28 Feb 24 – The Evils of Pornography

[0] Welcome to the Bishop Strickland hour.

[1] It's Wednesday.

[2] God bless Bishop Strickland for coming and speaking the truths of the Catholic faith very simply and very just just right up front.

[3] And that's what we need today, Bishop.

[4] Thanks so much for joining us again.

[5] Thank you, Terry.

[6] It's an honor to be here, Bishop Strickland.

[7] I wanted to get your take before we get the, well, first we're going to get the gospel, but I want to just tease everybody about the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are children and you know this is a at least 11 states have basically said that out of the 50 states in America and I just want to get a take from you bishop on that much much more after the gospel and folks what we normally do if you're brand new we take the gospel of the day and let the bishop preach on that because he's been doing it for decades that's what a priest does so it's not like I'm asking to do much other than do his duty to preach the gospel and then we go into tweets we go into some of the issues of the day and then we go right into the catechism to teach people the fundamentals of the faith so Bishop Strickland we're on Wednesday the 28th of February the gospel of Matthew chapter 20 verse 17 to 28 if you could be so good to proclaim that gospel I'd appreciate it the gospel according to Matthew As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the 12 disciples aside by themselves and said to them on the way.

[8] Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the son of man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised.

[9] on the third day.

[10] Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.

[11] He said to her, what do you wish?

[12] She answered him, command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left and your kingdom.

[13] Jesus said in reply, you do not know what you're asking.

[14] Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?

[15] They said to him, we can.

[16] He replied, My chalice, you will indeed drink.

[17] But to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give.

[18] But it's for those for whom it has been prepared by my father.

[19] When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers.

[20] But Jesus summoned them and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lorded over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt.

[21] But it shall not be so among you.

[22] Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant.

[23] Whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.

[24] Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

[25] The gospel of the Lord.

[26] Praise to you, Lord, Jesus Christ.

[27] Well, once again, Terry, we have a gospel that we could probably take the whole hour to talk about.

[28] Yeah.

[29] But Jesus touches on some important themes that are as fresh and important for us as they were when he spoke to his disciples originally.

[30] It begins here in Matthew 20 with Jesus.

[31] is predicting what we will commemorate and worship the Lord during Passion Week.

[32] The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priest and the scribes, handed over, we know, by Judas Ascariot, condemned to death by Pontius Pilate, by Caiaphas and the religious and state leaders of the day.

[33] He will be handed over to the Gentiles mocked and scourged and crucified.

[34] who will be raised on the third day.

[35] He basically tells them everything that's going to happen.

[36] But very interestingly, the passage goes straight from there to the mother of the sons of Zebedee asking for them to get the cushy spots, to be at the right and left hand of the Lord, to be his first in his kingdom.

[37] kingdom.

[38] I think just stopping there for a moment, just like the mother of the sons of Zebedee, it's so easy for all of us to not get the point, to not get the message.

[39] Here, Jesus has just told them everything that's going to unfold, that he's going to suffer and die and rise for all of us.

[40] and here the mother of the sons of Zebedee is worried about a worldly position for her sons.

[41] Probably like a lot of mothers in a worldly sense, but we can presume that she heard Christ's prediction as well.

[42] The gospel doesn't make that explicit.

[43] Maybe she didn't.

[44] Maybe this is just the next episode of what happened.

[45] But the disciples had heard it, and we have heard it, and we need to really pay attention.

[46] Christ goes on to say, well, if you want to sit at my right and left hand, you have to drink from the same chalice that I drink from.

[47] And the idea of taking up our cross is something that's so often left out of the picture of Christian disciples.

[48] discipleship today.

[49] And sadly, even for us in the Catholic Church, who because of our Eucharistic faith and the Eucharist is all about what Christ has experienced and predicted here, it's about his life, suffering, death, and resurrection.

[50] That is the Eucharist.

[51] So we should be very clear about our willingness to drink from the same chalice of suffering that he drank from.

[52] The disciples say, oh, yes, we're ready, but the Lord seems to know that they're not as ready as they think they are.

[53] He goes on, speaking of the authority of the Gentiles and the rulers, he speaks of some of his most important themes.

[54] Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant.

[55] Whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.

[56] Christ in really embodying and living the truth that he proclaims.

[57] We read earlier in these readings from Daily Mass, Christ says, do what the scribes and Pharisees teach you, but don't follow their example.

[58] Here, Christ models he's teaching the truth and we should follow his example.

[59] What does he do just before he dies?

[60] What does he do at the Last Supper?

