03 Oct 23 – The Human Dignity of Each and Every Person

[0] Welcome to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[1] My name is Terry Barber.

[2] Each week we get a chance to talk about how to fall in love with Jesus Christ and his bride the church with, I call them America's Bishop, Joseph Strickland, from Tyler, Texas.

[3] Bishop, thanks for taking the time to share the gospel with everyone who's listening.

[4] Thanks, Terry.

[5] Thank you.

[6] Bishop Strickland, I usually go through your tweets with you every week, for those who are brand new.

[7] We're doing that, but we're also going through your pastoral letters.

[8] which are just letters from your heart.

[9] I can just hear it.

[10] And when I read, I can hear you saying these words because I'm used to listening to you.

[11] And we want to go into your latest one about, you know, the dignity of human people, of human beings.

[12] Every human person has a dignity.

[13] And we're going to talk about that.

[14] But before we do that, one of your tweets knocked me off my horse.

[15] Well, some of them knocked me off the horse several times a week.

[16] But this one, you quoted St. Augustine of Hippo.

[17] And we're talking to fourth century, folks.

[18] What can anybody say in the fourth century that would have been applied to us today?

[19] Plenty.

[20] Here's what he says.

[21] People hate the truth for the sake of whatever it is they love more than the truth.

[22] Well, that's a powerful statement.

[23] He says, they love truth when it shines warmly on them and hate it when it rebukes them.

[24] Bishop Strickland, human nature hasn't changed.

[25] No, absolutely.

[26] And it doesn't change.

[27] The same challenges that St. Augustine faced we face in the 21st century.

[28] Yeah.

[29] And that's incredible.

[30] And I think of this.

[31] You've taught me something a while back.

[32] I put it in my little daily reminder because the truth doesn't change.

[33] And you had tweeted this probably two years ago.

[34] But I have a little thing I put when I see something.

[35] I want to read it often.

[36] Truth is not something we invent.

[37] It is something we discover.

[38] I say this because we've got a senate coming up October 4th in Rome.

[39] And before I get into your letter, because your letter answers this, we have some bishops who I pray for because they're successors of the apostles and they're supposed to be confirming us in our faith.

[40] And there's a Swiss bishop who calls for women's ordination and an end to celibacy ahead of the Senate.

[41] He's one of the bishops, his name is Bishop Felix.

[42] And I pray for this man, Gemmur, G -M -U -R of Basil, told a Swiss newspaper just on September 24th.

[43] He said that, he said, I'm in favor of women's ordination.

[44] It will also be a topic at the Senate that will take place in Rome, which I'll be there for that.

[45] And he said that on celibacy, he said, yes, I understand celibacy means that I'm available to God, but I believe that this sign is no longer understood by society today.

[46] Many think, what's wrong with this person?

[47] Does he have a problem?

[48] When a sign is no longer understood, it must be questioned.

[49] Bishop Strickland, that statement, when a sign is no longer understood, it must be questioned.

[50] Could that apply to our Catholic faith also, like the Eucharist or the man?

[51] I mean, his thinking, with all due respect to his office, the man needs our prayers.

[52] Absolutely.

[53] Well, it's like we were talking already.

[54] The truth is something you discover.

[55] It's not something you invent or reinvent.

[56] It's not something shaped by us.

[57] It's something that exists that we need to know more and more deeply.

[58] God is the truth.

[59] And, you know, it's losing that thread that leads us down one blind alley after another.

[60] Well, very good.

[61] Bishop Strickland, I want to give a plug to the folks in Tyler, Texas.

[62] They have a pro -life dinner coming up.

[63] We have one in Pasadena.

[64] I don't know how you do it.

[65] I don't know if you buy locate, but you're going to get both dinners.

[66] Can you tell us a little bit about the dinner in Tyler?

[67] And what it's supporting, it's life issues, but can you share, because you tweeted that about this dinner that you're going to be at.

[68] Yeah, this is an annual Sanctity of Life banquet that we see.

[69] started in the diocese shortly after I became bishop.

[70] Excellent.

[71] And it's very well attended.

[72] We've had some great speakers.

[73] Last year we had Sister D .D. Oh, my God.

[74] And it's just about certainly the sanctity of the life of the unborn.

[75] But like we were talking about earlier before we went into the recording, the young woman that you spoke to, her life is sacred from conception to natural death.

[76] And we need to remember that.

[77] It extends through all the dimensions of life and all the struggles that people face.

[78] And that's what the Sanctity of Life Banquet is about, is celebrating life, especially the unborn, because they're the most voiceless and weak, and we know all of that.

[79] But there are many other stages where life is threatened as well.

[80] And people going back to this letter that we're going to talk about, People don't know the sacred value of every person that begins when they're conceived in the womb.

