07 Feb 24 – Bishop Strickland: Church Teaching on the Blessed Mother

[0] Welcome to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[1] My name is Terry Barber, and I'm almost better now.

[2] So thank you for those prayers.

[3] You've been praying for me. And we wanted to get our catechism out today because the show we did yesterday, we talked a lot about catechesis and how important that is, how catechesis affects the people's faith.

[4] And before we do that, I wanted to ask the good bishop if he could talk a little bit about Don Bosco, he was, why it's significant today.

[5] And I just love the quote that Don Bosco said, show me your friends and I'll tell you who you are.

[6] Well, Bishop Strickland, I consider you my friend, okay?

[7] And, you know, one of the reasons I like hanging out with you every week is because not the way you part your hair, not your new beard, no, because of your love for Jesus Christ.

[8] And that's really the ultimate reason why we do this every single week.

[9] So can you share a little bit about who Don Bosco was?

[10] Yeah, he was a great priest, really especially known for working with youth and talks beautifully about how to guide children to become grown adult men and women, men of God and women of God.

[11] He did a great deal of work with children.

[12] And my favorite aspect of St. John Bosco is the vision that he had of the church as a ship in a terrible storm where he says that in his vision, the church is anchored to a pillar of our Lord and the Blessed Sacrament, the Eucharist, and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

[13] And I think that that vision is prophetic, and I encourage people to understand that's what we're living through.

[14] The church in a terrible storm of confusion, of conflicted messages, of an agenda that seems to be wanting to change the truth by too many.

[15] but to remember the church is the bark of Peter, the bride of Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit.

[16] She continues to have the mission of proclaiming the truth, and that's why we talk about catechesis so much, is because we need that truth to steady the ship in this storm and to be anchored to truth incarnate, Jesus Christ, his Eucharistic presence that is with us.

[17] He is at every mass and in every tabernacle and in all the chapels of adoration around the world.

[18] Jesus is with us.

[19] He is truth incarnate.

[20] And we've got to turn to him.

[21] And we turn to his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Immaculate Virgin Mary.

[22] And she will always point us back to her son.

[23] So really, St. John Bosco's vision is a underscoring of the consecration to the sacred heart that many of us have repeated over and over again in our journey.

[24] To be consecrated to the sacred heart of Christ through the immaculate heart of Mary, his vision of these two pillars that the church is anchored to in the midst of whatever storm, the world can throw at us whatever storm evil and Satan want to attack the church with with those anchors she will prevail that doesn't mean the storm doesn't get frightening and and pretty drastic and we're in the middle of that now but the more we can be anchored to these pillars the more joy we have the more hope the more clarity and the more we know the truth and i i guess i would conclude include these comments with an encouragement for all of us to go deeper into those pillars is to know the truth more fully, to know the Blessed Virgin Mary and her role in the life of Christ, in the life of his church, a role that continues with the different Marian apparitions, some of which have been approved and others that are still being reviewed.

[25] But just sticking with our lady of Guadalupe, our lady of lords, our lady of Fatima, all three approved apparitions.

[26] There are others as well, but they basically repeat the same message with Mary, our mother, telling us to know the truth, to know the truth, to turn the truth.

[27] from sin and to live the truth of the gospel and to share it with others.

[28] Mary repeats what her son and all the saints say.

[29] And we really need to heed that.

[30] And that's why I love this vision of St. John Bosco, because it's prophetic for our time to be reminded.

[31] We talk a lot, Terry, about going back to the fundamentals.

[32] Yes.

[33] And the fundamentals are exactly what his vision is about.

[34] Well, you know, you added also a tweet, and I want to just, I mean, this, this tweet that you quote Don Bosco on is like, wow, how appropriate for today.

[35] He said, if a pastor remains silent when he sees God insulted and souls going astray, woe to him.

[36] If he does not want to be damned, if, and if there is some disorder in your parish, he must trample upon human respect.

[37] and the fear of being despised or hated.

[38] Can I just remember, this statement right here, and I want to get your take on this.

[39] Senior William Smith was the professor of moral theology at Dunwoody Seminary in New York.

[40] He was Cardinal O 'Connor's moral theologian.

[41] He's just a great man. I knew him for years, and Ignatius Press has written a lot of his books of he has to say about moral theology, but he said that single men, meaning bishops, priests, you know, single men don't like it when people don't like them.