[61] But he models exactly what he's talking about here in this 20th chapter of Matthew.

[62] He said, whoever wishes to be great shall be a servant.

[63] Whoever wishes to be first, she'll be a slave.

[64] That is an upside down approach to greatness that Christ has offered the world.

[65] We tend to, throughout the church's history, and certainly in our time, we tend to turn it back, we turn it around again.

[66] And our tendency is to seek greatness in this world, even within the life of the church.

[67] I would imagine that many of us have heard about this priest or that priest or this or that bishop.

[68] Oh, well, this is the reason he did that.

[69] He's hoping for a red hat.

[70] Meaning he's hoping for the highest office, really, in the church, certainly the papacy, but that's the office of the servant of the servants of God.

[71] That's the office of the greatest service.

[72] But when we hear that expression, oh, that this individual is hoping for a red hat, we should really say a prayer, and sometimes it may not be true at all, but if there's any truth in it, we shouldn't get angry or be disgusted by that kind of worldly approach.

[73] We should simply pray for that individual because that is not really following Christ.

[74] The red hat of the cardinal is exactly what this gospel speaks of.

[75] When a cardinal receives a red hat, that red color emphasizes and means he's willing to take up this chalice.

[76] He's willing to die for the fame.

[77] And then we see too many cardinals.

[78] in the history of the church and in the church today who don't seem to take that part of being a cardinal very seriously.

[79] It's not for us to judge them, but we do need to once again look at the example they're providing and pray that their example might be more clearly pointing to Christ because that's what the cardinal red that they wear is all about, pointing to his death and being his disciples, that's the greatest service, the greatest slavery, as Christ speaks of in those terms, whoever wants to be great is to be a servant, whoever wants to be first is to be a slave.

[80] That service and slavery in Christ is a willingness to die for the truth.

[81] And that's what really all of us are called to from our baptism, but especially the cardinals who wear red, they bear a grave responsibility to model that for the bride of Christ, the church, the mystical body of Christ.

[82] And so we need to pray for them to be the men that they've been called to be.

[83] Well said, let's pray for all of our leaders in our church.

[84] Stay with us, family.

[85] We'll be back after a quick break for the Bishop Strickland Hour on Virgin Most Power for radio.

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

[87] Welcome back.

[88] Bishop Strickland gave us some soul food on the gospel of Matthew.

[89] I just love looking and reading the gospels because it seems like every time you read it, there's something else there that you didn't get the time you read it before.

[90] Has that been your experience, Bishop Strickland?

[91] Absolutely, Terry.

[92] And I think that's a great reminder that we need to really remind ourselves and everyone listening.

[93] It's a living word as Christ is really present in the Eucharist.

[94] He really speaks to us at the Eucharistic celebration where the gospel is proclaimed.

[95] And I need to do a better job.

[96] We all need to be more focused on that is the reality that Christ speaks to us.

[97] And very often I've had people say, oh, Bishop or Father in the earlier years, what you said in your homily is like you were talking to me. Wow.

[98] And I'm always humbled by that because I certainly wasn't directly with them in mind.

[99] But I think we all need to take that, not just for the homily, hopefully good homilies, but with the gospel, let the Lord speak to us, whatever the circumstances of our lives.

[100] As you said, very often, we're in a slightly different place than the last time we heard that gospel or read that gospel.

[101] And it can speak to us in different ways.

[102] And I think we need to be very conscious of that and rejoice in this living word is always giving us the strength to walk with the Lord and to be reminded that he's walking with us every day.

[103] we're not just visiting now and then, we have the beautiful opportunity to have that very intimate relationship with him before his Eucharistic face.

[104] But it reminds me because, you know, especially with the travel I'm doing lately, I'm not, it's harder to find the time for Eucharistic adoration.

[105] I bet.

[106] But what, and I certainly don't want to lose the Eucharistic adoration.

[107] because I know that's my strength.

[108] It would be foolish for me to not rely on that strength.

[109] But also, what has strengthened me, even at times on an airplane, it's not possible to have Eucharistic adoration, but it is possible to, in prayer, be very aware of the presence of the Lord.

[110] And I would imagine that you would agree, and anyone who has prayed in Eucharistic Adoration would agree, that once we do that, we are much more prone to acknowledging and being aware of the Lord present wherever we are.

[111] And that's not in any way to say, oh, well, we don't need Eucharistic adoration.

[112] It's really the opposite is what I would emphasize.

[113] We need it even more to strengthen that connection when we aren't in his presence.

