancy Pelosi, that really, certainly, if they claim to be Catholic, that puts it at a whole different level.

[122] But these politicians, Catholic are not.

[123] We've got to stand for the truth, and we've got to challenge them on these atrocities of abortion.

[124] I mean, I just read that New York State just enacted a law or passed a law I don't know if it's enacted yet, but basically legalizing infanticide, 28 days after birth.

[125] Unbelievable.

[126] Killing children.

[127] And, you know, it just gets crazier all the time.

[128] And we've got to, again, lovingly and clearly speak the truth of the sanctity of life.

[129] So I applaud Bishop Barron for speaking up.

[130] and I have an idea that he will hear more from him because he is a diocese and bishop now with that responsibility and that authority.

[131] Right, I agree.

[132] And you know, what you tweeted about, you know, I love the little quick tweets that you say, Jesus Christ is Lord, and then underneath this tweet, true bravery is following Christ in a world that hates him.

[133] It seems what you just described, the world has gone nuts.

[134] Let's just put it in the vernacular.

[135] I mean, it's crazy out there.

[136] We're in California.

[137] We see things like New York happening.

[138] And it seems to me that that quote that you put true bravery is following Christ in a world that hates him.

[139] It seems that it hates them, hates Jesus Christ, because the moral teachings of Christianity are at odds with the world.

[140] And it's always been the case.

[141] I mean, it's not like this is a new, you know, dynamic.

[142] but that's why who's influencing who the church is influencing the world or is the world influencing the church Bishop Strickland, I'm going to give you my opinion we got too much influencers outside the church today that's my take absolutely and hatred of as that photo or that image that I tweeted it really speaks so profoundly because as we said earlier, Christ is Christ is truth incarnate.

[143] Yep.

[144] So he is the face of truth.

[145] So hatred of the truth, it's hatred of Christ.

[146] Amen.

[147] And many people do hate the truth.

[148] They don't want to pay attention to what is true.

[149] They want to shape it according to what they've decided.

[150] And it just isn't reality, and it's not going to last.

[151] It may last the rest of our lifetime.

[152] I mean, hopefully not.

[153] but hopefully people will wake up to the truth and we'll start moving back from some of this.

[154] But like you said, more and more, we're seeing leaders and families and on the local level and on the national and on the global level, people rejecting the truth.

[155] When you reject the truth de facto, you are rejecting Jesus Christ because he is truth.

[156] And that's what we see.

[157] Many people, you know, I will post things, even just a scripture passage with no commentary.

[158] And I'll see people just attacking and say, who said this and this is horrible.

[159] And it's like it's the Word of God, people.

[160] And yeah, it's challenging.

[161] But all of the Word of God together brings us the revealed truth of who we are and who God is.

[162] And we better listen.

[163] Wow.

[164] You just talk about tweets.

[165] You tweeted Father Gerard.

[166] He has a, I assume he's a chaplain for colleges, and you had a tweet that you support what he's doing.

[167] He says this, and then I'll ask your comment what you tweeted about.

[168] He says, as I get to know all these awesome college students, this chaplain says more and more, one thing is coming in crystal clear.

[169] They're not interested in weak Catholicism.

[170] Oh, that's great to hear.

[171] They want truth.

[172] They want beauty.

[173] they want goodness they want tradition they want community they want authentic masculinity they want authentic femininity they want heaven i love it they want other souls to get there with them wow what a priest i don't know who this priest is bishop but i'm glad you tweeted what he said because it gives me hope for our young people now he said it well and and that's what we have to realize is many people, yeah, we've talked about how the world is rejecting the truth and hates Christ, hates the truth, but many people, many people because of what they're hearing are waking up and hungering for the truth, and we've got to share it with them.

[174] Because this, the truth that Christ has revealed to us by his very life, his very presence among us, truth incarnate, it's what sets us free.

[175] It's what helps us flourish.

[176] It brings the solution to all the problems we see in the world.

[177] And I think a lot of young people, a lot of people, whatever age, but a lot of young people are, they've been steeped in, the world's got the answers.

