15 Feb 22 – Greater Love than This No Man Hath…

[0] Welcome to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[1] My name is Terry Barbara.

[2] I always say I'm too blessed to be stressed and I'm too anointed to be disappointed.

[3] Every day is a gift from God and every week I have the opportunity to chat with Bishop Strickland from the Iys of Tyler, Texas about Jesus and his church.

[4] We take the catechism of the Catholic Church.

[5] We take his tweets and we just talk about how people can fall deeper in love with Jesus and his church.

[6] Bishop Strickland, welcome to another week.

[7] Thanks, Terry.

[8] Bishop Strickland, I have your tweets here, and this was a really good one.

[9] You mentioned humanity is in desperate need of the virtue of chastity.

[10] Wow, big time.

[11] Whatever your sexual orientation, we are all called to chastity.

[12] That's right from the catechism.

[13] Every man must model chastity, and you go, and bishops, priests, deacons must lead the way.

[14] pray for a change of heart for anyone who fails to live and call others to chastity now are you just tweeting that because our world is just out of control with their sexual continents in other words they're just out of control to keep their sexuality in line with God's plan is that why you said that yep that's why Terry and sadly it's too much much a part of the corruption of the church is just, I mean, we're all sinners.

[15] We all know that.

[16] If we're honest with ourselves, we acknowledge that we are sinners.

[17] We need to be reformed sinners.

[18] We need to constantly seek repentance, not just to follow the rules, but to share in the joy of life that God longs for us to share in in this world and in the next.

[19] I mean, that's, that's what it all comes down to the you know we're we're in such a twisted time yeah where people have forgotten that to live chastely yeah is a path to a fulfilled life amen and when we ignore the the virtue of chastity and we just go with our sexual urges where does that get us it gets us where we are now in too many ways and too many in the church are saying oh we don't need to pay that much attention to those kinds of sins i think we need to pay more attention to them i mean there's there's so much sexual license that is allowed and frankly um with the issue of homosexuality um sometimes i've heard the protests that, oh, you know, you Catholics, you get after those who are, that have the gay lifestyle, but you let heterosexuals that are hanging out together or hooking up or whatever they call it.

[20] You just let them have a free ride.

[21] They're right.

[22] Absolutely.

[23] It's just as wrong to distort the the God -given gift of our sexuality, in whatever way we do it.

[24] Certainly, the Bible makes it very clear that those sins are deadly.

[25] They're called mortal sins.

[26] And that's one area where the LGBTQ community is correct.

[27] They shouldn't be singled out, but everyone who is ignoring God's plan, and part of what motivated me to make that tweet just recently was a discussion I had regarding abortion.

[28] The whole issue of abortion is rooted in ignoring God's plan.

[29] for our sexual life.

[30] I mean, those children are too often conceived by accident.

[31] That should never happen.

[32] That is a lack of chastity in the world.

[33] So certainly it's not just one group or the other, but it's humanity for getting how essential living a chase life is.

[34] Even for a married man and woman.

[35] Amen.

[36] You know, so many marriages are in trouble because of a lack of chastity in the marriage.

[37] I mean, you might say, oh, well, they're married.

[38] They don't have to worry about chastity.

[39] Absolutely, they do.

[40] And one of the issues that is devastating to marriage is pornography.

[41] Amen.

[42] That is a terribly unchaste way for a man, probably most often a man or a woman who is married.

[43] to be engaging in consuming, as they say, pornography, that is undermining their marriage and the chastity of their relationship.

[44] A real godly man and a godly woman need to respect and treat their spouse's body with greater respect because they're married and treasure that ability that marriage brings about where the two become one.

[45] All of that is so sadly broken in our world.

[46] People don't understand what marriage is.

[47] People don't understand what chastity is.

[48] People don't understand what it is to be a man or a woman.

[49] And all the sins that are woven into that, they devastate people.

[50] Part of my prayer is to read John chapter 13 to 17 as often as I can.

[51] Beautiful reflection of Christ just before he is betrayed and goes off to his death.

[52] Those chapters, and what strikes me is Christ speaks of that he came that our joy might be full.

[53] That's what Jesus Christ is about.

[54] his message gets distorted so often with people say all these rules and all the church the Catholic church likes to tell people what to do Christ gave us himself as truth incarnate that our joy may be full if you look around the world today so many lives are shattered there's so much violence there's so much senseless death there's human trafficking I mean the the horrible things that are happening or just devastating humanity.