[114] And so I just think that we've got to rejoice in that, see the power of God's word as tied into his Eucharistic presence.

[115] It's the same Jesus speaking.

[116] And I'll love to think about that myself, even as I celebrate Mass or read a gospel passage, to think about the very same Lord that is there in the passage we read today with him telling the disciples, predicting what will happen to him in his passion, death and resurrection.

[117] that the same Lord is the one that we are praying before, the one who went through that almost exactly 2 ,000 years ago.

[118] Wow, amen to that.

[119] Bishop Strickland, I don't think we ever get a show without talking about the Eucharist, Our Lady, and also the sanctity of life.

[120] And as I mentioned at the beginning of the show, Alabama Supreme Court rules frozen embryos are children.

[121] And we know that this IVF is an immoral way to have children conceived outside of the natural way, but thousands and thousands of these embryos that are children get discarded.

[122] And it's really a question of morality here.

[123] And I'm just happy to see that at least 11 states in America are addressing this issue as saying that that's life with that frozen embryo.

[124] Your thoughts about that?

[125] Well, I think you're absolutely right, Terry.

[126] And it's just one more facet of what we speak about just about every time we get together is the sanctity of the life of the unborn.

[127] And to allow those children to be disposed of and treated as if they weren't valuable is part of the whole tragedy of abortion.

[128] And that's the reason I'm sure that many would say, okay, there goes the Catholic Church, lacking compassion again.

[129] This poor couple can't have children.

[130] And so we're saying, no, you can't use in vitro fertilization.

[131] But what people often don't think about and maybe don't even want to think about is the reality that even, and thankfully, this court is saying these are human beings that need to be protected.

[132] They're absolutely right.

[133] It leaves us in a moral quandary of what do we do with these immorally produced children?

[134] They're still children.

[135] There's still human beings with all the potential that God gives us when he allows us to be conceived, but it really is just part of the whole tragedy.

[136] But I think it's what we have to learn from it is to speak against any of these so -called medical breakthroughs that are immoral.

[137] If it's immoral, it's not a breakthrough at all.

[138] It's not helping humanity to do these things.

[139] Yes, we can do it.

[140] We can scientifically manipulate things.

[141] And people talk about artificial wounds and, oh, that's the move of the future that all children will be produced in artificial wombs.

[142] It sounds like Brayne New World, a novel that I read when I was a kid.

[143] It was written in the 1930s.

[144] seemed like total science fiction, but too much of it is science reality today.

[145] And we've got to, it just underscores that we've got to use the ability to choose right and wrong that is God given and to reject these scientific breakthroughs that are not breakthroughs at all when they diminish the value of the human person.

[146] And if we look at a lot of science, virtually every scientific tool, I guess you could more even more broadly say, every tool that man has invented can be a tool of destruction of life or a tool of building up life.

[147] I mean, a hammer can bash someone's head in or a hammer can build a home to give shelter to someone.

[148] So every tool can be misused.

[149] How do we know when it's being properly used?

[150] We look to God, we look to His Word, we look to the teachings of our faith.

[151] And the more people ignore looking to God and looking to his truth, the more the tools become tools of the devil, tools of diabolical evil that every tool can become if we're going to forget who we are.

[152] So all of that is embedded in this controversy of what do we do with these frozen embryos?

[153] But we've got to, really, we should call a moratorium on any more being produced.

[154] And then do our best to ethically deal with those human beings that have been allowed to be conceived but never implanted in a mother's womb and never allowed to be the person, the unique person that God in his creation gave them the chance to be.

[155] So it's just one of those little spoken of real consequences of the world that we're in today.

[156] And I think it's a reminder of, I mean, it can feel overwhelming when you start thinking about these things.

[157] And we're going to talk later on today, I think, about things like pornography.

[158] Yes, we are.

[159] It has the same kind of effect that it's just overwhelming.

[160] But because we feel overwhelmed, we can't cease to speak the truth and know that the best way out of this quagmire of evil is to follow the truth.

[161] And God in his mercy, just like he was merciful to the people of innovate.

[162] When they repented, if we repent, God and His mercy will allow us ways to rightly deal with the wrongs that we've created because of our sinfulness and our willfulness against the will of God.

[163] But we've got to face it and declare a moratorium on a lot of these things that we've been doing in this scientific age that isn't a blessing at all.

[164] Well, said Bishop Strickland, you're right, we're going to be talking about the evils, and I'll call it the evils of pornography and how it's tied into all kinds of sinful behavior in our culture and the cost financially what that causes when we come back from the break and much, much more.