[178] The world is going to fix everything.

[179] And they're beginning to recognize that that's not happening.

[180] And they are looking for the real truth that is Christ himself.

[181] Well, said that quote from the priest talking to the college students reminds me of Archbishop Sheen 70 years ago, and I just keep saying it.

[182] I know I sound like a broken record about Bishop Sheen, but he said, the day that man forgets that love is identical with sacrifice, he will ask how a God of love could demand mortification and self -denial.

[183] I tie that right into what the priest was talking about.

[184] Young people want the authentic truth.

[185] And if we're giving them milk -toast Catholicism that says, you know, don't worry about the Good Friday.

[186] You're suffering, penance, you know, mortification, self -denou, that's old school.

[187] Just know that you're going to all get to heaven.

[188] See, that's not true.

[189] And I think what Bishop Sheen said, 70 years applies to us, just like what this priest said today.

[190] Would you agree with that, Bishop Strickland?

[191] Absolutely.

[192] We've got to share the truth and be challenged by the truth, all of us.

[193] And we're just living in a time where people are trying to make the truth something they've decided.

[194] And it doesn't work.

[195] And it brings harm in this life.

[196] And it causes us to forget about the salvation of souls, which is the whole purpose.

[197] the church that Christ established.

[198] Well, so talk about speaking the truth.

[199] Another prelate, an archbishop up in Portland, Oregon.

[200] You tweeted this.

[201] He said, I'm grateful that Archbishop's sample has spoken so clearly here about the plague of lies that is strangling our world.

[202] All faith leaders, all God's faithful people, must speak the truth to the lies that are flooding our culture.

[203] truth is the greatest mercy i underlined that what you just said truth is the greatest mercy well what did he do the archbishop condemned abortion transgenderism ideology he said a man's body doesn't make sense without a woman's body and a woman's body doesn't make sense without a man's body my good friend father joe fessio from ignatius press at a family conference was saying the same thing.

[204] And he was saying that a man and a woman are made to be together.

[205] That's the way God designed it.

[206] He said, you know, any other way of having this union, the parts don't work.

[207] They won't fit because God designed a man in a certain way and a woman a certain way.

[208] It wasn't designed any other way to have a woman and a woman for marriage or a man and a man having conjugal love.

[209] They can't.

[210] That's not what God designed.

[211] So Bishop Strickland, here is.

[212] again, another brother bishop speaking out boldly on these issues that I'm sure he got a lot of hate mail for that.

[213] Oh, I'm sure.

[214] And he's in a very difficult place.

[215] I mean, I'm in Texas, which thankfully is better, but all of the false messaging about gender ideology, about the right to kill unborn children and abortion, all of these false messages are, we're not protected from them anywhere certainly there's some places that have embraced them more fully and we have to pray for those places but we we need to all of us recognize we've got to proclaim the truth and share that truth and stand strong for the truth because there are too many people that are being swept into the confusion and into the the darkness that comes from denying the truth well we'll talk about another bishop.

[216] I don't think we've ever had this many bishops on the same page.

[217] And I just want to expose people that we've got hope in the church.

[218] There's successors of the apostles are going, wait a minute.

[219] Hey, time out.

[220] This isn't right.

[221] I've got to speak up because that's what I'm supposed to do as a successor of the apostle.

[222] Bishop McMannis, I don't even, I've never heard his name before.

[223] He's out up in the Dakota's.

[224] He said this, that was unbelievable.

[225] South Dakota's bishop's band publicly transgender people from Holy Communion, thus when a person experiences same -sex attraction or some form of gender dysphoria, he said, such struggles do not change the biological fact.

[226] So in other words, you can have these tendencies, but you don't act on them.

[227] And he's saying that something that I would think he's really going to get nailed for by the public here, especially the administration who's pushing so hard in our Congress right now and the Democratic Party's right as we speak right now we're trying to push through these laws that will emboldened homosexuals to have these kind of rights so bishop strickland again you said another bishop i support i love it when you say that because sometimes i was thinking when i first met you like man why aren't there more bishop strickland's around that's what i said to myself but i see that more and more coming out and i'm sure you said his decision will be labeled as an attack by those who choose to ignore what?

