04 Sep 24 – Saint Pius X Speaks to Our Time As Well

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

[1] Every day, twice a week, I should say, we talk about the gospel.

[2] We read the gospel.

[3] He gives us explanations.

[4] Then we go into some of his tweets.

[5] We talk about issues of the day in the church and how to bring people closer to Jesus through an in -depth study of the catechism.

[6] So it's a great show to help you fall deep in love with Jesus Christ.

[7] Bishop Strickland, thanks again for what you do for Holy Mother the Church.

[8] Thank you, Terry.

[9] Today, Bishop Strickland, before we get to the gospel, I want to tease everybody, I thought I knew a lot about St. Pope Pius I, the 10th.

[10] And I found out things like, you know, how did he get canonized quickly?

[11] And what took place in this article doesn't say it, but I'm going to share something that it was an amazing thing that Pope Pius the 12th is the one who had this story that will blow you away about how he, interceded for the canonization of Pope Pius the 10th.

[12] And it's a remarkable story.

[13] So we're going to talk about that and much, much more.

[14] Bishop Strickland, before we get into the topic of St. Pope Pius the 10th, the day, I know today is, we're recording it on, is St. Augustine, so one of the great fathers of the church.

[15] And what a great story he has.

[16] Yesterday was St. Monica, his mother, and I can't let it go by without saying I think St. Augustine, especially Confessions of St. Augustine, I put that on cassette tape back in the 1980s with Ignatius Press.

[17] And that book really has helped a lot of people come into the church and it will continue because it's a beautiful testimony of his conversion to Christ.

[18] and he was living a very, very decadent life like a lot of people are today.

[19] So I think St. Augustine is a good model for us today.

[20] Bishop Strickland, how about the gospel for today?

[21] What gospel are we using today for the daily reading?

[22] Okay, thanks, Terry.

[23] Thank you.

[24] The reading from the gospel according to St. Luke.

[25] Glory to the Lord.

[26] After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon.

[27] Simon's mother -in -law was afflicted with a severe, fever, and they interceded with him about her.

[28] He stood over her, rebuke the fever, and it left her.

[29] She got up immediately and waited on them.

[30] At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him.

[31] He laid his hands on each of them and cured them.

[32] And demons also came out of them, many shouting, you are the son of God.

[33] But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ.

[34] At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place.

[35] The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him, they tried to prevent him from leaving them.

[36] But he said to them, to the other towns also, I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God, because for this purpose I've been sent.

[37] And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea, the gospel of the Lord.

[38] Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[39] Well, Terry, this gospel passage has some beautiful elements for our reflection.

[40] For one, the first thing that strikes me is Simon's, Peter's, mother -in -law was afflicted with a fever, and they interceded with Jesus.

[41] Here Jesus is God's son incarnate, and they're already doing what we do, praying to him, asking him to assist with this woman who's ill. It just struck me as a beautiful image of what the church has continued to do for 2 ,000 years.

[42] We turn to Jesus and the saints that have turned to him.

[43] It's kind of like a chain of request asking.

[44] those who are closest to Jesus, and the very closest is the Immaculate Virgin Mary.

[45] But that prayerful intercession, to see it they're embodied with the disciples as they're learning who he is, I think that's just a beautiful point in this gospel passage.

[46] And then it continues with the healing, and one of the more striking things I see in this gospel, it's important for us to remember.

[47] The demons also came out shouting, you are the son of God, and Jesus rebuked them.

[48] And it says, because they knew that he was the Christ.

[49] I think we still hear that reality spoken of by exorcists like Father Ripperger, who tell us clearly that the demons know, the demons know holiness.

[50] The demons know Mary and Jesus.

[51] and they are repelled by that holiness because they're the opposite.

[52] They're evil and they're in league with the Father of Lines.

[53] And it's so interesting that the demons, and this isn't the only passage fairly often in the gospel, we see demons who know who Jesus is.

[54] And I think it's good for us to really reflect on that.

[55] And imagine what effect that must have had on the people listening and they're witnessing these things.

[56] The demons may be the first in the gospel.

[57] I'd have to look at it.

[58] But they're probably some of the first that say, you are the son of God.

[59] And for the evil to know that, I think we need to be aware of that, even in our time.

[60] I mean, you and I speak about it and many people speak about.

[61] about the evil that truly is rampant in the world and affecting so many people.

[62] I mean, you mentioned St. Augustine just as we were beginning, but today we're recording on the Feast of St. Augustine.