[55] That's so far from the fulfillment of our joy that Christ offers to us.

[56] But we only get to that fulfilled joy by following him, sometimes in suffering, but ultimately in a fulfillment of who we are as children of God.

[57] Well said, Bishop Strickland, and your point about we're all called to chastity, priests, bishops, celibacy, we're called to chastity.

[58] We're who are, like you said, a married couples.

[59] I found it interesting that the country of Hungary announced a referendum on the law against LGBT promotion, pedophilia.

[60] Now, they also don't allow pornography, and so there's other issues that the government steps in and says this is unacceptable.

[61] I personally, Bishop Strickland, I'm glad that a Christian nation implements these because it supports the family lifestyle of a Christian.

[62] What's your take on laws like that?

[63] Yeah, absolutely.

[64] Certainly, Christ came to change hearts.

[65] Yeah.

[66] And laws should move us in the right direction.

[67] Absolutely.

[68] And that, so I applaud.

[69] I mean, I wish that our nation would wake up in all of Western civilization, what there is left of it, to wake up to know truth.

[70] is what sets us free.

[71] Real freedom is based in truth.

[72] That's what Hungary is getting at.

[73] Pornography denies the value of the person on whatever side of that pornographic picture that the person is, whether they're the one being pictured or the one consuming that picture for their own pleasure.

[74] It's denying the value of the human person.

[75] And that takes us on a road to, devastation, not a road of fulfillment.

[76] And in contrast to that, in our country, a year ago, you and I did a radio show, and we had put it on YouTube, and we went through the Sixth Commandment, Thou Shall Not Commit Adultery, and they wrote back to us and struck it down, saying we can't play that because it offends our listenership.

[77] Now, thou shall not commit adultery, offends the culture?

[78] I mean, I'm sorry, again, it's the truth.

[79] is what sets us free, but we ended up getting pulled off of YouTube because of our Christian roots.

[80] I mean, that's basically what's happened.

[81] Now, just today I see Facebook took down ministries, non -profit ministries, Christians, that are helping people struggle with LGBT lifestyles.

[82] And they said, nope, you can't do it.

[83] We're going to take you out because this is not part of our narrative and that you shouldn't be telling anybody that's LGBT that it could be somehow wrong to be an active homosexual.

[84] Again, I can see it happening, Bishop Strickland, that someday we can't even talk about Christ in its way as the savior of the world.

[85] Somehow that's being alienating other people.

[86] And I just see it coming that this whole message of Christianity is being poo -pooed in our country.

[87] culture, but that shouldn't stop us from proclaiming the gospel.

[88] That's my take.

[89] Well, it hasn't stopped the saints and the martyrs through the ages.

[90] The church began in a culture that is, we're becoming more and more similar to in the first century Roman culture that was very corrupt, that was collapsing.

[91] And that's where Christianity was born.

[92] And to, We've got to be like the saints and speak the truth, whatever the culture may decide to do with us.

[93] It's the greatest loving thing to do is to teach the truth.

[94] And when we come back, we're going to talk about a servant of God who did exactly that, and it cost him his life.

[95] We'll be back with the Bishop Strickland Hour on Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[96] Stay with us, family.

[97] Welcome back to the Bishop Strickland.

[98] This is Terry Barber with Virgin Most Powerful radio.

[99] I gave a little tease about the martyrs.

[100] Bishop Strickland is saying, hey, the saints are our examples.

[101] And Bishop Strickland, you sent a tweet saying, thank God for the witnesses of this modern holy martyr, no greater love than to lay down your life for a friend.

[102] Can you tell us about that martyr?

[103] We don't hear him, Richard.

[104] Go ahead, Bishop Strickland.

[105] Which martyr was a point?

[106] talking about the last words of the newly declared servant of God, Ashton Bashu, who had a suicide bomber who came to attack the Catholic Church in Pakistan back in 2015.

[107] His cause is moving along.

[108] So you were just making the comment saying how he's a modern day holy, a martyr.

[109] Absolutely.

[110] He gave up his life for his friend.

[111] I mean, that's what Christ did, and that's the greatest love is to lay down your life for a friend.

[112] And I just thought it was very touching the way he said, you can do what you want, but I'm not going to let you harm these people.

[113] And he lost his life for it.

[114] But that's heroism.

[115] That is.

[116] And that's what we need to.