[165] I want to remind people the spiritual warfare conference coming up next month in March is sold out, and if you want to still listen to all the talks from Father Chad Rippaker, Bishop Strickland, and others, you can go to vmpr .org and just click on the spiritual warfare conference and sign up to get the streaming rights so that you can.

[166] I'm going to make a suggestion.

[167] Have some people come over to your house and spend a Saturday or Friday watching these talks.

[168] And you can even do it later because you're going to own those rights to that as talks and cover spiritual warfare with the family and friends and I mean I know we just did something with the football game that Super Bowl game and millions of people watch the Super Bowl game can I tell you something to be honest with you that didn't do much for your soul what's going to do a lot more for your soul is to watch the talks that are given on spiritual warfare on how to help you live a holy life and to keep the devil out of your home this is why I encourage you to go to vmpr .org, sign up for the conference recordings.

[169] You'll see it live, and not only you have it on live, you're going to actually be able to watch it at any time you want in the future.

[170] So that's the beauty of viewing this.

[171] I've got one more minute before the break, Mr. Engineer, tells me I also want to tell you that this segment is being brought to you by Sophia Press.

[172] That's another good Catholic publishing house.

[173] and if you go to vmpr .org, click on the Sophia Press icon and order a book.

[174] It supports Virgin Most Powerful.

[175] So why not?

[176] You could go directly to Sophia Press.

[177] I'm not opposed to that, but it does support us if you go to vmpr .org.

[178] Also, if you go to CatholicRC .org, this is something we just released.

[179] We have 15 hours of spiritual warfare talks.

[180] that we recorded last summer and they're available now.

[181] We were releasing them one show a week and this is helping you again with Dan Schneider and all the guys from Father Chad Ripperger's group with Jess Romero interviewing them on different aspects of spiritual warfare.

[182] You won't want to miss that by going to vmpr .org and again I hear the bumper music means that we've got to take a quick break but when we come back I want to talk about what happened in an Oklahoma school that is tied into pornography and the evils of it.

[183] Stay with us.

[184] We'll be back with more on the Bishop Strickland Hour.

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

[186] Welcome back indeed.

[187] Bishop Strickland, we talk about morality all the time, Catholic morality.

[188] And it seems that we have the answer for the world right now.

[189] You know, the family, the way the family goes is the way the culture goes.

[190] And this is a story about an Oklahoma school district who is accepting the resignation of a drag queen principal.

[191] Now, that doesn't make any sense.

[192] Once arrested for child pornography.

[193] So here is the principal in charge of this elementary school, and he's already had problems with child pornography.

[194] So I know in California he wouldn't get fired because in California, they'd pat him on the back and say, good job.

[195] But in Oklahoma, much more conservative, they're kicking the guy out.

[196] Now, I want to get your reaction.

[197] And then I'm going to give you some statistics that shocked me. I just recently did some research on the effects of pornography on the culture.

[198] So your thoughts about this school district firing him?

[199] Well, Terry, I'm really glad to hear that this school district took that step.

[200] And what we have to remember, that was an action of the greatest charity toward this individual that you could possibly have.

[201] And we all need to pray that this man will be awakened by, you know, being fired from his job.

[202] That's tough, whatever the circumstances.

[203] But let's pray that this will wake him up to the wrong path he's taken in his life.

[204] We can all be converted.

[205] We all need to be converted more deeply.

[206] Sacred Heart of Christ.

[207] So I really commend the school board, and they need to be the model of what every school board does and holding the values that are really, that's what we seem to have lost sight of.

[208] Even too many leaders in the church.

[209] It's not real compassion.

[210] When we overlook someone's denial of or living a lifestyle that is completely antithetical to what is biblical and what Christ has shared with us and what the church has taught for centuries, that isn't compassion.

[211] That isn't kindness.

[212] That's leaving people to be threatened and too easily destroyed by their sins.

[213] So let's pray that this strong action to be thankful to the school board to support those school board members that took this stand because I'm sure not everybody.

[214] I mean, it's Oklahoma and I think that's close enough to Texas that there are a lot of people that would really support this.

[215] but we need to support those who stand that are in a public office like school boards those are some of the most local public offices that too often are off the rails it brings up to me that principle we've talked about of subsidiarity man if if every school board in the nation started acting on the biblical truth that has been revealed to us by God and being guided by that to make these important decisions.

[216] I mean, this decision affects a man's life and a whole school's life.