[63] He was caught up in that evil.

[64] St. Augustine really is a beautiful, he's a beautiful saint for all time, but especially for any of us who may pray for individuals in our families, or in our circle of community and friends, people that we know of, and I'm sure that both of us can name people that we know, are caught up in what St. Augustine was caught up in, a life of sin and debauchery, a life very far from Jesus Christ and even from God.

[65] And for St. Augustine to be so deeply converted.

[66] It's just a reminder of the hope that we always need to have.

[67] The hope for ourselves that if we're struggling with, I talk to people all the time that are struggling with serious sin.

[68] Thankfully, they're in confession working against it.

[69] But sometimes we can weaken and say, just forget it.

[70] I'm too weak.

[71] I can't fight this.

[72] And St. Augustine hopefully reminds us that we can all convert.

[73] We all need to convert more deeply.

[74] And those who are very far from Christ, I mean, we both know stories and have met people that were atheists.

[75] Yep.

[76] There was no God.

[77] And they've come to the Catholic faith, come to know Jesus Christ.

[78] And I think it's a reminder that the world hasn't changed that much.

[79] Very often, the demons know what we know as well, what we believe, but they're working against, with the forces of evil, working against the goodness of Christ.

[80] So I think we need to be strengthened in hope to know that it's always possible to convert.

[81] And none of us are hopeless causes.

[82] As long as we're alive and able to make choices, we have the opportunity to choose the light and to turn from the darkness.

[83] And I'd encourage all of us to pray to St. Augustine and his mother, St. Monica, who prayed for him, to pray to those saints for those in our lives that seem to be lost causes.

[84] In God, there is no lost cause until, of course, when we quit breathing, when we die, the stories of over as far as our ability to make choices.

[85] But one thing I would say about that as well, Terry, is in listening to some of the mystics and just thinking about it, reflecting on in ourselves, you know, the end of life, I mean, we always talk about the beginnings of life.

[86] Life is sacred from conception to natural death.

[87] And that's one of the reasons.

[88] I mean, life is sacred is the main reason, but the reason that we need to be very cautious and to speak against things like euthanasia and any threat to the end of life that is unnaturally sped up with our intervention, we need to be very aware of that as well, because I think you would agree, and I certainly want every single second of life that I can have.

[89] to choose the right and to turn from sin.

[90] And we need that especially for individuals who may, I mean, we both know of many story of what we would call deathbed conversions.

[91] Or people who come to the faith, go to confession, come back to the church or come to Christ for the first time.

[92] In the very last moments of their lives, we need to respect how God offers in his mercy.

[93] Those last moments, it's probably both of us have read that part of Christ's agony in the garden is that he isn't going to be able to save everyone because we all have free will.

[94] Right.

[95] He wants all of us with his father in the kingdom with them, Father's Son and Spirit.

[96] So I think this gospel just reminds me and hopefully reminds all of us that as it ends, Jesus' mission, tells us.

[97] What's he here for?

[98] He is here to, I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God because for this purpose I've been sent.

[99] That is the mission of the church to proclaim the good news of the kingdom for the salvation of souls.

[100] And too many in our world are talking about the church having a different mission.

[101] It's not the truth.

[102] Listen to Christ.

[103] Amen.

[104] We'll be back with more on the Bishop Strickland Hour on Virgin Most Power.

[105] Stay with us, family.

[106] And now back to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[107] Welcome back, indeed.

[108] Bishop Strickland, we're going to be talking about what a great saint, Pope Pius the 10th was with the Holy Father from the last century.

[109] And I read in Father Charles Murr's book, The Godmother, and the story he talks about, she was the secretary for Pope Pius the 12th.

[110] And she told Father Mur a story that he wrote in this book, that applies to us right now and I knew it was in there I just had to find it so I got it and here's the story Pope Pius the Tenths made a big impression on Pope Pius the 12th obviously and when he became the Pope one of the first things he did was he looked into the possibility of the canonization of Pius the 10th so he got the congregation some Franciscan priest to come in and meet with him and said how many years will it take to investigate his life knowing what you know because this is your business did Holy Father about 50 years if everything goes just right because in the old days you couldn't even open up a cause until it was after so many years many years so he said okay so he thought about it and he said to Mother Magdalena who was the secretary for Pius the 12th.

[111] Mother, call your Mother Superior.

[112] You guys still have that retreat house up in Bavaria, that's in Germany, that's kind of been let go.

[113] It's run down.