[42] They have adversity to that being, they want everybody to be liked as a priest or bishop.

[43] But Don Bosco says, we must trample upon human respect and the fear of being deposed or hated.

[44] Now that, right there tells you everything I need to know.

[45] I mean, wouldn't you agree that Bishop Strickland that for most priests and even bishops that you want to be liked so much that it's a temptation to compromise?

[46] No, I mean, I see it that way.

[47] Yeah, absolutely.

[48] And it is a temptation, but we have to resist that temptation and do what we're called to do as priests and bishops to proclaim the truth?

[49] Yep.

[50] Well, now I'd like to shift gears.

[51] Actually, we're going to shift gears right after this break into a catechism.

[52] And Bishop Sprickland is now the retired bishop of Tyler.

[53] But we've been going over a catechism that the way of Christ's catechism presented presented by the St. Philip Institute of Catechesis and Evangelization, and I really enjoy going through a catechism because it did what you just said.

[54] Go back to the fundamentals.

[55] We need to know our faith.

[56] And so when we come back, we're going to talk about Mary and the Saints, Chapter 9 of the Catechism, and we'll cover much, much more there.

[57] and I think this will help you communicate to your Protestant brothers what we Catholics believe about Mary because I think sometimes there's a false illusion for Protestants thinking that we worship Mary and that's just not what we do.

[58] So we're going to get into that and just help people understand the distinctions here and we'll do that when we come back from the break.

[59] Also, I just want to remind you that real estate, for life is sponsoring the segment today.

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[66] Oh, you know what I just realized too?

[67] I just realized I'm off on my timing.

[68] Yep, when I'm not feeling well, I do that.

[69] I'm still a minute and a half off.

[70] So let me just throw this out.

[71] That is, we do have the spiritual warfare conference coming up.

[72] I believe it's almost sold out at the parish at St. Joseph's in Pomona.

[73] But you can still purchase a ticket to stream it no matter where you are in the world you can watch it all and um just go to vmpr .org and uh you can register for that event also uh we have a men's conference coming up in june weekend of father's day jesse romero and his brother johnny romero the sons of thunder i call them and they are going to be giving last year we had a packed house for it and they're just coming back for round two.

[74] You can join us at that conference by going to virgin most powerful radio .org, and we have much more to offer there.

[75] Also, I want to encourage you to go to our YouTube channel, Full Sheen ahead.

[76] I want to ask you to subscribe to that because what happens is when you subscribe, it gets us more views, more exposure.

[77] And I think we now have 30 some thousand subscribers.

[78] We had to start all over from scratch a couple of a year and a half ago during COVID, but we're okay now.

[79] So we start all over.

[80] And if you can tell your friends about that and have them watch those clips that we put on YouTube, I think it'll be helpful in sharing the gospel.

[81] And I just will say this.

[82] When we come back, we're going to talk about the blessed virgin mary and the saints models of our faith and much much more on the bishop strickland hour on virgin most powerful and now back to the bishop strickland hour welcome back to the bishop strickland hour indeed we're covering a catechism lesson and hear him saying to myself this is 2004 we've got a retired bishop teaching the catechism to our listeners throughout the world.

[83] And I thought, there's such a need for this.

[84] So thank you, Bishop Strickland.

[85] I didn't ask you to do this.

[86] You suggested that we go through this catechism, and I just think it's been a real blessing.

[87] So let's take the Mary and the Saints, models of faith.

[88] God wants all humanity to live with him a familiar love in the communion of of saints.

[89] Mary and the saints exemplify the obedience of faith and love for God and neighbor.

[90] Mary played an important role in the redemption as the mother of God and continues her role as the mother of the church.

[91] Well said.

[92] So Bishop Strickland, can you just tell us a little bit also about your own love for the blessed mother?

[93] I mean, even as a child, I know, chatting with you about this, that Our Lady has had a special place in your heart.

[94] Can you tell us why that is?

[95] Well, I think many reasons.

[96] I think one of the reasons that I feel close to the Blessed Virgin Mary is that we both love her son very much.

[97] The love between Jesus and Mary is a mystery of love that I think all of us really need to explore and embrace as deeply as we can.

[98] There are many thoughts that I have regarding a relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints.