[81] Amen.

[82] Well, said, you've heard of the woman we talked about before we went on the air.

[83] This morning, just for all of our listeners, there was a young lady, 31 years old.

[84] She was living on the streets, and she was sleeping on our bench outside our church.

[85] And so I went to greet her.

[86] and of course the first thing for dignity is to ask a person their name because most homeless people never get asked what's your name that's been my experience so I spoke to her by calling her her name I don't use her name now but she's on meth and that's her problem she's a drug addict and so I tried to you know get more information about her life and what she does and then I encouraged her to come into the church and just pray but she had no religious background and I said just ask God to come into your life and serve him because you are precious in his eyes.

[87] You are made in the image and likeness of God.

[88] And most people aren't going to tell you that because they don't know it.

[89] And so anyhow, we had about a 30 -minute conversation.

[90] I think she'll be back tonight.

[91] And, you know, what did I do?

[92] The first thing I offered her, some water.

[93] Because it's a gospel principle.

[94] I said, can you want to use our bathroom?

[95] I'm here to help you.

[96] When she woke up, her first reaction was, are you going to hurt me?

[97] Isn't that sad?

[98] So that's the dignity.

[99] And that's what leads me right into your pastoral letter about the dignity of individual people.

[100] They're all made in the image and likeness of God.

[101] So I want to read from the letter directly and then if you could just comment.

[102] You said this was on the 26th of September, 2003.

[103] Is this your fourth letter, Bishop Strickland?

[104] I'm getting confused.

[105] Yeah.

[106] The fourth.

[107] There was an initial letter, August 22nd.

[108] This is the fourth kind of revisiting the seven points.

[109] So this is the fourth of the seven points.

[110] Well said.

[111] Okay.

[112] So you're right to you today to discuss more fully, right, the fourth basic truth that I spoke of in my first letter.

[113] Oh, I might add was on the queenship of Mary August 22nd.

[114] What a great day to do that.

[115] And ask that we reflect more deeply on this important truth of our faith.

[116] And here it is, folks.

[117] This is so important for our culture today that every human person is created in the image and likeness of God, male or female, and all people should be helped to discover their true identities as children of God and not supported in a disembarked attempted attempt to reject their unavailable, logical, and God -given identity.

[118] Well, we know where that's going.

[119] Bishop Strickland, that is such a huge topic in our culture because we discard people like we're talking about the trash, babies, elderly people, even people that are alive.

[120] We just say, you know what, it's not on me. I'm going to, I have nothing to do with that.

[121] I'm out of here.

[122] So my question is, can you elaborate a little bit more why you felt this was important to talk about the dignity of each human person?

[123] Well, really, Terry, we talk about it all the time, but it probably is the core issue, the preeminent issue is the sanctity of life because it's certainly the unborn, but the broad spectrum of the sanctity.

[124] of life, because if we don't value every person and know that we are created in the image and likeness of God, that we have that quality that none of the rest of creation has, it means we're stewards of creation, and we have a responsibility to treat animals with respect and treat the environment with respect, but always with humanity at the pinnacle of that.

[125] Because we're created in the image and likeness of God.

[126] We're the part of creation that most shines the light that is God in the world.

[127] And we need to remember that for every person.

[128] I mean, we hear about terrible things in all kinds of situations in the world today.

[129] And we need to get this part right, that every person is valuable.

[130] And once you begin to really embrace that, then like this young woman that you spoke to, you can't ignore her value.

[131] You can't do something that is going to make her life even worse.

[132] She's made obviously some bad choices.

[133] But also, most likely, she was never taught her own value in the sanctity of her own life.

[134] And that is what we have to help children to understand and every person to understand.

[135] There's so many people hurting in our big cities or anywhere in our society because they don't know who they are.

[136] They don't know they're sacred.

[137] And then the way they treat the other person is less than sacred because they don't consider themselves sacred.

[138] And so it's a vicious cycle of hatred and division that close when we don't know who we are.

[139] We're the children of God.

[140] Amen.

[141] One of the saints, St. John Paul II, the Great, I'll call him, has a good story.

[142] We're going to share with you with a Swiss guard when we come back from our break.

[143] It shows the dignity of every human person.

[144] Wait to you hear this one.

[145] It'll knock you off your horse.

[146] Stay with us, family.

[147] You're listening to the Bishop Stricklandauer on Virgin Most Power.

[148] Back in a moment.

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

[150] Welcome back indeed.

[151] We have a great clip from a a guard, a Swiss guard telling the experience that he had with St. John Paul too.

[152] And a reason I'm bringing this up, Bishop Strickland tweets all these great stories and things that are going on and help inspire you.

[153] This story will inspire you to see what the dignity of each person is all about in a story.