[114] Oh, yeah, we still have it.

[115] Oh, Your Holiness.

[116] Ask your superior that the Holy Father would like to use that retreat house and send a priest there, and if that would be okay with her, we'd like to do it.

[117] And I'm going, well, what's that about it?

[118] But what it was about is she sent that friend, Father sent the Franciscan priest to dedicate a whole year on researching Pius the Tent's life to expedite the process for the canonization.

[119] Now, Pope could do that.

[120] So this guy, and it was not a nice place to live, so it was cold, and he said to him, just work day and night on this project and come back when you're ready.

[121] So he came back and Pius the 12th wanted to be the Pope to canonize Pius the 10th and by golly he did so that story leads me to an article that I read from the Catholic World report saying this anticipating the humble greatness of St. Pope Pius the 10th there were four reasons that God's grace that grace Pope Pius the 10th which had a profound effect on the church and in the world and I'll say this one, because it's just so powerful, he only reigned for 11 years, Pope Pius the 10th, but one of his major accomplishments would be sufficient for him to be considered a great pope, because look what happened with the French government.

[122] This one I didn't even know about.

[123] But the French government insisted on the separation of the church and the state with a clear aim of punishing the church, kind of like from the French Revolution days.

[124] Pope Pius allowed the church in France to become bankrupt rather than abandon the principles of the faith I say that Bishop Strickland and I my heart goes out and says wow that guy had guts to stand up to the government and say no you want to take our that's why the Notre Dame Cathedral is guess what it's owned by the state see they took it all from the he said I'm not my when I read that I'm thinking and he's doing what St. Athanasia said.

[125] Let them have the churches, we have the faith.

[126] So this was in the year, you know, 1900s, early part of the century.

[127] But I think of that.

[128] And, you know, I'd like to see a pope, you know, maybe in the next conclave, be a Pope Pius, the 10th model.

[129] Because right now, this is so important, not just popes, but bishops, priests, lay people, compromise is the language right now of the world and Pope Pius X in that example of the French government really showed me that a saint that he is he stood up to the government whether it's a Chinese government or America's government and said you know what you can do what you want to do but I'm not going to cave in on my faith and the salvation of souls I'm going to stick to what the perennial teachings are and even if it means bankrupting.

[130] the church.

[131] Your thoughts about that, Mr. Strathland?

[132] Well, Terry, I certainly agree.

[133] And really, Pius I the 10th, as you've acknowledged, I need to learn more about him.

[134] But everything I know about him is very positive.

[135] I just read recently that he said toward the end of his life, he was born in poverty.

[136] He lived in poverty.

[137] And he wanted to in poverty.

[138] And that is a sign of holiness, but also a sign of great wisdom.

[139] He knew that the wealth of this world and the power of this world, everything that this world has to offer, leaves us poor if we aren't rich in the grace and the life that Christ offers us.

[140] And that's why he became Pope Saint -Paise the 10th so quickly.

[141] Because of that holiness and that commitment to Christ.

[142] I think that the article that you shared, those four points are points that every priest needs to remember.

[143] Because what this article talks about, he was like Jesus, poverty, in his simplicity.

[144] He was a scholar.

[145] I mean, he was an academic as well.

[146] That's right.

[147] But it was very simple and very clear about what his job was, the salvation of souls.

[148] And one thing is, as you're reading this, and as we're talking about Pius the 10th, you know, we often, I've encouraged people to be aware that the church has gone through dark periods before.

[149] We've had struggles.

[150] We've had problems.

[151] We've had immoral people in the work of the church.

[152] I think St. Pies the 10th reminds us of another reality that we need to be very aware of also.

[153] Tell us.

[154] There have been periods of great strides and holiness.

[155] And I think those a little over 10 years of Pies the 10th as Pope were really a time of strength and holiness for the church.

[156] And like you mentioned, St. Athanasia, St. Peter Damien, around the year 1 ,000.

[157] There were moments of holiness and strength in these 2 ,000 years as well.

[158] And I think we need to be inspired by that.

[159] We need to be aware that this isn't the only time the church has suffered with compromises, with corruption, with all that we're suffering through right now.

[160] But we need to balance that with continuing to study, I think of Joan of Arc. These great saints who may have been fighting some of the darkness and the battles similar to what we're facing, but they're reminders of the great holiness that is there.

[161] When we are strong in Christ, we are truly strong.

[162] It The demons know that.

[163] The demons hate the strength of the joy and the goodness and the beauty of Jesus Christ.