[217] But this is the right decision because when that man is off the rails and as you said, I mean, you're pointing to the pornography that was part of his life.

[218] And we've got to acknowledge that as well.

[219] But I think it's important to note this is the greatest kindness that those individuals on the school board, I'm sure men and women, for them to vote to take this step, it may not feel that way for this individual principal or for many in the school.

[220] But it's the greatest kindness that they can offer is to say, no, you cannot be a principal of a school for our children if you are leading this kind of life.

[221] And hopefully, as well as being about the conversion of this man, hopefully it will encourage others to maybe it can be a wake -up call to others that are somehow avoiding.

[222] And even like you said, maybe in California where the authorities think it's perfectly fine, maybe this will be a wake -up call because that's how God works in our lives.

[223] We see examples of things that hopefully wake us up.

[224] up and make us realize how all of us need to be converted.

[225] Well, said, I wanted to mention they tie in with pornography and all the evils that are going on in the culture.

[226] I was doing some research, Bishop, and the serial killers, all of them have ties in with pornography as an addiction.

[227] You know, we've done the research.

[228] And even just recently, you see these guys shooting people, killing people.

[229] people.

[230] They do all this and then everybody says, well, what happened?

[231] Well, they all had addictions to pornography and they were doing crazy things like killing people because they got out of control with their faculty.

[232] So I just want to mention that the STD sexually transmitted diseases, we have 190 million Americans running around because they're out of control with their sexual appetite.

[233] They're doing things that are offensive to their body and soul.

[234] And, you know, God's, I say it this way, Bishop Strickland, that you can't fool Mother Nature.

[235] If you abuse your body, there's going to be consequences to it.

[236] If you over drink, your liver's going to have problems.

[237] When you use your sexual appetite for things that weren't designed to be used, you're going to get sick.

[238] It's called AIDS.

[239] It's called sexually transmitted disease.

[240] diseases like syphilis, and we spend $16 billion a year to try and help these people.

[241] I'm all for helping them, medicine, medical, but I want to help them in their soul more than their physical bodies.

[242] And the way to do that is to tell them that this is wrong.

[243] It offends God.

[244] It's an offense against you and your dignity as a human person.

[245] Tell them that.

[246] And then I want to give you one more statistic about businesses.

[247] financially, we're losing $16 billion of labor every year because people are watching hard porn pornography when they should be working for their employer.

[248] So this is a disaster to the economy.

[249] It's a disaster to the family, and it's a disaster in the system of crime.

[250] Because much of the crime, most of these people statistically have an addiction to pornography.

[251] I'm of the opinion, and you can say I'm extreme, but I think they have to outlaw this and say it's not permitted in our culture.

[252] If you're promoting any kind of pornography, you go to jail.

[253] And I think that's going to help the family.

[254] Your take on that.

[255] Terry, I would agree.

[256] And I liked what you said a few moments ago, speaking of the soul.

[257] To me, that's one of the things that really needs to be focused.

[258] on with regard to the question of pornography.

[259] By definition, pornography is human beings in some sort of sexual activity that is immoral.

[260] And if it is morally being done between a married man and woman, that's the only moral path for that sexual activity.

[261] But to make that a video is immoral itself.

[262] So there's no way that pornography can be moral.

[263] And what is forgotten easily and encouraged to be forgotten in pornography is that every individual involved, a man and a woman or whatever the different configurations of pornography, and it can get pretty bizarre.

[264] But every human being there is a soul, beloved of God.

[265] Amen.

[266] And to treat that human being as simply an object of pleasure, either the way they're treating each other or the way that the people viewing this are treating it, that is evil and sinful and destructive.

[267] To every human being involved, including the ones who are watching, the ones who see a video online or see a video on television.

[268] I mean, the different channels that are there.

[269] And certainly it's one of the plagues of our time because just since we were kids, pornography is much more available than it was.

[270] it was too available even when we were kids, but basically you had to find a source to get what we would call dirty magazine back when I was a kid.

[271] And certainly that industry was huge and people were doing it.

[272] But with the online pornography, it's something that is so easily, you know, many priests struggle with it.

[273] I'm sure Bishop struggle with it.

[274] But the, the point.

[275] point is that we've everyone who struggles with it if we can remember that these are souls beloved of God that are involved in this and we that hopefully strengthens anyone who's tempted in sexual temptation is very strong I mean we hear sometimes that oh the sins below the belt they're no big deal pornography shows that they're huge And they're one of the most destructive elements of sin, certainly not the only sin, but so many times sexual immorality is woven into the breakup of marriages, the fall of great business people, of great politicians, of great leaders in the church.