[154] So let's play the clip, Mr. Engineer.

[155] I saw miracle being performed.

[156] There was a young girl, mute and death, that came to the general audience on a Wednesday.

[157] The girl had a little drawing in her hands, and she gave it to me, and she mumbled something, and I don't understand what she's trying to say, and her mom says to me, she wants you to give this to His Holiness.

[158] Okay, so I folded it and it was a typical drawing that we all did.

[159] While I was eating lunch, my colleagues that instead stayed for the entire audience, when they came back and they sat at my table, they were discussing a situation that happened which caused the guards to go into an alarm stage.

[160] Well, the guards told me that on his way, down, you know, he had already done this up, and on his way down, all of a sudden he stopped and he walked back like 15 feet, which for the guards was panicked because they had already moved forward, so they had to go around and one run this way.

[161] And the reason why he moved back, he went and he blessed a little girl that was barely above the barricades.

[162] He blessed a little girl's mouth and ears.

[163] That little girl was the girl that gave me the drawing.

[164] The name of that little girl was Raquelie, Rachel.

[165] Rachel.

[166] And after he blessed her mouth and hears, she started talking and hearing.

[167] He was drawn back to that girl.

[168] And he knew exactly what to do.

[169] And he did it.

[170] So that's why I know that he was a saint.

[171] There's so much more Bishop Strickland on that interview.

[172] I watched it.

[173] And I was smiling the whole time and going, wow, wow.

[174] Because he talks about the intimate stories that he had with St. John Paul II inside the Vatican as a Swiss guard.

[175] And I would encourage people to watch the whole thing because we need stories like this to inspire us to really look at the individual person and see God is in them.

[176] And St. John Paul II really had that gift.

[177] I remember in 1979 in Mexico, Bishop Strickland, that he went to visit.

[178] and there were no deaths during those four days he was there recorded in Mexico from the gangs.

[179] And so, you know, these miracles are still taking place today, and I think people need to be aware of that.

[180] Absolutely.

[181] All right.

[182] I want to now add to your pastoral letter where you said the reality that the human community is losing this threat of truth is one of the most surprising and devastating.

[183] trends of our time.

[184] Yeah, for sure.

[185] The confusion and the harm that comes from forsaking our biological and God -given identity are rooted in modern tendency to deny the sovereignty of God.

[186] You nailed it!

[187] And for the denial of the true God is demonstrated in a dramatic way as we begin to lose the threat of who we are.

[188] You said, to answer this basic question of our identity, we must turn to God and to the truth, he has revealed to us.

[189] You nailed it.

[190] When we attempt to answer this question of who we are without first seeking an answer from God, we find ourselves immersed in chaos, which we see around us today.

[191] And you said, thankfully, God has revealed a beautiful picture of who we are.

[192] The sacred scriptures and the sacred tradition of our Catholic faith offer much to help us paint this wondrous picture of the human person.

[193] So God created man in his own image.

[194] In the image of God, he created him male and female.

[195] He created them.

[196] You quote Genesis.

[197] Why is this so important today, Bishop Strickland?

[198] Well, because too many people are denying God and not realizing that when we deny God, we deny ourselves.

[199] Yes.

[200] I mean, it's just logical.

[201] If we're created in image and likeness of God.

[202] When we forsake God, then what is our image and likeness?

[203] What are we, what is the prototype of the human being?

[204] And we lose that basic truth about ourselves when we deny who God is.

[205] So we've got to turn to God to understand who we are because we're created in his image and likeness we're what are called sentient beings yes we know reality we're we're different from any other part of creation living or inanimate yeah we we have a divine spark that we need to rejoice in and treasure as a gift that you know just like the little girl that the Switzgaard was talking about.

[206] There's so many people that are devalued in our present -day culture, and they in many ways are some of the most valuable, because they remind us of our inner core value that has nothing to do with being physically attractive or being wealthy or being talented, all the metrics that people use to measure a person's value according to the world, all of that fades when you see a beautiful child who has none of that, but their beauty is in that core value of being another image and likeness of God.

[207] That's what we have to remember, because it means that we then treasure the value of ourselves.

[208] It comes full circle.

[209] Again, what comes to mind is the young woman that you talk to.

[210] Sadly, she hasn't been taught her own value, and she's really in the process of destroying her life through drugs and through neglect.

[211] And it's so tragic, and it's so contrary to God's will.

[212] He wants us all to flourish in his life in Greece.

[213] That's why he breathes life into us.

[214] But when we say there is no God or decide that we can reshape us, we can reshaping us, everything that God has revealed to us, we're really on a dangerous path.

[215] And collectively, humanity is on that path right now.

[216] You know, Bishop Strickland, when you wrote this, I looked to something up from Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, and America's Bishop Beck 75.