[164] It drives them crazy.

[165] I mean, you hear the exorcists talk about, I mean, I've talked to exorcists personally, talking about when they're in the midst of a liberation or of exorcism.

[166] When they're dealing with a demon, you just have to say, Asked them to say the name of the Blessed Virgin Mary or the name of Jesus Christ.

[167] And they don't want to.

[168] And they tell you that it's painful.

[169] I've heard one of the exorcists say that every bead of the rosary is painful to the demons.

[170] We need to be aware of that.

[171] And Pice the 10th was very aware of the power of evil and the power of the holiness that is meant to be.

[172] and is in the church and needs to be increased and strengthened.

[173] So I think I'm so glad you brought up Pius the Denth because, again, we need those positive models.

[174] We need to never despair and say, I mean, I read an article just recently that this person was saying they're just, they're totally disgusted with the church.

[175] All bishops are corrupt.

[176] The whole church is corrupt.

[177] There is corruption, but there is also goodness.

[178] And saints like Pius X, remind us, the goodness is always there because Christ promised that the evil, the gates of hell, will not prevail.

[179] Amen.

[180] Didn't promise it wouldn't be a battle, and it often ends.

[181] Yes.

[182] But in Christ's time, it was a battle with the demons, but the goodness and the light of Christ prevails.

[183] And we need to be strong in remembering that truth.

[184] There's three more points we're going to make on this show about St. Pope Pius.

[185] the tense contribution to the church, but I want to invite all of you to come on a pilgrimage of Southern California's missions.

[186] We call it Conquering the Southwest for Christ.

[187] Again, as St. O 'Nepidro -Sera did, we're going to bring Bishop Strickland out, please God, with Jesse Romero, Matthew Arnold, and myself, all of the people here at Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[188] The dates on it are March 9th to the 14th, and I would encourage you to act now because the pilgrimage company that we hired, they agreed to a $200 discount if people jump on this quickly.

[189] So I would say go to vmpr .org, a virgin most powerful radio .org and look under pilgrimage.

[190] Click there.

[191] They'll get you right to the website for the pilgrimage company, and you can spend five days with not just Bishop Strickland, Jesse Romero, Matthew Arnold and myself What I like about this is that we're going to be praying on the bus when we do our travels.

[192] It's not going to be boring.

[193] We're going to be telling stories about evangelization that's going to inspire you.

[194] We're going to talk about the missions and what they did for California.

[195] And it's interesting, so many names in California are named after saints.

[196] The influence the missionaries had on the culture was profound.

[197] And we would like to try and redo that again because we've seen California go away in the sense of its faith.

[198] So come on March 9th to the 14th, go to Virgin Most Powerful Radio, and then you can register for that event.

[199] And I would tell you that we'll have some really good conversations with all of us.

[200] And what I noticed about these small pilgrimages and in my life experience is I have lifetime friends made at these pilgrimages.

[201] I meet people, I'm going, wow, this is this person, I mean, oh, God, so nice to see you, and now they're on my Christmas list, and, you know, I keep in touch with a lot of people, but I like to add more friends of mine because I need, I want to be around people who love Jesus Christ, let's just put it that way.

[202] And that's what we do when we go on these pilgrimages, and I know Bishop Strickland will be there for Holy Mass and confessions are available.

[203] We're going to have a great trip, so I would encourage you to go to vmpr .org to check that out.

[204] Before we break and the music comes on, Bishop Strickland, one more time.

[205] Oh, I'll do it because I've got 30 seconds.

[206] Go to Bishop Strickland .com to check out Bishop's website for YouTube videos.

[207] They're like six, seven minute videos.

[208] I'll just go on YouTube and type Bishop Joseph, excuse me, Joseph Strickland, and you'll get all of his videos there.

[209] When we come back, we'll talk about something that Pope Pius, the 10th did, that affected all of us when we were kids.

[210] Stay with us.

[211] I'll tell you what that is when we come back.

[212] Now back to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[213] Welcome back indeed.

[214] I love talking about the saints and the lives of the saints.

[215] You know, Bishop Strickland, when I was a younger man, I read the lives of the saints, and so many of them inspired me as a young man. I was just, wow, listen.

[216] Wow, wow.

[217] It was all wow.

[218] And so I think of St. Pope Pius, the 10th, the four points were making, this next point affected you and me personally when we were youngsters, because he lowered the age of first reception of the Holy Eucharist to age of reason.