[99] It all kind of comes together.

[100] She is, as we know, the Queen of Saints, the Mother of Priest.

[101] She has many titles.

[102] Of course, the Mother of Jesus Christ, of God.

[103] And her mission is to foster the life of the church that is the mystical body of her son.

[104] So Mary's support for the church goes hand in hand with her support for her son Jesus Christ and her devotion and love for him.

[105] As I mentioned earlier, our consecration of the Sacred Heart of Christ through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

[106] Many of the saints speak of that and encourage us to embrace that.

[107] And what occurs to me as we talk about Mary and the saints is very often the misunderstanding that other Christians and non -Christians have.

[108] They think we worship Mary, which the church has never said that.

[109] We do not worship Mary.

[110] We only worship God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

[111] And I think that we as Catholics who know the teaching on how we properly venerate Mary, but never worship her, especially in our time, we need to be all of us bold about challenging people who may say that because the idols being worshipped in our culture are devastating numerous.

[112] And to accuse Catholics of worshipping Mary, we need to come back with, no, we have never worshipped Mary.

[113] We never will worship Mary.

[114] But we need to challenge people lovingly, but love is challenging and ask them, what idols do you have in your life that you are worshiping, that as you accuse us of worshiping Mary, which we don't, it brings up that idea of worshiping anything other than God, giving homage to anything other than God, allowing anything other than God to be what rules our lives.

[115] All of us in today's culture need to be challenged on that.

[116] And I think that very often we speak of addictions, but I think a lot of lot of the addictions ultimately become an idol, an idol worship of the addictions that certainly it gets more complicated than, but the original choice to give ourselves over to some drug that brings pleasure or sex that brings pleasure or anything that pulls us away from God, it becomes an idol.

[117] So I think in today's culture, we need to with love and compassion and not attacking, but we need to be very clear.

[118] No, we don't worship Mary, but kind of turn the question around and say, what are you worshipping in your life that is not God?

[119] Because God is the only one that should be worshipped.

[120] Another thing that I hear very often, an accusation that gets thrown at me is, oh, well, well, you pray to dead people.

[121] because they say, oh, the saints, the Blessed Virgin Mary, they're dead.

[122] They lived centuries ago.

[123] And that shows a clear misunderstanding of what our faith is about.

[124] Mary and the saints are more alive than we are if we know what our Catholic faith teaches us.

[125] And that brings a perspective we were talking yesterday about being bold and in proclaiming the truth.

[126] the saints were bold because they knew this life is a temporary journey, a temporary home.

[127] Everlasting life is where we truly come alive.

[128] And for the accusation to be thrown at us that, oh, we're praying to dead people, that shows a deep misunderstanding of what our faith is about.

[129] Jesus Christ rose from the dead, he conquered death, and he promises that those who follow him will have life everlasting.

[130] That's what our faith is about.

[131] And really, Terry, I think that as we talk about Mary and the saints, it's a reminder of how far we are from really understanding who Mary is, who the saints are, why they're significant to us, because they are alive.

[132] in heaven, in everlasting life with God, that's what a canonized saint means that they have been officially declared to be saved in God's grace and love.

[133] And of course, Mary is the queen of saints.

[134] So all of that really isn't just some sort of, well, if you want to have a devotion of Mary and the saints, that's okay.

[135] But that's not the core of our faith.

[136] It really reminds us of what the core of our faith is.

[137] that Jesus, the Son of God, lived among us, died for us, and rose from the dead.

[138] And Mary and the saints are those people who benefit already, not from the completion of Revelation and not from the new kingdom, the new heaven and earth that the book of Revelation speaks of, but they are with God awaiting that completion of all creation that will come at the end of time and that's the perspective that gives us a boldness to speak against the false messages and to oppose whatever authority is saying something that isn't true because we have an everlasting divine perspective on this life and not just of this world understanding if i mean if this for all that there is and this life is all that counts then i'm the dumbest person on earth today, and you were right behind me. Amen.

[139] Because we're focused on something that distracts us from getting ahead and getting wealthy and getting everything in this life, as if this is all there is.

[140] Many people live that way.

[141] And sadly, too many in the church, a church that proclaims, this is not all there is.

[142] a church whose very purpose is to call people to everlasting life to salvation of their soul.