[217] Actually, this was written in 1940, 83 years ago.

[218] Bishop Sheen said, let men grow careless about whether their souls belong to God or to Caesar and before they know it Caesar owns their body and soul.

[219] This is totalitarianism or the state theory that total of whole of man belongs to the state.

[220] It seems to me that some of the things you say it just brings back what Fulton Sheen was saying prophetically 60 70 80 years ago and again the dignity of the human person.

[221] So I want to continue you have a pair of that says the truth that God has created us in his own image and likeness takes us beyond the natural level to the supernatural destiny that we all share.

[222] And then you're going to quote the catechism.

[223] That sentence right there says it all.

[224] Do we believe in the supernatural or don't we?

[225] See, A or B?

[226] There's no in between.

[227] And really, Terry, I think we need to underscore that if we say we don't believe in the supernatural, we're never going to figure ourselves.

[228] out because we have a supernatural element of who we are, the way God has created us.

[229] That's what the language and the image and likeness of God is talking about.

[230] There's something supernatural about us.

[231] Yes.

[232] We're not just the sum of, you know, bone and tissue and flesh and blood and muscle and sinew and all the things that make up a human body.

[233] We're not, I mean, look at our brains.

[234] I mean, always loved to study.

[235] I mean, I'm no scientist, but I've always been intrigued by the wonder of the human brain.

[236] And you can't dissect it and find the core of who we are because we are mystery.

[237] The human person is a mystery because we're reflecting the mystery of God.

[238] We can't let go of that truth or we're doomed.

[239] Amen.

[240] Well, said, and then you quote the catechism.

[241] And I I just want to encourage everyone listening, own a catechism of the Catholic Church, or you can go to the St. Philip Institute and pick up their catechism on the internet.

[242] And the reason I say that, we need to know our faith, because today, if you don't know your faith, you're going to lose your faith.

[243] There it is, St .Philip Institute .org.

[244] Check that out.

[245] Now, you quote in your pastoral letter, the catechism of the Catholic Church states, the human body shares in the dignity and the image of God it is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul and it is the whole human person that is intended to become in the body of Christ a temple of the Holy Spirit and this is paragraph 364 and 365 of the catechism of the Catholic Church Bishop Strickland you're just giving us the facts You know, I'm going to be honest with you.

[246] I'll probably say something politically incorrect, but I'm going to say it.

[247] This is what I expect from our leaders in our church, okay, to re -emphasize the fundamentals of our faith so it can be sure it up to know that when we see the world, the devil, the flesh, trying to give us something that's a false gospel, we know the real gospel because we've studied it.

[248] And I thank you for that.

[249] Now, many who support the agenda of transgenderism would state, and this is your letter, that when a biological male identifies as a female and as a gender reassignment, this is in actually a gender confirmation as his autonomy now reflects his true gender.

[250] The catechism of the Catholic Church states, however, that the unity of soul and body is so profound that one has to consider the soul to be the form of the body.

[251] body.

[252] It is because of its spiritual soul that the body made of matter becomes a living human body, spirit and matter.

[253] And man are not two natures united, but rather their union forms a single nature.

[254] And then you quote, again, catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 365.

[255] He said, and also man and women have been created, which is to say, willed by God, on the one hand, in perfect equality as human persons on the other in their respective springs as man and woman.

[256] Being man or being woman is a reality which is good and willed by God.

[257] In paragraph 369 you quote, therefore transition surgeries are elective medical treatments given for the purpose of attempting to transition a person to a gender other than the one that his or her God -given biological sex are gravely evil.

[258] Charity right here is being expressed.

[259] Note, there are rare medical cases of intersex individuals who have been born with an unclear biological sex of both male and female.

[260] These cases are beyond the scope of this pastoral letter and should be addressed with your pastor and your medical team.

[261] I just want to say this.

[262] You notice when someone dies, their soul leaves their body.

[263] Why?

[264] Because it's the life -break principle in the body.

[265] Stay with us.

[266] back family right after a quick break and now back to the bishop strickland hour welcome back we're talking about this pastoral letter that bishop strickland wrote about the dignity of the human person bishop strickland that was a lot of things to say to somebody that might not want to hear it but i love what your paragraph says about that we must always treat people with respect can you talk about that also because i think that's important yeah i agree yeah because what you said there is that compassion, recognition, that, you know, their intrinsic dignity, therefore men and women with homosexual tendencies or with gender dysphoria must be treated with love and compassion and should always be respected as precious children of God that they are.

[267] This includes telling him the truth in charity.

[268] That's basically what a catechism of the Catholic Church says about this too.

[269] You just took it right from that.