[117] Thankfully, even in our time, we're still in the age of the martyrs.

[118] Amen.

[119] Well, I wanted to ask you about a tweet you mentioned, and they actually got into an article at LifeSight News, U .S. Catholic Bishop comes out in support of the Canadian truck driver's freedom convoy.

[120] Everybody knows about, I think it's 40 miles long of truck drivers trying to convince the Canadian government to be looser on their laws for the COVID -19 COVID vaccinations.

[121] And so I saw that you came out, but then the same day I see Archbishop Vigano endorsing.

[122] the Canadian truck drivers also.

[123] This isn't the first time I've seen the both of you support something, and I just chuckled because I said, well, there's two guys that don't seem to be concerned about what people are going to say about you.

[124] You say what's right, and I just want to say, thank you for coming out and supporting these Canadian truck drivers.

[125] Well, truth is truth.

[126] Yeah.

[127] And, you know, we need to speak up for the truth.

[128] there's you know i last time we talked i got pretty fired up about um the corruption and uh we need to speak out against it it is it is so harmful to people in so many ways when we lose the truth i mean there's a reason that satan is called the father of lies and as a bishop as a successor of the apostles.

[129] Really, as a man baptized, I mean, all of us are called to the same, but I have a tremendous responsibility to proclaim the truth.

[130] And there's too much either silence or not telling the truth, even within the leadership of the church.

[131] And if the church isn't clear about the truth, than who is.

[132] Yeah, really.

[133] I mean, we have a dire obligation to speak the truth.

[134] And it's something that I've reflected on a lot because absolutely, I have an obligation to be prudent and to speak prudently.

[135] And, you know, I don't claim to have a perfect record there, but I don't know who does.

[136] But there's also what I don't hear much about is the imprudence of silence.

[137] When we don't speak up against evil, when we allow the evil to just continue, when we're silent in the face of evil, that's not prudent either.

[138] Amen.

[139] So you can be imprudent by speaking.

[140] You can be imprudent by not speaking.

[141] And that's where we have to discern.

[142] When is the proper time to speak up?

[143] What is the proper situation?

[144] And frankly, I guess it's probably no surprise for anyone that, you know, knows what I do or I'm sure many people would say, oh, Bishop Strickland speaks up too much.

[145] But frankly, I'd rather be on that side than for people to say, oh, Bishop Strickland, he's, he's too silent.

[146] I don't think I'm accused of that, but I shouldn't be.

[147] No shepherd should be.

[148] The wolves are out there in the church and in the world.

[149] There's too many people that are suffering being told, being sold a bill of goods, being sold a false gospel.

[150] And what's interesting, Terry, Just on a very basic human level, if it's easier, be cautious.

[151] Exactly.

[152] If this new interpretation of the gospel, if this updating of the church, if it's an easier path, be careful.

[153] Amen.

[154] And it always is.

[155] Yes, of course.

[156] You don't find the gospel, the new gospel of today, this false gospel, it's not saying be harder, be stronger, be more stringent about following the truth.

[157] Instead, it makes it, it's sort of like patting you on the head and saying, oh, that'll be okay.

[158] You don't really have to be chased.

[159] You don't really have to be honest.

[160] You don't really have to be a person of integrity.

[161] You don't really have to worry about these things.

[162] God loves you.

[163] God's merciful.

[164] And it's just like it'll just ooze all over us.

[165] That is not the truth.

[166] Well, Bishop Strickland, with all due respect, are you ready?

[167] That's been my experience in most of the Catholic churches today.

[168] We have very few voices speaking up.

[169] But I want to thank you for that, for speaking up and doing that, because you have inspired other lay people.

[170] I don't know if you know who Kevin James is.

[171] It's a famous movie star.

[172] Okay, well, 20 years ago, he came back to the Catholic faith, and we had a real role in that with all of our cassette tapes.

[173] Maybe it was 25 years ago.

[174] And he's listened to everything that Dr. Scott Hahn has ever done.

[175] I put it all on a disc for him and met with him.

[176] And he was just saying to me, I want to speak up because the world is going so south.

[177] you know, and it's out of control.

[178] Well, I just saw today that he's, you know, star of a king of Queens.

[179] Kevin James defends Joe Rogan.

[180] He says he's a seeker of truth.

[181] Well, that's what Kevin Jane said to us when he was coming back to the Catholic faith.

[182] He wanted to know the truth.

[183] And this is what happens.