[276] It is simply destructive.

[277] And we all fall prey to it in one way or another.

[278] I mean, Christ has a a pretty high bar that he presents to us in the gospel.

[279] Even if you look on a woman in lust, you've committed adultery.

[280] That should scare us to death.

[281] Amen.

[282] Wake us all up and make us very vigilant in pornography is way down the path of simply having lustful thoughts about a woman.

[283] It is taking that woman or that man and treating them simply as a place, and forgetting that they're human.

[284] I mean, it really ties into what we were talking about earlier with those embryos.

[285] That's right.

[286] That court in Alabama said, these are human beings.

[287] They have to be treated as sacred.

[288] We need to tell the same thing to all of those who are caught up in pornography on either side of the screen.

[289] Those producing it or those consuming it.

[290] it is destructive of human persons and the tragic stories of people caught up in that industry and how their lives end tragically.

[291] I mean, talk about the weeping of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

[292] Oh, yeah.

[293] She often is weeping, I think especially of our lady of La Celle.

[294] She just weeps in that apparition.

[295] But many times Mary is weeping.

[296] And it's because of these kinds of sins where the children of God are treated as less than animals.

[297] It's just merely objects and destroyed too often in that sin that has objectified them.

[298] We've got to be very clear.

[299] And I agree with you, Terry.

[300] I think it should simply be, thankfully, I mean, even people are going, you know, and saying they're trying to, diminish the laws, child pornography thankfully is still considered to be a crime.

[301] Right.

[302] And if someone is caught consuming or producing child pornography, they go to prison.

[303] That's right.

[304] But it should be the same for any type of pornography because really for God, we're all his children, whatever our age, and we need to really remind people of the sacred nature of the human person.

[305] And we all need to be reminded of that and look for any ways that we are failing to be aware of that sacred person that is before us either in person or on whatever screen or device.

[306] This human being is a child of God, a sacred soul that is beloved of God.

[307] And we are obligated to treat them in that way.

[308] Bishop Strickland, you nailed it.

[309] And I will say the next topic that we're going to talk about, I feel bad for people who have same -sex attraction.

[310] I mean, remind everybody, the church doesn't condemn them because they have the attraction.

[311] We condemn the action.

[312] In other words, if they move on it, just like me as a married man, if I commit adultery, that's wrong, right?

[313] No matter what.

[314] And so I want to talk about what happened at St. Patrick's Cathedral because I think, again, we got fooled or I don't know what happened, but they got a full church for some folks, and you quoted it, they're atheists.

[315] I don't understand why they'd want their funeral at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

[316] And they're all a bunch of either active prostitutes or homosexuals, transvestites.

[317] You know, all kinds of people have.

[318] sexual deviations, and then I watched the video of it, and I was appalled what was being said in a Catholic church.

[319] And I would agree with 10 ,000 laypeople who have signed a petition to humbly ask the Cardinal, to say, hey, can we, can you do a reconsecration?

[320] Because this was sacrilegious.

[321] Now, Mr. Engineer, I don't hear the music on yet.

[322] Am I off?

[323] I got to ask him, he can speak to me. Richard?

[324] Well, it looks like we're over our time, but I'm going to continue on.

[325] He can edit.

[326] So here's my question to you, Bishop Strickland.

[327] You said it was a blasphemy and a desecration of a sacred place that must be denounced by all who know Jesus Christ is Lord.

[328] That's me. That's Alohi Palloy.

[329] So what's your suggestion?

[330] What should happen now?

[331] Well, I agree with this petition, and I think that hopefully, Cardinal Dolan will take it seriously.

[332] I was glad that he responded and acted in some way.

[333] I'm not sure details, but I think it does warrant a re -consecration and a real mass of reparation for the ways that people were blasphemized because it was not something that should ever have been allowed in the church, not in some sort of bigoted rejection of people, but because we do care about all those people.

[334] As I said in my tweet, we need to pray for that person who is being, you know, remembered at that so -called ceremony.

[335] I don't know what you'd call it.

[336] It wasn't a mass. They just had to, yeah.

[337] But it was in a Catholic church.

[338] Yeah, that was sad.

[339] I would bet that the Blessed Sacrament was Christ.

[340] Absolutely.

[341] So the Lord that we just talked about was there to ignore all that.

[342] And a lot of the blasphemies is just devastating for the church.

[343] When we come back, we'll talk more about the Catholic faith.