[270] Now, this is where it gets a little, I say this Bishop Strickland, you're telling people the truth and you know some people just don't want to hear it as St. Augustine made the comment earlier in the show but if we truly love somebody we tell them the truth with charity and clarity and that's when you brought up in your letter that you know the upcoming Senate on Senadality which is emerging as an attempt by some to change the focus of Catholicism from eternal salvation of souls in Christ to making every person feel affirmed.

[271] Well, you said it in such charity.

[272] We say that similar thing, but that regardless of what choices they have made or will make in life.

[273] And you put right in the letter.

[274] And I say this takes guts because Bishop Strickland, we don't have enough voices in the church to say what needs to be said because they're maybe concerned that if they say this, someone might not like them or they might be miscrued as being a means.

[275] What?

[276] No, you're loving them.

[277] He said, one of the topics that reportedly will be discussed during the Senate is the blessing of same -sex relationships.

[278] Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez, he's the prefect of the castery for the doctrine of faith, stated in July.

[279] I remember this in 2003, when asked about the blessing for homosexual couples, if a blessing is given in such a way that it does not cause that confusion, it will have to be analyzed and confirmed however we must look to the perennial and unchanging teachings of the church such a blessing would not be listed and therefore would undoubtedly cause confusion yeah you got that right bishop strickland in fact the same very off same office the congregation it called it now their decastries for the doctrine of faith released a statement just last March in 2021 responsible congregation for doctrine of faith to adubia, which is a question regarding the blessing of the unions of persons of same sex.

[280] And the response basically is this.

[281] God, he said that God does not and cannot bless sin.

[282] And that, for the above -mentioned reason, the church does not have and cannot have the power to bless unions of persons of the same sex in a sense intended above.

[283] And I love this statement that you said, this is gold when you said because truth cannot change we must acknowledge that the decastry cannot come to a different conclusion now which would overturn the original statement of the truth from the same office and you're just telling common sense truth is based on God's divine revelation not on Bishop Strickland or anybody as high as the Pope no divine revelation is where we get our truth as revealed in sacred scripture and also sacred tradition Thank you, and guarded by the Magisterium of the Church.

[284] Therefore, any attempt to permit blessing of same -sex unions would be an attack upon the sacred deposit of faith.

[285] Now, if you get in trouble for saying that, Bishop Strickland, you know, sign me up.

[286] I'm in the same boat with you because you're doing nothing other than reaffirming what the church has always taught.

[287] absolutely and we need humanity needs to remember what this teaching is because letting go of it trying to shape it in our way it's just we can already see the great harm that's already happened and you know the more the world embraces it the more harm there is well look at Germany right now look at the devastating effects that that's happening and you know I won't say his name but I'll just say a high official in America is thinking that things like we need to shorten the mass so more people will come.

[288] They don't get it.

[289] It's just the opposite.

[290] If they understood, take the time about explaining what the mass is to people and they will come.

[291] So, Bishop Strickland, I've been a big advocate of not lowering the bar to try and bring people in, but to raise the bar of Jesus Christ and his teaching and the meaning and purpose of life so that they will come.

[292] think that this mentality that we need to just lower the bar is driving people out of the church, not in the church.

[293] Do you agree on that or not?

[294] I totally agree.

[295] I was very disappointed to see that because many people have left because, you know, if you make it meaningless, I mean, when you say raise the bar, the bar is on the cross of Jesus Christ.

[296] That's the bar that we need to aim for.

[297] And none of us, whatever we've suffered, will ever suffer the way the Son of God has suffered for us all.

[298] Not a meaningless empty suffering, but he suffered that we might be free from sin and death.

[299] That's what the mass is about.

[300] And to say, well, let's shorten it.

[301] I mean, that's really in many ways what happened already.

[302] It's like there were many efforts that I'm sure we both read about.

[303] We need to make it shorter.

[304] We need to make it simpler.

[305] Where's it got us?

[306] More and more people have left.

[307] People are hungry for the supernatural, for the mystery, for the reverence.

[308] And instead of making it shorter, it doesn't need to be longer for the sake of length, but we need to do what we need to do with proper reverence and not getting in a hurry.

[309] And it's likely to take even longer if you take that approach.

[310] And Bishop Strickland, just as a layman, It seems to me that most of the people just haven't been catechized, meaning taught about what the mass is.

[311] Because I remember as a 13 -year -old kid, listening to a Bishop Sheen cassette tape on Calvary and teaching us that we're present at that one eternal sacrifice of Calvary when we go to Mass. And I heard that and I said, wow, that's true.

[312] Why wouldn't I go every day?

[313] Now I'm 66 years old.

[314] I go every day.

[315] Why?

[316] because I know what's at the altar.

[317] It's Jesus Christ.

[318] This is not a symbol that most people, unfortunately, even inside the church, you know, statistics tell us this.