[184] They get inspired by bishops, and this is my take, because I know bishops will inspire me. man, Bishop Sheen is the one who inspired me to know in because he wasn't a man where he would let things go.

[185] Like, I think you brought up the story of a layman where he was in a parish at the end of his priesthood.

[186] He was probably 81 years old, 1976, and some guy was trying to throw off some heretical material to Bishop Sheen before the Mass that was watered down.

[187] And Bishop Sheen said, get out!

[188] Get out!

[189] I don't want to hear anything from you all.

[190] that and the altar boy was like whoa man that somebody had took his authority seriously didn't he well I wish we had more of that because people like Kevin James who have millions of followers are coming out as their Catholic faith is saying wait a minute what's right is right and what is wrong is wrong and the reason I bring this up is because the truth is what sets us free you continually tell us that and I appreciate you saying that but we're living right now in a land where feelings rule.

[191] How do you feel?

[192] Well, and again, if you're telling the person, go ahead and commit fornication, adultery, whatever your serious sin is, active homosexuality, because, you know, like you say, God will forgive you.

[193] No, that's not love.

[194] You know, that to me is telling me that you don't love me because you won't take a stand and tell me the truth.

[195] And so I say that to our leaders dressed like you.

[196] I keep saying that dressed like you.

[197] Sorry, Bishop Strickland, but I really mean it.

[198] Where is the church going where its leaders take them?

[199] We need people like yourself and Archbishop Vigano and other cardinals like Bishop Athanasia Snyder, Cardinal Burke.

[200] There's many of them out there.

[201] But we need more.

[202] And I think you complimented the Bishop of Las Vegas last week for standing up also for people that are for abortion, they shouldn't be receiving Holy Communion.

[203] Just something as simple as a second grader would know, we're having to compliment the bishops when they come out with something that's, it should be elementary.

[204] I mean, that's not a, it's a no -brainer.

[205] So here's my point.

[206] Thanks for saying what you say so clearly because we're desperately in need of priests and bishops like that.

[207] Thank you.

[208] All right.

[209] Well, thanks, Terry.

[210] I want to say something, too, before we have to take a break.

[211] I've just thought recently we have a problem with three Cs.

[212] Okay, I'm writing them down.

[213] Go ahead.

[214] Catholic, corruption, and compromise.

[215] Oh, my gosh.

[216] Catholic shouldn't be grouped with corruption and compromise.

[217] And too often it is.

[218] Wow.

[219] Too often, that's.

[220] what we hear that's what I mean you know I know people just were just assumed that it was it faded away but the whole McCarrick scandal is still a scandal to so many lay people that I talked oh yeah because there's never been an accountability for it really yeah and that there is such corruption there and it's so devastating to human beings, to children of God, men and women, boys and girls.

[221] And sadly, what we see in society, when the church doesn't lead in the truth, when a bishop or priest or deacon, you don't hear much about deacons, thankfully, but any cleric, and they're all clerics, deacons, priests, and all clerics, but for any cleric to not speak the truth and to compromise on that for position, and certainly it happens in the government, shouldn't, but it does.

[222] It happens in business.

[223] You know, some big corporation, they're going to turn a blind eye to something because they're going to make billions of dollars.

[224] Standing for the truth is not a commodity that reaps the dividends that a lot of these businesses want.

[225] And sadly, the church is too much like one of the businesses.

[226] If I don't speak the truth, then maybe my position is a little safer.

[227] but I'm worried about my position with God, and that's what especially men of the church should be concerned about.

[228] Where are we with Jesus Christ our Lord?

[229] Are we living his truth?

[230] He suffered and died for it.

[231] And if we're ignoring it, we are crucifying him all over again.

[232] And some people say the church is going through a passion right now, like the passion of Christ himself because we're not living for the church.

[233] Amen, amen, amen.

[234] I say unto you.

[235] Wow.

[236] We come back, family.

[237] We'll have more with the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[238] Stay with us.

[239] Welcome back to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[240] Bishop Strickland, you get me fired up those last 90 seconds of the last segment where you talked about, I use it my exit interview that you know you're not going to be judged by the pope by other bishops but by Jesus Christ like us.

[241] We're all going on at the same exit interview.

[242] There's no difference.

[243] Same situation.

[244] Yep, absolutely.

[245] So thank you.

[246] I love when you tweet scripture, okay?