[344] Stay with us, family.

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

[346] Welcome back in.

[347] for our final segment.

[348] Bishop Strickland, your final thoughts about, I call it a sacrilege that took place at St. Patrick's, what prayers need to be done after something like this took place at the cathedral?

[349] What would you suggest?

[350] Well, there are specific prayers that are prescribed for, you know, when there's been a sacrilege in a tree.

[351] So that's what I would think is called for, definitely.

[352] Good.

[353] Well, I want to shift gears if I can, this last segment, talking about the catechism.

[354] We're at chapter 11, the sacraments and the liturgy.

[355] And this is a very important question because it says, how does the Catholic Church celebrate the liturgy?

[356] And the answer is the church celebrates the liturgy by praying with the words and gestures.

[357] Since we are both physical and spiritual beings, the liturgy appeals to our senses.

[358] standing, sitting, kneeling, chant, bells, incense, oil, and other physical actions and elements draws fully into the spiritual worship of God.

[359] Yeah, this is what got Scott Hahn as a convert when you just said.

[360] He told me personally that, you know, wow, this is liturgy.

[361] You know, this was foreign to him as a Protestant.

[362] Well, and really, Terry, I think this was all highlighted during the COVID lockdown.

[363] Oh, yeah.

[364] because really the Catholic Mass isn't something that works virtually.

[365] I mean, it's certainly there are people that simply are homebound and physically unable to get out to Mass. And so it's a blessing for them to be able to watch.

[366] But that is not the full and active participation that the church envisions of what that really means for being part of the liturgy.

[367] And we need to be physically present.

[368] It's a physical reality.

[369] It touches the senses.

[370] And certainly receiving the body of Christ and the form of consecrated bread and wine is literally touching our bodies and our senses in a beautiful way.

[371] So the liturgy is very much a corporal, reality.

[372] And I think that I'd encourage all of us to have that takeaway at least from the COVID lockdowns.

[373] And from what I understand, there are too many who have kind of taken the easier route of just watching mass on their television or on their computer.

[374] And like I said, there are times and I don't want to denigrate those who simply can't get out.

[375] Yeah.

[376] And they're not getting out for anything else.

[377] Sure.

[378] But there are too many who go out to dinner or go out for other reasons, but say, I'll just stay home and watch Mass. And if that is the only thing you can do, it's better than nothing.

[379] Of course.

[380] But we all have to know that that is not really participating in the Eucharistic liturgy.

[381] it's something that you have to be physically present for and to go a step further with that to make the responses you don't have to be the loudest one in the congregation but to add your voice to the voices praising God like you said earlier talking about the liturgy is ultimately what's the purpose of it to worship God it's about us needing to fulfill the commandments and know God is the one true God and to worship him above all else.

[382] And that strengthens us to avoid the idol worship that so easily creeps into our human lives.

[383] If you read the history of Israel in the Old Testament, they're constantly going back to worshiping idols.

[384] It's like God can hardly turn around if you could use that, you know, of God.

[385] But God gives them a moment, and they're back to creating golden calves and worshipping idols.

[386] We do exactly the same.

[387] If you look at the history of the Catholic Church as the leader of the Christian community in the world, the temptations to go back to worshipping idols, and they're certainly true in our time.

[388] And when we truly enter into the liturgy, that's the best way to ward off any temptation to worship other things besides God.

[389] God because liturgy is at her best.

[390] The liturgy is true worship of God.

[391] And that's what we need to do.

[392] Amen.

[393] And I love this question.

[394] What is a sacrament?

[395] And this reminds me my old Baltimore Catechism.

[396] The sacraments are outward signs instituted by Jesus to give grace.

[397] What is grace the life of God in us?

[398] Okay.

[399] There are three key parts of a sacrament.

[400] First, all sacraments are instituted by Jesus Christ, which means Jesus gave each sacrament to the church.

[401] The church did not invent the sacraments and cannot make up new ones.

[402] Oh boy, do we need to hear that today.

[403] Second, all sacraments have an outward sign.

[404] A sign represents something other than itself.

[405] For example, a siren signifies an emergency.

[406] Each sign is something we can see or hear, which makes known something we cannot see or hear.

[407] Sacraments use signs like water, oil, or bread, or wine.

[408] These sacramental signs outwardly show the reality of what is happening to the soul by the grace given.

[409] Each sacrament, and this would take a whole hour show, wait, you know, each, this is amazing, says, that these sacrament signs outwardly show the reality what is happening to the soul by the grace given.