[319] So I just think that we have a lot of work ahead of us.

[320] And your pastoral letter is just what the church needs to go through and catechize people with the fundamental teachings on the dignity of the human soul, the human person.

[321] And, you know, you've covered other topics, the priesthood, marriage, all fundamental to us, but it's almost like, and I hate to say it, like we've got amnesia, that we forgot our basics of our faith.

[322] Yeah, it really is.

[323] Yeah, so when the world comes in and says, hey, even inside the church, these guys come up with new ideas, we're going, well, can we do that?

[324] I'm not so sure.

[325] I don't know.

[326] But you see, you can't fool someone who's well -grounded in the faith.

[327] Yeah.

[328] And this is why it's important what you're doing.

[329] I want to say this, this last part of the article.

[330] your letter, you talk about, I want to reiterate that this is not an attempt in any way to discriminate against those who carry the burden.

[331] That's a good way of saying it, of same -sex attraction.

[332] I met many friends.

[333] I have friends that have this.

[334] But you know what?

[335] They're living celibate lives, okay?

[336] They can do it.

[337] But rather, it is a reminder of the truth of the liturgical right and of the nature of the sacraments.

[338] We cannot honor God who is truth by attempting to offer blessings which run counter to his truth.

[339] Can I just repeat that?

[340] That statement is just like meat and potatoes.

[341] We cannot honor God who is truth by attempting to offer blessings which run counter to his truth.

[342] Would you please make a note that you are church leaders?

[343] I'm so sorry because I don't know if they got that memo, but that's what the church has always taught.

[344] I'm very well, I'm sorry.

[345] Go ahead, Bishop.

[346] Well, again, Terry, basically it comes down to knowing who God is and knowing who we are and God is truth so doing anything that is contrary to the truth is contrary to God right on and it's dangerous it truly is dangerous in your last paragraph but is a very good one in closing but I just want to say I'm a married man you're a celibate man we have guys that have same -sex attraction but we have one thing in common we're all called to what we call fidelity to our call in our life.

[347] So we have to be faithful to you as a celibate man. I'm living a life that's to one woman and only one woman.

[348] In other words, the word that came to my mind is chastity.

[349] I have chastity.

[350] I couldn't think of the word, sorry?

[351] The chastity of a married man is that you have one woman.

[352] The chastity of a religious or a priest is that he's married to the church.

[353] A woman, that's a cloistered or a nun, that bride is the church.

[354] But a homosexual that has same -sex attraction, he's called the same thing we are.

[355] Chastity.

[356] So in your closing, I'd like what you said.

[357] You said, I would like to say to those with same -sex attraction or gender dysphoria, Christ loves you.

[358] And the Catholic Church welcomes you.

[359] I said that today.

[360] I said that.

[361] That's taken right out of them.

[362] We love you.

[363] because you have a dignity.

[364] But now does that mean we don't love you when we tell you the truth?

[365] No, just the opposite.

[366] It says, we are all struggling to grow in holiness.

[367] Sign me up, Bishop.

[368] I am.

[369] I invite you to come and sit with us, pray with us, worship with us, experience the overwhelming power of God's love and mercy with us.

[370] The truth is the core of our existence is love.

[371] I love that.

[372] And there is no power in heaven or earth that can keep the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit from loving us fully and completely.

[373] And then you said, we are invited at every moment to embrace the love that God offers us, but in his infinite wisdom, goodness, he does not force himself upon us.

[374] And then this was great.

[375] Love is a choice and it is always a sacrifice.

[376] That's what Bishop Sheen said.

[377] Like, love is, yep, it's a sacrifice.

[378] But it is a sacrifice he made for us on the cross.

[379] And it is a choice he is calling us to make for him.

[380] And I like this.

[381] Let the scales fall from our eyes that we may get a glimpse of how much our father loves us and is beloved and run to him always as the source of our ultimate fulfillment.

[382] Then you quoted Isaiah.

[383] You said, fear not for I have redeemed you.

[384] I have called you by name and you are mine.

[385] Wow.

[386] When we come back, please comment on that because that that really shows your love for the people that you're not condemning them you're sharing them the gospel of jesus christ the truth of the gospel stay with us family we'll be right back with more on the bishop strickland hour on virgin was powerful reading and now back to the bishop strickland hour welcome back to exactly right to the bishop strickland hour we're reading his pastoral letter the fourth one and talking about the dignity of the human person Bishop Strickland, your quote about explaining to people that God loves them.

[387] I always say if God stopped thinking about you or me, we'd cease to exist.

[388] Can you share a little bit more about how do we share that message with people who maybe aren't living a Christ -centered life or they're living, like I mentioned, the girl who was on meth and on drugs and she needed to know the meaning and purpose of life?