[228] The truth God is revealed to us.

[229] The bishop is simply supporting the truth and sharing the truth is always the greatest charity.

[230] Oh, and we're going to come back from a break.

[231] He says, you said, my heart embraces the truth.

[232] This is powerful that a bishop will reach out and say this to people.

[233] He must really love his flock because he's willing to take it on the chin for his flock.

[234] And that's what Jesus Christ did.

[235] and he's another Christ as a bishop and priest.

[236] Wow, stay with us, family.

[237] We'll be back with more of the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[238] Welcome back to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[239] I'm not mixed up on my shows.

[240] Bishop Strickland, I love the tweets you've been giving.

[241] They're so inspirational in times where some people can look at, you know, we see the facts for every one Catholic that comes into the church, eight are leaving, okay?

[242] That's a tragedy.

[243] We have to acknowledge that we got problems on our hands and we need to respond in a proportionate measure by sharing the good news of Christ and his church.

[244] You quoted St. Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church.

[245] How can you go wrong, Bishop, with quoting St. Augustine?

[246] He says, you have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.

[247] And in your quote, I want you to expand on this, you said, our world is filled with restlessness.

[248] Yes, mental illness is at its peak, suicides at it.

[249] its peak right now.

[250] Because so many have rejected God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

[251] Well said, may hearts awaken to our only hope for peace and fulfillment, Almighty God.

[252] Until they do, the restlessness will continue to bring harm and sadness.

[253] St. Augustine, pray for us.

[254] What a great message to the world to say, look, all this nonsense of, you know, worldliness, the problem with drug addiction, suicide, we got sex addictions when, you know, we have the answer, and I'm not quite sure, Bishop Strickland, enough people in our church are saying, look to Christ, that's what you're saying, isn't it?

[255] Absolutely.

[256] Look to God, Father, Son, and Spirit, like St. Augustine says so well, our hearts are restless until they rest in God, because we come from God.

[257] We are made in the image and likeness of God.

[258] And that's what we've forgotten in too many ways.

[259] Even those of us who claim to be people of faith, we need to really reflect on what that means.

[260] And to be made in the image and likeness of God is really what St. Augustine is talking about.

[261] We're not going to be fulfilled.

[262] We're not going to be at peace.

[263] We're not going to be ourselves until we are with God.

[264] Amen.

[265] I'm going to throw you a curve ball because I know the last segment you can't join us because you've got another meeting to go to.

[266] But I think you're a pretty good ball player of Bishop Strickland.

[267] He could hit my curveball.

[268] I had a quote that I found over the weekend that blew me away.

[269] And I said, I've got to share this with the bishop.

[270] On air, off air, no, on air.

[271] And a statement says, a religion whose people give nothing, cost them nothing and who suffered nothing is worth nothing and I thought well I agree with that statement you know this is a great statement to make today and I said to myself who said that was that bishop sheen no I can agree with this man even though he tore the church apart in the 5th 16th century that was Martin Luther does that shock you bishop's truth I shocked me yeah but you see a clock can be write twice a day, even if it's not working properly.

[272] But God bless Martin Luther when he said this, a religion whose people give nothing, cost them nothing, and who suffer nothing is worth nothing.

[273] And I think of how that applies to when I read that over the weekend, I thought, see, that's why we have to ask more of our flock and not be like, I'll give you an example.

[274] You probably heard the Dutch church that came out and said, we're not going to have weekly masses anymore because it's just too expensive with the electricity and heating.

[275] You know, we just can't do that.

[276] We have a shortage of clergy.

[277] And this church, and it's 4 % of the Catholics, only 4 % go to church.

[278] Now, it's sad, but what I didn't like is that in 1966, the Dutch bishops, way back right after the council, came out with a catechism that was heretical.

[279] The church had to condemn it.

[280] They didn't believe in angels, the devil.