[247] Because to me, there's so many beautiful scripture verses, but you said, the church must heed St. Paul's letter to the Galatians, chapter 1, verse 1 through 11.

[248] Especially, I repeat what I have just said.

[249] If anyone preaches a gospel to you other than the one, you received let a curse be upon him this passage of scripture has not disappeared it is more important than ever well bishop strickland i know when i read that what came to my mind do you want to share with our listeners what comes to your mind when when you look at that scripture verse because i see people in the church wanting change yeah well there are too many voices in the church saying oh this this is no longer the truth and there was a cardinal i believe from luxembourg uh that came out with that statement that oh well we've we've we've been wrong about human sexuality for all for 2 000 years and what what really it's just we're living in a time where people are just unhinged from the truth yeah if you follow the the argument of this cardinal.

[250] And here I am Bishop of Tyler, but I'm sorry the Cardinal's wrong.

[251] Of course he is.

[252] Right for it.

[253] Yes.

[254] He needs to re -study his faith.

[255] He's listened to the world.

[256] Just go to the catechism.

[257] In a couple of paragraphs, he'll be straightened out.

[258] Go to the Bible.

[259] In a couple of passages from St. Paul, he'll get some clear understanding.

[260] And it's about, it's not just truth, but But it's about love also, and that's what seems to be forgotten.

[261] The reality is that the truth and the real love is what brings about fulfillment and in meaningful lives for all of us.

[262] If you take what this cardinal said to its logical conclusion that, I guess, I mean, I don't remember the specific details of what he was saying, but if we've been wrong about the church's teaching on human sexuality for all these centuries, then, sure, anyone can marry anyone.

[263] And then why marry anyone?

[264] I mean, it all starts to fall apart.

[265] If you take out the basics of the teaching that God created us male and female, and the only licit engagement in a sexual relationship is between a male and a female, a man and a woman, in the lifetime commitment of marriage, and open to children.

[266] That's a pretty simple, pretty clear definition of when sex is not just appropriate or okay, but it's gloriously living out God's plan.

[267] It's how God made us.

[268] And what the Cardinal is talking about is basically destructive to the human family, to the family directly and to just humanity as, as a community of God's people.

[269] You see, if you look at what's going on in society, so much of the hurt and the heartache and the evil that is happening traces back to ignoring God's plan for us as sexual beings.

[270] And when we do that, then you get things like the pornography trade, which is devastating on all sides.

[271] Human trafficking that is woven into drugs and sex.

[272] I mean, that's what humans are trafficked for.

[273] Even the drug trade, I mean, the fentanyl is, they say that enough fentanyl.

[274] gets shipped into the country to kill every person in the United States.

[275] Wow.

[276] And that is all connected to the same kind of corruption.

[277] So I hate to tell his eminence, he's a cardinal of the church, but that's what he's opening the door to.

[278] If we say this morality, where is any morality?

[279] Right.

[280] And frankly, if we've been wrong about that teaching.

[281] of the church, of sacred scripture and of the catechism, then it really opens the door for people to say, well, anything they don't like, well, maybe you're wrong about this too.

[282] So I'm going to just go do whatever I want.

[283] And many people are making that choice.

[284] But if we want to truly follow Jesus Christ, we've got to listen to him.

[285] we've got to listen to his church we've got to listen to the apostolic heritage of the deposit of faith that we've received it's challenging but it ultimately brings lasting joy in this life and eternal joy in the next well Bishop Strickland you're just quoting the church fathers I mean everybody has said that St. Thomas Aquinas last week we talked about his quote saying hold firmly that our faith is identical with that of the ancients.

[286] Deny this and you dissolve the unity of the church.

[287] You don't need to get in trouble.

[288] I'll take this one, Bishop Strickland.

[289] I'll say it.

[290] I'll say that.

[291] People like Father James Martin S .J. and this Cardinal, who's the Society of Jesus Cardinal, they are undermining the authority of the church when they say they don't support the magisterium of the church.

[292] In my humble opinion, I pray that they have this metanoya, this conversion to come back and say, wait a minute, my pride got me. I was thinking I had a better idea like Ford, like the Ford dealer.

[293] No, no, I humbly reject that now.

[294] I will give my submission to Holy Mother the Church.

[295] She must be right.

[296] It's been 2 ,000 years of teaching.

[297] I am wrong, and I want to ask for forgiveness.

[298] That's my prayer because I want to see the Father James Martins and these cardinal go to heaven.