[219] When, you know, before we were young, 100 years before, 50 years before that, you weren't going to receive communion until you're about, what, 12 or 13, but not that.

[220] So he led to a ground swell of Eucharistic devotion, particularly in families.

[221] He recognized, listen to this.

[222] that several heresies had become widespread in the church so he established rules and this is like, I'm sorry but I think this is a good, not sorry, I think it's good at times we do this.

[223] He said, I establish rules to punish Catholics who promoted these dangerous views.

[224] Pius demonstrated his concern for the priesthood and his brother priest by revising canon law and the divine office.

[225] I wasn't aware that he did that.

[226] He was widely known for his personal friendliness, his love for children, and his attention to those who were suffering.

[227] Even before pious sudden death near the outbreak of World War I, there were those who claimed to have received miraculous healings after meeting with him or asking for his prayers.

[228] John Paul too had the same thing.

[229] There's a connection there, I think.

[230] When you have holiness, miracles take place.

[231] Your thoughts about that.

[232] Absolutely.

[233] And, you know, the devotion to the Eucharist that Pius the Tenth demonstrated with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and other elements.

[234] Yes.

[235] I mean, this article talks a lot about liturgy.

[236] Yes.

[237] Introducing Gregorian chant and those kind of things that weren't the popular thing to do.

[238] I think one good thing about this article, as I was reading it, it's.

[239] it reminds us that our time is not the only time that has been corrupted and influenced by, I mean, you know, you think about, I mean, Pies died before the roaring 20s.

[240] Yeah.

[241] But if you look at history, there have been many times when people, I mean, sin has this attraction to us.

[242] I mean, it's called concupiscence.

[243] Yep.

[244] It is attractive.

[245] And you can, I'm just reminded.

[246] reminded in reading about Pies the Tenth that he was battling real corruption in the world and in the church at that time.

[247] People tend to take the easier path.

[248] Yeah.

[249] Tend to want to water down the idea that sin is any big deal.

[250] All the things that we're seeing, I think in many ways, more than 100 years ago, Pies the Tent was battling those same kinds of things.

[251] And he he installed the oath against modernism that was required of clerics and other and theologians, those who were teaching the message of the gospel, that they had to take an oath against modernism.

[252] I believe we need to reinstate that because the same modernism that Fias the 10th was fighting more than 100 years ago, it's taken a whole in many aspects of the world, including the church.

[253] One thing that the article talks about is that Pius X didn't walk away from sin.

[254] He didn't try to water down the idea that we're sinners.

[255] It doesn't mean that's all we are.

[256] We are called to redemption in Jesus Christ.

[257] Our baptism makes that possible.

[258] But if we are pretending that we can walk with Christ and hang on to our sins, it just doesn't work.

[259] And it really opens us up to great evil.

[260] And we're seeing a lot of that in the world today where, you know, I think Pines the Dent is just a great saint and previous Pope of history that the more we study him, the more, I mean, just as I read this article, and I'm sure, I mean, I know he wrote some great documents as well.

[261] And I'm And I think we need to, it inspires me to really learn more about Pies the Tenth because he speaks to our time as well.

[262] That's right.

[263] I mean, here we are needing Eucharistic revival.

[264] Yeah.

[265] And he knew that in his time.

[266] And he knew that people needed to focus more clearly on what's happening at Mass. Yeah.

[267] And that was when, I mean, we get all the controversy now between the Novus Ordo and the traditional Latin Mass. Pais the 10th didn't have those battles, but even though the mass was won, and it was what we would call the traditional Latin mass was everywhere, there were still ways that it wasn't as reverent as it should be, and the people weren't focused on Christ the way they should be.

[268] I think that's a real healthy reminder to us that the battles really are always the same.

[269] They come in different forms.

[270] I think we are in an extreme form.

[271] right now, but I think if Pice the 10th were able to return to the world, he would say, oh, you're battling the same things I was battling, and maybe not doing too good a job of battling it, but it's the same forces of evil.

[272] Evil doesn't change much.

[273] Evil just continues to tear down the truth and mock and mimic the truth in evil ways.

[274] Well, said, the third point reminds me of Benedict the 16th, because Benedict said, what's the best?

[275] thing we can do for the church today and this was years ago he said original sin explain it to people so they understand we have a fall in our human nature and we have an inclination to sin but we can overcome it through grace we need to teach that well here's what pope pious attempted 120 some years ago he addressed the reality of sin he did not back down in situations where he believed souls were at stake but now that i respect That is why he responded strongly to Catholic thinkers, particularly two Catholic priests.