[281] and all these modernistic ideas the Dutch church taught in their catechism and I believe this is the fruit of false teaching, disbelief.

[282] Your thoughts?

[283] Absolutely, yeah.

[284] When you disengage from the truth, you become more and more lost.

[285] And that happened in the Dutch church and it's happening all over the church now.

[286] We've got to return to the truth, return to Christ and face the challenges.

[287] I mean, that quote from Martin Luther is very interesting.

[288] And like you said, I mean, he was a reformer who went the wrong direction.

[289] And there are plenty of reasons why that happened historically and everything.

[290] And I certainly am no expert in Martin Luther.

[291] But what he says is very true.

[292] And it really reminds me of what Christ says.

[293] in the gospel.

[294] And just simply, if you want to be my disciple, you must take up your cross and follow me. That's part of what Martin Luther is saying.

[295] If we don't sacrifice anything, if we don't have any skin in the game, then religion is just kind of like a parlor game or a club to belong to.

[296] And it means just about that much.

[297] And sadly, too many people have created.

[298] treated their faith that way, especially since COVID, too many people have said, well, I don't enjoy this parlor game anymore, or it's too inconvenient, or for whatever reason, they just let go of it.

[299] Thankfully, there are also many people that have deepened their faith and are holding even more tenaciously, kind of going back to those people that are already beginning to do what Cardinal Burke was asking of the laity, stand up for the truth.

[300] Call your bishop back to the truth.

[301] Challenge us.

[302] And as I've said many times, Terry, I'm ready to be challenged.

[303] If it's not in the catechism, if it's contrary to the faith, if it's not according to what the church teaches.

[304] And we can go to extreme in all kinds of different directions.

[305] We can be more Catholic than Catholicism if we choose to.

[306] I mean, we've got to stay with Christ, stay with his church.

[307] Well, said, Bishop Strickland, we don't go an hour show without talking about the Holy Eucharist, Our Lady, defending the unborn, every single show, and this is no difference.

[308] You are quoting St. Francis of Assisi, and I think most people don't think of St. Francis of Visei speaking so beautifully about the Holy Eucharist they think about butterfly sometimes and you know he was good for the nature but here's the quote you said man should tremble the world should vibrate all heaven should be deeply moved when the son of god appears on the altar in the hands of the priest I'm gonna I'm gonna cut this out and look at it every time I go to mass. This is a powerful quote.

[309] Give us your thoughts on it.

[310] Well, I agree.

[311] It's a powerful quote.

[312] And I think it does say something to us because it's from St. Francis.

[313] Like you said, we tend to think of him as, and he is.

[314] He love the animals, loves creation, the troubadour of love and all of that.

[315] But I think that what is the source of that love is Jesus Christ, present in the Eucharist.

[316] And I think he talks about, as we continue this Eucharistic revival, I think that's a great quote for really reinvigorating our awe and our reverence and our understanding of what happens at that altar.

[317] And what happens for me as a priest, I need to be in awe.

[318] And everyone at Mass, we all need to be in awe.

[319] And we all need to be in awe.

[320] at what happens to that bread and wine, as we say the words of Christ himself, and those words are words of Christ.

[321] This is my body.

[322] This is my blood.

[323] That's the awesome gift and responsibility of priesthood is what the priest says at the Eucharistic altar.

[324] And as priests and bishops, we're challenged to really live that.

[325] And so are all who come forward and receive the priest.

[326] body and blood of Christ.

[327] So, and as we've talked about before, there's so many great quotes from so many saints who speak on the importance of the Eucharist and how Christ is really present and how we must develop a deeper and deeper reverence.

[328] It goes back to what we were talking about earlier.

[329] The Lord is present there, the Lord of truth, truth incarnate.

[330] And so all the reverence for the Eucharist, the Blessed Sacrament, is about reverence for the reality of Christ.

[331] We need him desperately in a world of darkness and false messages.

[332] And the Eucharist is that beacon of life for all of us to be nurtured by truth incarnate in the Eucharist.