[299] I would hate to be on their exit interview at the time of their death, and justify them saying that the Bible is wrong.

[300] I don't agree with the Bible or the church.

[301] Man, my heart goes out to them, Bishop Strickland, because I love them enough to tell them to knock it off.

[302] Now, you can't say, you're a bishop.

[303] I get it, your brother bishops.

[304] But I'm a layman.

[305] I want to see our leadership and our church teach the deposit of faith because that's what the church has always done.

[306] And when I see things like this, it does disturb me as a layman because it undermines, as St. Thomas Aquinas says, the unity of the church when you have people preaching different gospels.

[307] And that is not the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[308] That's the gospel, if you want to call it in the gospel, good news.

[309] It's not good news.

[310] It's the teaching of the world.

[311] And I always say this, Bishop Strickland, if you have to make a decision, look at what the world is teaching and ask yourself, what does the church actually teach on it?

[312] And if the church is teaching a worldly view, then we need to ask what, like everybody always says, the church is constantly in need of conversion.

[313] We have to preach what Christ taught, not what the world taught.

[314] Okay, I'm done.

[315] Yeah, absolutely.

[316] And we hear a lot about disunity and fracturing in the church, which is tragic.

[317] Yeah.

[318] Christ himself prayed that we might be one.

[319] We're a long way from that as Christianity.

[320] Amen.

[321] And even within the Catholic Church, sadly, there's a lot of disunity.

[322] There's a lot of division.

[323] But Christ has to be the only principle of unity for the church.

[324] All of us, from the Pope to all the cardinals, to all the archbishops and all the bishops, all the priests, all the deacons, All of clergy, all the laity, all the religious, Christ has to be our only principle of unity.

[325] If we're following Christ, if we're listening to him, then, yes, I'm a sinner, I'll wonder a bit, but if we're constantly seeking to follow him, that's what a saint does.

[326] That's what a canonized saint is, is someone who wasn't sinless.

[327] the only human being that ever lived was the Blessed Virgin Mary, that she's without sin by the power of God.

[328] Of course, Jesus, fully God and fully man, he never sinned.

[329] Right.

[330] But all the canonized saints, all the apostles, all the great martyrs, they were all sinners like all of us.

[331] So they should hopefully be a great sign of hope.

[332] They should remind us, we can all achieve.

[333] by the grace of God what the most holy canonized saint, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, whatever our favorite saint, we can be on that same.

[334] We're on that same path.

[335] Whether we're ignoring it or not, that's our choice.

[336] We have free will.

[337] But we need to, as we speak, absolutely, we need to work toward unity.

[338] But unity of this group and that group and another group that isn't united in Christ, it's never going to last.

[339] It's never going to be real unity, only making Christ the principle of unity for the church and for humanity.

[340] He is the incarnation of unity.

[341] It's his body that we have to be united in.

[342] Well said, and I didn't use this, but a while back you quoted St. Francis of Assisi, he said this, and this is how I think our unity can be really renewed under the Eucharist.

[343] He said, let the whole world of mankind tremble, the whole world shake, and the heavens exult when Christ, the son of the living God, is on the altar in the hands of a priest.

[344] Now, Bishop Strickland, that fired me up, man. Bishop, I mean, St. Francis of Assisi, renew us with our love for Jesus in the Holy Eucharist because Bishop Sheen said it.

[345] We have a de -Eucharization that went on.

[346] People's belief in the real presence had gone down.

[347] We need to bring it back.

[348] Here at the Bishop Strickland Hour, we're doing that.

[349] I hope to have you have a greater love of Jesus.

[350] We'll come right back with the catechism.

[351] Stay with us, family.

[352] Welcome back to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[353] Now we're going to turn to our catechism lesson.

[354] It sounds like, what?

[355] A catechism lesson?

[356] This is 2022, Terry.

[357] Well, can I tell you something, folks?

[358] I look at this catechism every day it's part of my formation when I say my morning prayers I want a paragraph or two to fire me up in the sense of my meaning and purpose of life I can guarantee you you'll have more peace in your life when you know why you're here and where you're going so let's continue Before we go to the catechism I wanted to follow up on what you were saying just before we had the break I was fired up a little so go ahead correct me that's good we need to be fired up for Jesus amen But you were talking about the Eucharist.

[359] Yes.

[360] And I just feel called more and more to really encourage people to support their priests.

[361] Oh, yeah.