[389] But how do we instill people this, that they are loved by God?

[390] in a very unique way.

[391] Well, Terry, I think the first step is to simply tell people, a lot of people don't really believe that, because how did we learn about love in a family?

[392] Amen.

[393] Families are so broken in this time.

[394] I mean, like this, we get going back to this young woman, but we need to pray for her.

[395] Yeah, we do.

[396] And she is a beloved daughter of God, just like every other woman, as every man is a beloved son of God.

[397] and we need to keep reminding ourselves of that.

[398] There's no disposable person.

[399] There's no lost cause as far as God's concern.

[400] Like you said, as long as he's granting us another breath, that person has the chance to turn their lives around and maybe they can't change a lot of the physical circumstances, but they can change the orientation of their hearts, and they can look to God.

[401] and even if their physical circumstances don't change, that can make a tremendous difference because they come to know that they are loved.

[402] Yes.

[403] And that's essential to who we are.

[404] That's why, I mean, it all either fits together or falls apart.

[405] And sadly, we're living through a time where too much falls apart.

[406] Because men and women aren't living their call from God.

[407] they're not living in committed marriages they're not fostering good holy families and so it all begins to fall apart and so many people grow up in a way where they never learn that they are loved not because they've earned it not because of a certain value they have but simply because they are a child of god thankfully i learned that from my parents.

[408] I'm sure you learned it.

[409] Not perfectly, but we learned the basic reality that we are lovable and that we are loved.

[410] And that echoes the reality that we can learn more deeply that God loves us.

[411] And no matter, even though we're sinners, because God loves us, he is revealed to us what is sinful.

[412] And that's a basic element of everything we deal with in the world also.

[413] So many people treat sin as if it's just a list of rules the church came up with, and we can change those rules any time we wish.

[414] That's not the reality.

[415] Sin is stepping away from God who loves us.

[416] God isn't going to quit loving us, but when we sin, we diminish who we are, sometimes to a fairly minor extent, but that can accumulate or sometimes to a drastic extent.

[417] And it's devastating to our lives.

[418] That's what we've got to teach people that sin is not just some, again, you know, going back to we don't invent truth.

[419] We discover it.

[420] We don't invent what's sinful.

[421] We have it revealed to us.

[422] We discover that this is intrinsically wrong and harmful.

[423] And we've learned that about certain physical realities.

[424] If there are things that we do to our bodies that we know are immediately going to cause grave harm.

[425] Sin does the same thing spiritually, and that's what God has revealed to us.

[426] We don't do those things, not because it's a list of rules, but because it begins to interfere with the varied fabric of who we are.

[427] We've got to teach people this basic truth again in trying to pretend that sin doesn't exist or ignoring sin is not the solution.

[428] Bishop Strickland, I like to mention we did it last week about an urgent call for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

[429] We have the Senate coming up with the bishops and lay people that are participating in Rome starting the 4th of October and ending the 29th of October and you know prayer like Eucharistic adoration rosary prayers to the guardian angels we should have masses offered offer our holy communions for our leaders in the church because they are being well let's just be honest but there's things that are on the agenda that just aren't consistent with the perennial teachings of the church so we lay people especially and I think you as a bishop can encourage us just I'm encouraging people to pray and then fast and with prayer.

[430] In other words, maybe we just fast from watching TV for a week and say, this is what I'm going to do to help offer a sacrifice for the people in Rome who are at that Senate that they will be faithful to the gospel.

[431] And then, of course, almsgiving is a concrete realization of helping the merciful love for one's neighbor is a very efficient part of the commitment.

[432] And even a very modest alms can be great in the eye.

[433] of God, so it doesn't need to be $1 ,000.

[434] It could be $10.

[435] It can be $5 that you give to somebody.

[436] Say, I'm going to offer this up for the church because Bishop Strickland, wouldn't you agree that right now we as lay people, especially, can affect the church with our prayers as an effective way of supporting the mission of the church?

[437] Absolutely.

[438] Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving is not just Lenton practices, but it should be practices.

[439] for every day in one way or another.

[440] And to really believe in the power of prayer, what does it do?

[441] It reorients us to where we came from, to whose image and lightness we're created in, just going back to what we were talking about earlier.

[442] Yes.

[443] And we've got to keep reminding ourselves of that.

[444] All of us do.

[445] We can all get distracted.

[446] We can all wander off course and get caught up in things that may be fairly harmless, but then take us in a direction that becomes very harmful.

[447] And we have to continue to seek virtue and to recognize that just like our bodies need healthy food to stay healthy, our souls need healthy prayer and relationship with God to stay healthy.

[448] We can't just neglect it and expect everything to be fine.