[333] I mean, it is awesome if we just take the time to really think about it and take the time to reverently enter into the liturgy of the mass and to reverently approach the Eucharistic altar to receive the body and blood, soul, and divinity of Christ.

[334] Well, Bishop Strickland, I think of what you tweeted about Dr. Scott Hahn.

[335] And 33 years ago, I met Dr. Hahn and recorded his first conversion story that millions of copies have gone around the world.

[336] And he's written books on the fourth cup, a lamb's supper.

[337] I remember listening to this convert, awakened my catechesis on the Holy Eucharist, and he, you know, he's like Henry Newman, in a sense.

[338] He awoken a part of the Catholic Church that said, we're cradle Catholics, but we didn't know our, we ever had annesia that we forgot about the fathers of the church and covenantal theology.

[339] You quoted Dr. Hahn in a tweet that It says, in the Old Testament, earthly worship was carried out merely in the imitation of heavenly worship.

[340] Now, in Jesus Christ, heaven and earth have been united in a great cosmic liturgy with the angels and saints worshiping together.

[341] The mass is the combined worship of heaven and earth, a fulsome worship of the communion of the saints.

[342] Thirty -three years ago, I remember him talking like that, and I went, I never heard anybody talk like that.

[343] That makes sense.

[344] I've heard Fulton Sheen talk about that worship.

[345] But what made you, quote, Dr. Hahn on the Holy Eucharist?

[346] What gave you inspiration on that?

[347] Well, he just says it, well, what is so important for us to remember, the mass is not just some sort of a community gathering.

[348] It is heaven and earth coming together.

[349] That's where the reverence comes from.

[350] We are touching heaven.

[351] and come to the Eucharistic altar.

[352] That's another one of those to read before you get to Holy Mass every day.

[353] Bishop Strickland, I know you've got to run up.

[354] I'll tie it down on the fourth segment.

[355] Thanks again for joining us.

[356] Can we get it not even a quick blessing?

[357] I should have got it quicker.

[358] We'll be back with the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[359] Stay with us, family.

[360] God bless.

[361] Welcome back to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[362] Unfortunately, he had to run to a meeting.

[363] And I'm always amazed how he makes a commitment, one hour a week.

[364] as busy as he is in his diocese to speak to us, our listeners, about the Catholic faith.

[365] And I just love it using the catechism of the Catholic Church and his tweets.

[366] And I wanted to talk a little bit about a tweet, even though he can't join me for this.

[367] But again, he's constantly been talking about the truth.

[368] You know, the truth is what sets us free.

[369] And here's the latest tweet about the truth.

[370] He said this, he quoted this in a tweet.

[371] when God wanted to create fish he spoke to the sea when God wanted to create trees he spoke to the earth but when God wanted to create man he turned to himself God said let us make man in our image and in our likeness in Genesis now if you take a fish out of water what's going to happen it will die and when you remove a tree from soil it will also die likewise when man is disconnected from god he dies you like that analogy i did we're like fish in the water with god we're made that's our environment god is our natural environment we were created to live in his presence we have to be connected to him because it is only in him that life exists.

[372] Let us stay connected to God.

[373] God without man is still God, but man without God is nothing.

[374] I think of that because as Bishop Strickland was here, I'd say Saturdays I go to a breakfast with a lot of old guys from high school 50 years ago.

[375] My baseball coach who's 81 years old is there.

[376] And after, After the breakfast, one of the Protestant men, that good Protestant guy, says to me, well, he had asked me for a catechism of the Catholic Church because I talk about our Catholic faith a lot to these men on these Saturday breakfasts.

[377] And he read the catechism, and he thought, man, what a beautiful.

[378] He told me, said, this is a beautiful, beautiful statement regarding, you know, the catechism on faith, hope, and charity.

[379] I've never read anything so beautiful.

[380] so we've been talking about Catholicism and he said to me if the truth takes me into the church I'm willing to come I thought well God bless him that's the kind of men we need well today or Saturday he said to me I can ask you a question what does it mean to be living with God and it's kind of like living in the presence of God so I asked a little prayer to my guardian angel to answer him the best way I can I said well you know in the Bible and talks about the our father Jesus teaches us how to pray.