[362] We don't have the Eucharistic presence of Christ without priests.

[363] Amen.

[364] They're imperfect man. I'll be the first to line up and say, as a priest, as a bishop, I'm a sinner.

[365] I work at overcoming my sinfulness and my weakness, but I'm a sinner.

[366] I went to confession this morning.

[367] I need to.

[368] It's not because I don't go because I'm holy.

[369] I go because I need to grow away from sin and grow in holiness.

[370] But we need to pray for our priests.

[371] Many of them are in very challenging circumstances.

[372] I just talked to a priest recently who's really having a hard time.

[373] And just burdened with all that's going on, the false teachings that are out there, bishops are facing challenges as well.

[374] But we've got to pray for our priests.

[375] It's such a tragedy that the precursor to a lot of this was the rise of the abuse crisis again, because so many people are, they're basically done with priests.

[376] And they say, oh, they're a bunch of abusers, which was never the case.

[377] It's tragic that any person was ever, one person abused by one priest is way too many.

[378] But the vast majority of the priests are good men seeking holiness.

[379] And they need our support.

[380] We need them in order to have Christ and the Eucharist and the other sacraments.

[381] We don't have the sacraments.

[382] We don't have the Eucharist without the priest of Jesus Christ.

[383] The church has taught us through the ages.

[384] Very early on, the question was answered, if the priest is sinful and imperfect, which we all are.

[385] But even if the priest is sadly, and deeply caught up in a sinful lifestyle, living a life of duplicity, the sacraments still have their efficacy because Christ is working through them.

[386] That in no way.

[387] That should hopefully instead of saying, well, we don't have to worry about the priest.

[388] Christ works through them whether they're sinful or not.

[389] We need to all the more pray for the priest to be strong and seeking holiness.

[390] If a priest is living a lifestyle that is not chased and is not not very, virtuous, and not just the chastity issue, but if a priest is not being honest in any way, we pray for him to have a change of heart.

[391] The same thing for a bishop.

[392] There's so much concern that too many have about position.

[393] And what we have to realize is any position, you know, In this life, every position is temporary.

[394] You know, you might say, oh, I'm the Bishop of Tyler.

[395] Temporarily.

[396] I mean, it may be for another 13 years or so.

[397] I'm 63, so maybe 12 or 13 more years of me as Bishop of Tyler.

[398] But it's always temporary.

[399] Right.

[400] That's the perspective we need to have.

[401] And, you know, the episcopacy and the priesthood is a temp agency.

[402] We're here temporarily to serve the Church of Jesus Christ.

[403] How long we're here?

[404] You don't know how long you're going to be here serving in what you do, being a husband to your wife, a father to your children, a grandfather to your grandchildren.

[405] I don't know how long I'll be the shepherd of this diocese.

[406] it's always temporary.

[407] That's right.

[408] And so we need to be willing to let go of anything that is a temporary position.

[409] If it means in order to hang on to this, I've got to compromise what I know the truth to be, I can't do that.

[410] And I'm concerned that it seems to happen.

[411] At least there are allegations that the corruption is there, but it's just ignored because a bishop doesn't want to lose his position or a priest doesn't want to lose his position.

[412] We need to be men of the church.

[413] We need to seek to be righteous men like St. Joseph and all the saints and be willing to lose anything, even our lives, if it's how we protect and live the truth.

[414] And I would encourage any person.

[415] priest or bishop that finds himself and looks into the depths of his heart and says, you know, I've been compromising.

[416] I've been allowing corruption to just continue either in their own lives or in the lives of the priest of their diocese that or, you know, a priest allowing corruption to continue in his parishioners.

[417] We need to call people away from sin, you know, We don't probably, we don't, I'm sure we don't hear enough homilies about that contraception is evil, that men and women or anyone else, people living together in a sexual relationship without benefit of marriage is wrong.

[418] People need to hear that kind of truth.

[419] It's the greatest way to love.

[420] Yeah, people will reject it.

[421] Many people walked away from Christ himself.

[422] But we need to pray for priests to be strong in the truth.

[423] And for those who are to be strong in their faith that even if they're rejected, even if they're canceled, stay with the truth.

[424] We need to pray for priests to be strong devoted to Christ.

[425] And if they're devoted to Christ, they may be martyrs in one way or another, maybe even actual martyrs with their lives.

[426] But if they're devoted to Christ.

[427] They are being true priests.