[449] Yeah, and that's why we call it the Lord's gym with Jesse and Terry and your spiritual fitness trainers.

[450] Why do we say that?

[451] Because we're trying to get you.

[452] Anybody who's ever worked out in a gym knows you need to do your exercise or you're not going to be successful in why you went to the gym.

[453] You can't just go and talk to people.

[454] And in the spiritual realm, yes, spiritual exercises, prayer, fasting, almsgiving.

[455] Yeah, this is important stuff.

[456] Bishop Stranglingland, I like to go back to St. Augustine, who we started.

[457] started with.

[458] He said, people hate the truth for the sake of whatever it is that they love more than the truth.

[459] They love truth when it shines warmly on them and hate it when it rebukes them.

[460] I just give me an example.

[461] Again, we're going to go back to this young lady that I met who's homeless.

[462] I try to encourage her to not go back to the drugs that she's using and to get back in relationship with God and give her life back to God and say, look, look, I'm going to do it with your help, but it takes a free will.

[463] And so St. Augustine said this 1 ,500 years ago, it seems to me, Bishop Strickland, that I'm just going to be honest with you.

[464] One of the things you get in trouble with is you have the capacity to tell people the truth and charity.

[465] And in our environment right now, that's not acceptable in some certain cases, even inside the church.

[466] So I want to thank you for just calling me individual, Terry Barber, to the truth of the gospel.

[467] Well, I think it's the job I've been given.

[468] Yes.

[469] And, you know, I really don't, I can't do anything else.

[470] I feel just like you as a dad and a granddad, you've got to help your kids and your grandkids live the truth and live what you've learned in 66 years.

[471] You've learned a few things.

[472] And they may not listen.

[473] You know, they may want to do it there.

[474] way.

[475] I mean, you know, both of us were little boys and little boys like to do things their own way.

[476] That's right.

[477] But it's still your obligation to tell them.

[478] And thankfully, we both had parents that told us.

[479] Amen.

[480] How about a blessing for all of our listeners and thank everyone for supporting this podcast and this radio show that we send around to tell your friends about it.

[481] How about a blessing, Bishop Strickland?

[482] Oh, my God.

[483] We thank you for all who.

[484] are involved in Virgin Most Powerful Radio, help us to remember that title of this program and all of the work that has done, that it is the Blessed Virgin Mary.

[485] We need to be her militia immaculata in this time, and to be strengthened in the example that she offers us of living the way God has called us to live.

[486] Fiat Voluntas Tua, Thy will be done.

[487] So let us especially as we approach the month of October and approach the Synod that is coming, let us pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is always pleading for us to turn from sin and to live the way of her son, that she will intercede for us in powerful ways, and for those participating in this Senate, that it may not divert from the truth, but instead go deeper and discover more deeply the wondrous truth that has been revealed by the Son of God, who is also the son of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

[488] And we ask this blessing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

[489] Amen.

[490] If Cardinal Robert Serra was here on this podcast, I have a quote from him that just confirms through your pastoral letter.

[491] He said this, those who speak on behalf of the church like you, must be faithful to the unchanging teachings of Christ because only by living in harmony with God's creative design do we find deep and lasting fulfillment?

[492] Bishop Strickland, that's your letter.

[493] It's not about you.

[494] It has nothing to do with Bishop Strickland.

[495] It has everything to do with the truth that the gospel gives us.

[496] And I want to thank you for having the guts.

[497] And I mean the guts to say, look, I have to do this.

[498] This is part of who I am.

[499] I've been ordained as a priest.

[500] and now you're a bishop, a success for the apostle, you shouldn't, you don't have a choice.

[501] You have to proclaim Christ and him crucified and Christ teaching.

[502] So thank you for doing just that here on the Bishop Strickland Hour and much more.

[503] Folks, I want to also remind you, Bishop Strickland will be in Southern California at a conference at the Riverside Convention Center, October 7th.

[504] I'll be there.

[505] And then he's going to a Southern California Right to Life dinner in Pasadena, Check both of those out because I think there's still room for you to come.

[506] I'm a crazy yes.

[507] I'm going to be going back and forth in between funerals and conferences.

[508] I just, I love it.

[509] You know why?

[510] Because this is about sharing the gospel.

[511] And Bishop Strickland, thank you for taking the time to go out and defend the life of the unborn every single time we go on the radio.

[512] I want to also thank our listeners who support us here at Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[513] Get all of Bishop Strickland's shows by going to vmpr .org.

[514] Download the podcast, and you can check out all the other shows that we have to offer.

[515] And I want to just say, God bless everyone who supports the issue here on teachings of Christ in this church here at Virgin, this powerful radio.

[516] God bless you and your family.

[517] We'll see you again.

[518] Thank you, Guy, and name station next week.