[410] Each sacrament has matter and form.

[411] This is really important.

[412] Matter is the stuff, and the form is the words spoken.

[413] What a great way explaining that.

[414] That's beautiful, Mr. Strickland.

[415] Using the example of baptism, the matter is pouring the water upon the forehead of the one being baptized.

[416] and the form is the words the minister says, whether it's a priest or deacon, I baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

[417] And third, the sacraments' outward sign gives grace in order to sanctify the soul.

[418] Sacraments are not mere symbols, but actually given us God's grace.

[419] In baptism, for example, the water and the prayer really cleanses the person of sin.

[420] baptism does not just symbolically symbolize a person's entry into the church but really makes them a member of the church Bishop Strickland what they just said is so clear and as a young man I heard a lot of nonsense about what the sacraments were and this just straightened everybody out your thoughts on that absolutely really terry i like to speak of the sacraments, like we were talking about earlier, as Christ truly, really, working among us, just as he did when he walked this earth.

[421] Amen.

[422] Two thousand years ago.

[423] Christ is working through the sacrament.

[424] Right.

[425] Every minister of the sacrament, deacon, priest, and bishop needs to remember that.

[426] It's Christ working through the minister.

[427] Right.

[428] And the recipient, whether it's baptism or communion or confession, we always need to remember this is Christ working through the sacraments.

[429] That's why he's given us the sacraments, because he was a real human being, fully God and fully man. A real man doesn't live 2 ,000 years or however long the church will exist on earth.

[430] But Christ promised to be with us, And so he gave us the wondrous miracle of the sacraments.

[431] He's really present, especially in the Eucharist, but in all the sacraments.

[432] He's with us to heal us, to forgive our sins, to nurture us, to guide us to the everlasting life that he makes available for us.

[433] And I want to follow on all that, Terry, with something that's on my mind is as we record this.

[434] When this is made available on Virgin Most Powerful Radio, I will have been at CPAC, Washington, D .C. And I've already had people saying, what are you doing going to CPAC?

[435] Those people are sinners.

[436] And I certainly am very cautious about any comparison to Jesus Christ, but we, all need to follow in his footsteps.

[437] And so in that sense, I should be there.

[438] Amen.

[439] And everybody, yes, at CPAC or at any human gathering, at the Super Bowl, they were all sinners.

[440] Some repentance, some not.

[441] At CPAC, it's the same way.

[442] At any gathering of God's people.

[443] And I think talking about the sacraments, what comes to mind is the need for the sacrament of confession for all of us.

[444] For those who are non -Catholic, that's one good reason to explore becoming Catholic.

[445] If you say, oh, I'm a great sinner, but I'm not a Catholic, I can't go to confession.

[446] That's true.

[447] But you can become a Catholic and unlock that mercy and forgiveness that I know both of us have humbly probably shed tears over.

[448] When you make a confession of something you're profoundly guilty of and regret deeply and know you've been forgiven and given the strength to avoid those kinds of sins in the future, that's a great burden lifted off our shoulders.

[449] And so that's a treasure that we have as Catholics.

[450] So I just wanted to mention that because we're in a time where very often, you could say that I've been canceled.

[451] I really haven't been.

[452] I've been removed as Bishop of Tyler.

[453] Right.

[454] I'm still a bishop.

[455] And obviously, I'm probably speaking up more than I did when I was Bishop of Tyler because I have time to.

[456] And we need to speak up.

[457] But we have a tendency to cancel those who have had a scandal in their life or have sinned in some way that becomes public, that is the reality for all of us.

[458] We're all sinners.

[459] If our sin becomes public, we shouldn't cancel that person, but make it very clear that all of us, including the individual with public sin, like we were talking about, I don't know the principal from the Oklahoma school district that was fired, but in a sense, his sins have become public.

[460] Rather than being destroyed by that, what does the Christian disciple do?

[461] It shouldn't, I mean, to make things public is a burden unto itself.

[462] But all of us are sinners.

[463] Treat the sinners the way Christ did, calling to repentance, not overlooking the sin, falling to repentance.

[464] Amen.

[465] Thank you so much.

[466] Just remember, Bishop Strickland texted, tweeted this, James 520.

[467] Remember this.

[468] A person who brings the sinner back from his way will save his soul from death and cancel a multitude of sins.

[469] Let's get out and evangelize all souls out there.

[470] Thanks again, Bishop Strickland for joining us here on the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[471] May God richly bless you and your family, folks.

[472] Thanks for supporting us.