[276] One of them was from France, imagine that, who denied aspects of Catholic dogma and doctrine and promoted questionable interpretations of sacred scripture, are taught that the church teachings were evolving.

[277] Does that sound familiar, Bishop Strickland?

[278] I'm going, whoa!

[279] He had to deal with that.

[280] he said after carefully identifying modernist heresies here's what the Holy Father did he insisted that Catholic pastors theologians and other Catholic teachers do what you just said take an oath in which they profess their faith in God in obedience to the church and a direct opposition to modernism I'm going to throw it to you but I think right now if we had that and I see there was don't think names well Father James Martin comes to my mind where he says the Bible is wrong when it comes to homosexuality.

[281] Really?

[282] That's what Pope Pius X was talking about, misinterpreting the Bible as the inherent word of God.

[283] I don't know, Bishop Strickland, but that last paragraph where he came down nailing what sin is and then went after any Catholic theologian who wasn't teaching the perennial teachings of the church, that's pretty much what you've been saying in some of your letters.

[284] absolutely and that Terry I absolutely agree that we and I think it will happen yeah it will because the only way we get through what we're dealing with as a church is to return to a stronger embracing of the truth that is Jesus Christ amen in order to do that there are things that we have to eliminate from our lives sins and intentions and impressions that are taking us away from Christ.

[285] So I think some form of an oath against modernism will return because it needs to.

[286] And whether it becomes an actual oath or not, that's what needs to happen is anyone.

[287] And what I would emphasize, Terry, is it's all about real love.

[288] Yeah.

[289] To truly love, I mean, that's what Pies the 10th did.

[290] He loved those who were wandering in off of the track, wandering away from truth, wandering into false teachings.

[291] Where their legion today, the number of individuals that are teaching and proclaiming things that are not the church.

[292] And pushing the church to be changed to comply with their ideas rather than for the church to always be configured.

[293] to Jesus Christ.

[294] And so, as I've said before, St. Pies the 10th was about real charity, calling people from sin and false messages, calling them back to the truth, reinstating some form of an oath against modernism to make it clear what is the wrong path and what is the right path.

[295] That's the most loving thing we can do for a Father James Martin or anyone else.

[296] For frankly, a lot of these cardinals that you hear teaching false messages.

[297] Right.

[298] And say, well, we're rethinking the idea of what the end of life is.

[299] And we need to update that and not be so stringent about, you know, some of these principles at the end of life.

[300] No, we need to recognize that God is the author of life.

[301] That's right.

[302] And we need to keep that sacred from conceptual.

[303] to natural death.

[304] And any threat to that, we need to reject.

[305] There needs to be an oath against all of that for us who are truly disciples of Christ, because it's our obligation to guide all of humanity and all other Christians.

[306] I mean, that's one thing that I've seen recently is many non -Catholics are concerned about what's going on in the Catholic Church.

[307] Some of them hopefully will convert one day.

[308] But even if they don't convert, they would.

[309] recognize the authority that the church has, and when she isn't proclaiming always standing on Christ and his authority, then even Christians of other denominations are concerned.

[310] And I think Pies the Dent was fighting exactly what these people are saying, we need to stand for the truth that is Christ in charity, in truth, and in strength and joy, but always standing for the truth.

[311] So I'm so glad that you've brought this idea of Pius X and this article for us to discuss because we need to remember what he's fought and what he proclaimed as the truth and be strengthened in the images and the models that he promoted.

[312] When we come back, we'll get the fourth point that I'd like to make about St. Pope Pius the 10th, his contribution to Holy Mother of the church.

[313] And I want to just mention that when we come back, we'll tell you who's sponsoring this last segment on Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[314] Stay with us, family.

[315] We'll be right back.

[316] And now back to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[317] Thank you so much.

[318] We're talking about St. Pope Pius the 10th.

[319] I hope this makes you actually want to read his life.

[320] I think it was called the Farmer's Pope.

[321] that I read an image book when I was a youngster, and it's still available because, guess what?

[322] My kids read that book.

[323] And I still have the book on my shelf, and guess who's going to read it next?

[324] The grandchildren.

[325] Yeah, that's how it works, folks.

[326] The fourth point about Pope Pius' contribution to the church is, we talked a little bit about his humility.

[327] He imitated meekness and humility to our Lord.

[328] he particularly demonstrated humility through complete lack of interest in his career advancements.