[381] And our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

[382] Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.

[383] Doing the will of God, you're living in the presence of God.

[384] And how do you do that?

[385] By fulfilling your duties in your state and life, whether you're a good father or mother, whatever your duties are, that's how you fulfill living with God.

[386] And he went, wow, I never thought of that.

[387] Well, that was God speaking.

[388] But you see, people want the truth.

[389] They know whether they're even a committed Christian, they know the world is in trouble.

[390] They sense it, and they're looking for truth.

[391] And that's why we as Catholics have to speak up every time and not feel like, oh, I can't say anything, who am I to say it?

[392] You can speak up for the truth.

[393] You know why?

[394] Because that's what sets us free.

[395] Now, I wanted to send another little tweet that Bishop Strickland points out.

[396] And every year he does this on September 5th, Why St. Teresa of Calcutta died, I think, 1999, 1997, excuse me. And he quoted her saying, prayer is the breath of life to our soul.

[397] Holiness is impossible without it.

[398] Well, salvation is impossible without it.

[399] Remember, our saint of Dr. of the Church, St. Alfonso's Legory said, one who prays will be saved, one who doesn't pray, will be lost and that's why we need to be conscious of prayer in our life and that's important and as Bishop Strickland is pointing out in another tweet right before Thanksgiving I know this is coming up November we're in the middle of September but he says as we move towards the feast of Jesus Christ king of the universe and draw close to another liturgical year the close of the year in November let us acknowledge Christ the king today and every day.

[400] May his reign over our world draws closer to good, the true, and the beautiful.

[401] And I say this because, again, Mother Teresa died September 5th, 1997, at the age of 87.

[402] And in the tweet, there's a beautiful greeting with her and St. Peter's Basilica a few months before she died.

[403] one of the last times the saints were seen together, Mother Teresa, and St. John Paul, too.

[404] So that's a beautiful one.

[405] And now I'd like to finish up the show where we started, and that was Cardinal Burke talking about Catholics must remain in the church, hold bishops accountable to the apostolic tradition.

[406] And he talked again about how we have to stay faithful to this doctrine.

[407] and don't, people who call this rigid, they're simply wrong.

[408] Cardinal Burt reminds lay faithful, that they have a right and duty to express their concerns about the church to their pastors.

[409] He's referring to Canon 212.

[410] He also recalled to the bishops their duty to uphold the faith, which they undertook by oath at their Episcopal consecration.

[411] If you didn't hear Bishop Strickland talk earlier in the show about what a bishop promises when he's made a bishop?

[412] Wow, it's powerful.

[413] He said, the dynamism of the Catholic faith comes from continuity.

[414] It doesn't come from breaking the apostolic teachings.

[415] He said, Burke said, the faith is God's work and comes through us through the tradition of the apostles.

[416] He said, again, this is not rigidity.

[417] He said, but fidelity to tradition and the bishops are obliged to do so by their oath they took when they were ordained to be bishops.

[418] To call fidelity to Catholic doctrine, rigidity is simply wrong.

[419] The faithful have a right and duty to express their concerns about the church.

[420] Believers should openly exercise that right.

[421] It's in canon log in 212.

[422] And remember, Gardner doubled down on the need for good Catholics like us to correct bishops.

[423] This is exactly what Bishop Sheen did.

[424] did in 1972 when he said, who's going to save the church?

[425] It's not the bishops, cardinals, the pope.

[426] He said, it's the lay people.

[427] So we have our marching orders, and the cardinals really telling good Catholics to correct their bishops when they have spoken or acted against the faith, saying in cases where the faith is betrayed, even within the church, it is even more important for her to insist on Catholic doctrine and practices.

[428] They must understand, that they are not free to do so, but they are obliged to defend the faith in these times.

[429] Obedience, this is a powerful statement, folks.

[430] Bishop Cardinal Burke says obedience can never command us to do anything that is against our faith and good morals.

[431] Give an example.