[428] Well said, Bishop Strickland, I will say that on Thursdays here at the Sacred Heart Chapel, we pray for priests from seven to nine before the blessed sacrament.

[429] We pray our rosary.

[430] You have the stations of the cross, meditation, and that's part of our spirituality.

[431] I know when we interviewed Bishop Athanasius Snyder, he's a member of the Holy Cross fathers, the Opus Angelorum, and he does that.

[432] I knew where he's at at 7 p .m. to 9 until midnight.

[433] They go till midnight, excuse me, we're lightweight, we cut out at nine.

[434] But the point of it is, I want to ask our listeners specifically if on Thursday, because that's the day the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood was brought about, if we could actually make some sacrifice for a priest, whether it's an extra rosary or a visit to the blessed sacrament, something to pray for our priest, because like Bishop Strickland said, they need it, and we are there.

[435] I think of what our lady if Fatima continually tells us in the message of Fatima that, you know, souls are going to hell because no one is there to pray and make sacrifices.

[436] You know, I hate that.

[437] I can't judge any priests, but I know that they're not all, just because you're a priest, you don't have a ticket to heaven.

[438] So they need prayers.

[439] Bishops need our prayers.

[440] The Pope needs our prayers.

[441] That's why every day I pray that the Holy Father will confirm us in our faith, because that's his role.

[442] And if we're not supporting it with prayer and we're just, oh, saying of these priests, those bishops, the pope, there's a knucklehead, come on.

[443] No, no, what are you doing to pray for all of our leaders in our church?

[444] That's the question I ask myself, Bishop Strickland, and I'd like to ask our listeners to step up their prayer life for priests.

[445] Bishop Strickland, I know we just have a couple of minutes, but I wanted to ask you if you could talk a little bit again about vocations and in your diocese of Thailand, And also, if you don't mind plugging the Institute, because in Tyler, you're doing a lot of good work.

[446] And you have a really good problem.

[447] You have a lot of seminarians that you need to support, and you're like being stretched.

[448] Is that a fair statement?

[449] Yeah, absolutely.

[450] Thankfully, we have 18 seminarians and several that are in discernment that we're in conversation with.

[451] We maxed out already as far as budget.

[452] because it costs about 50 ,000 a year to take care of a seminarian with education, with housing, with food, with all the things that a seminarian needs.

[453] Interestingly, it's about the same cost for a diocese and priest as for a seminarian, about roughly $50 ,000 a year.

[454] And we're blessed to have 18 men, and we're blessed with very generous, people here in the diocese supporting our efforts to have the seminarians we need for priests for tomorrow.

[455] But we certainly need the support.

[456] And like praying for priests, we need to pray for our seminarians in all the seminaries that they are formed well to joyfully embrace the challenging life of being a priest and bringing his truth, the truth of Christ, to people.

[457] who sometimes at least initially may not want the truth, but to joyfully and lovingly bring the truth of Christ with clarity, that's a beautiful life of a priest.

[458] And so we need as many as we can get.

[459] And the St. Philip Institute is part of that effort to teach and to hopefully form young people, form everyone, but especially young people, to know Christ.

[460] Christ deeply enough to hear that call that they may be receiving to consider religious life or priesthood.

[461] Mr. Strickland, I'm an old guy now in my 60s, and over the years we've supported priests and seminarians that have been ordained.

[462] And I've got to tell you, folks, it's a great reward to know that you help them in their formation.

[463] There was a gentleman from China, and his parents were killed by the communist.

[464] and he was in New York at St. Joseph's Seminary and he was going to be ordained and he needed a chalice and thanks be to God we were able to get that chalice and I know this every single day he offers Mass he remembers the Barber family so I want to ask you our listeners go to the Diocese of Tyler say I want to support those seminarians I want those graces knowing that I'm supporting a young man to the priesthood that will be serving the church long after I'm gone Bishop Strickland can we get a quick blessing because I talk too much.

[465] Go ahead.

[466] Heavenly Father, we ask your blessing for all listening to this broadcast that it may be an opportunity for us all to grow closer to Christ, rejoice in our Catholic faith, and trust that the truth truly does set us free.

[467] We ask this in the name of the Father, this and the Holy Spirit.

[468] Remember, folks, you can get all the podcasts of the Bishop Strickland Hour by going to VMPR .org, and they're all there for you to pass to your friends and family.

[469] And may God richly bless you and your family, and we'll see again next week on Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[470] God love you.