[329] I'll just give you a story that I think is funny.

[330] When he was made the Archbishop of Venice, the Holy Father knew he wouldn't accept it because he didn't think he should even be a Montsignor.

[331] He said, no, you got the wrong guy.

[332] So when he was told that he is going to be the Archbishop of Venice, the nunciote said that the Holy Father said that if you don't accept, it, it would displease him greatly.

[333] So that was kind of like, well, I guess I can't say no to the Holy Father.

[334] Now, Bishop Strickland, I know when you were named a bishop, I bet, I'm just giving you a hard time.

[335] I bet you they didn't say, now Bishop Strickland, don't say no because the Holy Father, Pope Benedict 16th, would be very disappointed in you.

[336] Did they say that to you?

[337] I don't think so.

[338] No. I didn't, I think that they did this because they knew Pope Pius the Tenths.

[339] personality.

[340] They knew he was going to say, no, I can't do that.

[341] All right.

[342] So here's what happened.

[343] When he learned that he'd been nominated, yeah, at first he was a bishop, he wept like a child.

[344] He cried.

[345] He even wrote a letter to Rome to explain that he didn't believe he was worthy of the honor.

[346] But his letter was ignored.

[347] So again, Pope John, Pope Leal the 13th knew it and just said, dude, you need to be the bishop.

[348] I'm picking you.

[349] This is coming from God's hand, embrace it, and he did.

[350] Now, Pope Pius the Tenth is now called St. Pope Pius, because like all the saints, he lived the life of Jesus Christ through his own daily struggles and challenges.

[351] He was certainly an exceptional choice for a Pope in his time, and today we should pray, not just for the Pope, but all leaders, that they will respond like Pius to Tenth did by living holy lives.

[352] And I think what I got out of this article, Bishop Strickland, and I want to get your take on it, is that we're all called to heroic virtue.

[353] That's part of being a saint.

[354] So we have to say no to ourselves and yes to Christ on a daily basis.

[355] And then we form these habits.

[356] Now correct me if I'm wrong with holy habits of saying no to myself and yes to Jesus.

[357] And I think, you know, that's the key in living a holy life because it's not I who do it.

[358] It is Christ in me who does it, as St. Paul says.

[359] So I just want to wrap it up with your thoughts about not just St. Pope Pius I, but all saints and how we are called to that universal call to holiness that the Second Vatican Council spoke about.

[360] Well, as you're talking and in reading the article, Terry, I think St. Pies the 10th really highlights once again the virtue of humility.

[361] He was a humble man. He didn't put on airs, that's what we say.

[362] He didn't pretend he was something else.

[363] He was much more than he was even willing to admit.

[364] I love the part in this article that said he went very peacefully to the conclave after Leo the 13th had died because you know, he had no thought that, I mean, he's already a cardinal.

[365] He's the Cardinal Archbishop of Venice, but he went very cheerfully to the conclave thinking there was no chance he'd be the Pope.

[366] And it says that the people were sad when he left because they knew very well that he might very well be the Pope.

[367] It turned out that was the case.

[368] That humility, all of us, like you're saying, Terry, They're called the holiness isn't just for popes and cardinals and bishops and religious women, but it's for all of us.

[369] All the baptized, from our baptism, we're called to live a life of holiness.

[370] We're called to be saints.

[371] Amen.

[372] And not to worry about being canonized, but to be a saint truly, in the greatest definition of a saint, is one who is with God for eternity, a human being.

[373] who lived with God for eternity.

[374] So the humility of Pines the Denth, I think, especially in our time, is something we really need to study and to be very, to pray for a humble heart, as I often talk about St. John the Baptist.

[375] Oh, yeah.

[376] Pies the Denth really echoes that kind of.

[377] in very different settings.

[378] John the Baptist said, I'm not worthy to unfasten the sandal of Jesus Christ.

[379] And he was rotten.

[380] None of us are worthy.

[381] Don't be non -sumdignus.

[382] I'm sure that Vice the 10th really said those words from the Latin Mass, Lord, I am not worthy.

[383] Domene non -sum -dignus with great focus and fervor because that's what he demonstrates that he knows he's not worthy.

[384] But as both of us know, when we're smart enough to know, to have some humility and to know that we're nothing compared to the greatness of God, then at least we can begin to open ourselves up to be used as his instruments in some small way.

[385] It may not be a way that the world even acknowledges.