[432] The bishop tells you you no longer should believe in the Trinity.

[433] You can tell me, go pound sand, I'm going to make reparation prayer for your conversion.

[434] That's not what the Catholic Church teaches.

[435] or like the cardinal from Germany when he was in Chicago he said sodomy is okay now the Bible was wrong no but cardinal you're wrong and I have an obligation to tell him that at a charity because I want him to repent of what he just did it's scandalous that a cardinal would say sodomy is okay and that the Bible is wrong that's so arrogant and you know these are the guys that we need to make reparation for when our lady said souls are going to hell because no one knows how to pray and make sacrifices for them.

[436] We need to make prayers of sacrifices for these prelates who have abandoned the apostolic teachings of the church.

[437] And I like what the cardinals said, they must understand that they are not free to do so, but they are obliged to defend the Catholic faith in these times.

[438] We are.

[439] And this is a great line.

[440] Obedience can never command us to do anything that is against the faith and good morals.

[441] I agree, Cardinal Burke.

[442] You know, I mean, if the bishop told me that I had to change about my belief in the real presence, I'd say, go pound sand.

[443] I'm going to ask you to repent of that false teaching.

[444] And we've had this before, okay?

[445] This is not new.

[446] This is, you know, especially 500 years ago.

[447] Now, when asked what practical means that faithful might use in defense of the faith, here's what Cardinal Burke pointed out.

[448] He said, the effectiveness of the means of communications, as well as the publications of great Catholic classics, go back to the fathers of the church, the doctors of the church.

[449] I agree.

[450] And he said, first of all, Burke said, Faith will need to use the means of communications to spread the message, and, for example, to publish ecclesial expositions of the Catholic faith from the fathers of the message.

[451] church.

[452] The great theologians, the reliable authors of the present insist on talking to pastors about these issues.

[453] Cardinal Burke remains a strong voice for us in the Catholic world, and we appreciate his outspoken defense of the Catholic authentic doctrines and practices.

[454] And if you think about it, what happened in the fourth century when one of the fathers of the we talked about this earlier last month when the doctor of the church confronted one of the one of the head guys that were running the show in the secular world.

[455] I'm trying to think of his name, I can't, but it'll come to me. And he wouldn't let him receive Holy Communion because he had committed a serious sin allowing 8 ,000 women and children to be murdered.

[456] And the bishop, I think it's, Bishop, my engineer will tell me, I'm sure.

[457] I think, not Anselaam, but it was a fourth -century bishop, doctor of the church.

[458] He wouldn't even let him in the church.

[459] And what did he do?

[460] He called him to repentance.

[461] And six months later, he repented and said, you're right, I'm wrong.

[462] And then two years after that, he died in the state of grace, objectively.

[463] And we wouldn't have that saint if he didn't do that because it would have been a sin of omission for not speaking out to that sinner.

[464] Just like it's a sin of omission not to speak to people who are for killing unborn babies that are baptized Catholics.

[465] Out of charity, we have to correct them because we want to see them in heaven.

[466] Wow.

[467] This is the Bishop Stricklandauer.

[468] He had to run for that last segment, but I hope you enjoyed to show as much as I did.

[469] I just want to remind you, Our Lady said it at Fatima, that souls are going to hell because no one's there to pray and make sacrifices.

[470] We can pray for these bishops, especially the good ones that are coming out and speaking out for the faith.

[471] They need our prayer support.

[472] We should support them in every way we can because what they're doing is going upstream.

[473] Even some of their brother bishops are not going to be happy because they've spoken out so boldly.

[474] Well, so be it.

[475] We've been here before, folks.

[476] Let's keep it in prayer.

[477] And if I was on the other show, I'd say, with Jesse, what state should we be living in?

[478] a state of grace.

[479] But state shouldn't we be living in?

[480] State of mortal sin.

[481] Get the confession at least once a month.

[482] That would be my recommendation.

[483] We'll see you next week on the Bishop Strickland Hour on Virgin Most Power Radio.

[484] May God richly bless you and your family.