[386] But that, again, is what we're called to as saints, is to live a life that points to God, be humble enough to know that we're not worthy to do anything.

[387] I mean, I think a final point that I would make is, I'm sure, and it talks about Pice the Tenth as a parish priest and how he was beloved as a parish priest.

[388] And I'm sure that he approached the juristic altar of Christ at every month with great humility and with great piety.

[389] He was a man and he wasn't perfect, but I'm sure that, I mean, what this article talks about, the people saw his holiness and quite an interesting part of his story.

[390] The town where he was born, they changed the name.

[391] to include his name as part of the name of the town after after he became a canonized saint.

[392] And I think that it's just a reminder to us.

[393] Again, I focus on what he said himself, that he was born in poverty, lived in poverty, and he died in poverty.

[394] Yes.

[395] Who does that remind you up?

[396] Jesus, of course.

[397] Christ was born in poverty, he lived in poverty, and he died in poverty, and he died in poverty.

[398] and he was the king of the universe.

[399] If we want to truly be his disciples, like Pies the 10th and like St. Augustine and so many great saints, we need to really embrace the reality that all of us spiritually are born in poverty, live in poverty, and die in poverty, but the riches are in the kingdom if we really follow the truth of Christ.

[400] And Pies the 10th is a great model of that.

[401] I love it.

[402] I wanted to mention that this segment is being sponsored by Real Estate for Life.

[403] Many years ago, I met them.

[404] What they do is they get pro -life agents who at least have five years of full -time work in real estate to help you buy or sell a house.

[405] And then Real Estate for Life will donate a portion of the commission that you pay to them back to Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[406] I haven't had one person over the last five years tell me, oh, we had a bad agent.

[407] They've all been very happy.

[408] So if you're buying or selling a house, call 877 -543 -3871.

[409] Mention Virgin Most Powerful Radio to the people that you call, and then we'll get a portion of the commission back to support the work here at Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[410] Before I ask you for the blessing, which is in another minute or two, I wanted to ask you, on your YouTube channel, what have you lately put out so that we could tease somebody to go out and watch your YouTube channel?

[411] What have you recently done?

[412] Well, one of the most recent was a reflection on the assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

[413] We celebrated a few days ago.

[414] I talked also about the need for Eucharistic revival.

[415] You know, I celebrate it.

[416] It seemed like it was a great event they had the Eucharistic Congress.

[417] But let's not let it fade, but let's continue to, with great fervor and joy seek deeper Eucharistic revival.

[418] So I talked about that as well.

[419] And I probably very soon will be recording more for those short YouTube conversations about things that are important.

[420] important to living the call of holiness that we all share.

[421] Excellent.

[422] I want to also mention the Spiritual Warfare Conference here in Southern California.

[423] That's coming up in March.

[424] We got an exorcist coming on of Father Chad Ripperger's priests in his order.

[425] We've got Bishop Strickland coming.

[426] We've got Jesse Romero.

[427] We got Dan and Kyle from the staff there on spiritual warfare.

[428] It's going to be a great conference.

[429] We've got a new facility, allowing people to register way early because we always sell out.

[430] So I would encourage you to go to vmpr .org, look under conferences for the spiritual warfare conference.

[431] Get your tickets now, and that way you don't have to be left out the last eight years in a row.

[432] We've sold out six weeks before the event.

[433] So we don't want to have you miss it because you didn't move on it.

[434] Go to vmpr .org, and you'll see there the spiritual warfare conference, everyone who's coming in the facility that we're using is state of the art, not a church anymore.

[435] So we would like to have you come, meet all of our speakers there.

[436] And Bishop Strickland, before I ask you for that final blessing, I wanted to also mention that your letter I talked about last week, could you just remind you?

[437] everybody how they can get all your different letters that you wrote to the to just people in general yeah it's just very the easiest way is probably bishop strickland dot com my website it's also posted on a substack good that's bishop strickland um so there are various ways that you can access those letters excellent how about a blessing for our radio audience please mighty god we ask your blessing for all of us as we continue to walk in the light of your son jesus christ strengthen us with a model of saints like pice the 10th may the immaculate virgin interesting for us we ask this in the name of the father and the son and of the holy spirit amen thanks again for listening folks don't forget life is short eternity is forever and that's why we want to have our friendship with god by living the state of grace.

[438] Thanks for joining us, and may God richly bless you and your family and go to our website to find out about more shows, vmpr .org.

[439] You check them all out.

[440] They're there for you.

[441] God love you.