[143] And we've lost that thread of understanding in significant ways.

[144] And we need to return to that understanding.

[145] And I think talking about Mary and the Saints is a great way to be reminded.

[146] Who are we?

[147] We are those who look to the everlasting kingdom of God.

[148] And we should measure everything we do and everything we value in this life according to the everlasting kingdom of God and not according to, just like you quoted St. John Bosco, of what's popular in the world today.

[149] We need to be willing to go against what's popular in the world.

[150] That will change very quickly.

[151] And if we keep shifting to meet the popular gauge of the world at this time, we're doomed for confusion and for an empty life that ultimately loses life everlasting and leads us to damnation.

[152] Because it's just, it's really embracing that now when we're not living with the perspective of people of faith.

[153] and knowing who Jesus Christ is as the Lord of all, our risen Lord and Savior, if we're not living with that perspective, we're already living a life of condemnation and it will unfold to that everlasting condemnation if we don't wake up.

[154] Wow, I like that answer.

[155] I like it better than what one little paragraph said in the catechism.

[156] I'm going to ask you another question, Bishop Strickling.

[157] You're speaking from the heart.

[158] Why do Catholics honor the saints?

[159] Because they have followed Christ the way we're called to.

[160] And they are alive and part, like I just said, they're part of the heavenly court.

[161] And they, I mean, I encourage people to not just honor the saints, but to get to know them.

[162] to get just like we we gather friends that are have stories that resonate with our story and we we like the same things I encourage people to to gather a community of friends in heaven of saints around them that have similar interests you know many of the saints who are teachers if you're a teacher look to those saints like St. John Bosco a teacher of young people.

[163] Many saints were involved in medicine.

[164] If you're a doctor or a nurse or otherwise involved in medicine, look to those saints.

[165] Many saints were pastors, priests like me. Many saints were involved in communication like you are.

[166] We need to find those saints, whether modern or ancient, and embrace those friends of the universal church that can be very inspiring and very much a part of our journey, even as they are with God in heaven.

[167] So devotion to the saints really, I think, reminds us of what our goal is, what our life plan should be, what the value system is that guides us, the life of the gospel.

[168] Well said, when we come back from the break, this is about the Blessed Mother.

[169] and I know this is a topic close to your heart but I want to ask is Mary really the mother of God and how is that we're as in scripture and also what in the church define her as the mother of God and much much more on the Bishop Strickland Hour on Virgin Most Power radio.

[170] Stay with us family we'll be back after a quick break and now back to the Bishop Strickland Hour welcome back to the Bishop Strickland Hour indeed we're talking about the Blessed Virgin Mary your little catechism that the St. Philip Institute put together and we're on chapter 9 the question is is Mary really the mother of God now come on Bishop Strickland people are asking that question who are Protestant who say how did Mary be the mother of God your thoughts well as some of the early church father said when in order to understand Jesus Christ fully, we also have to understand Mary because she was there, of course, it was in her womb.

[171] Yeah.

[172] The disciple of God was conceived and the great mystery of the incarnation.

[173] And so, and, you know, early on, as we both know, the church, the disciples, the Christian community, struggled with that question and some said how can she be the mother of God?

[174] Surely she's not really the mother of God but the church answered that definitively and said no she gave she actually gave birth to a ton and that when we learn about Mary we're learning about Jesus.

[175] Everything that's true about Jesus is reflects what's true about Mary because she is a woman.

[176] She's not divine.

[177] She's not God.

[178] But she's a woman chosen from her immaculate conception to be the mother of Jesus Christ, the son of God.

[179] She truly gave birth to him.

[180] He was conceived in a womb.

[181] She nurtured him as all of us are nurtured in our mother's womb as he grew to be born as a male child.

[182] She took care of him.

[183] Mary was there and beautifully in the mysteries of the rosary.

[184] We begin with Mary there at the enunciation.

[185] Jesus is conceived in her womb and we end with Mary being crowned in the glorious mysteries that Mary's crowned queen of heaven and earth by her son.

[186] So to believe, believe in Jesus Christ, who he is, is to understand that Mary is his human mother who gave birth to the son of God and nurtured his life as his mother.

[187] That's why the love between them is so beautiful, because as God's divine son, he loves her as the second person of the Trinity, and for her yes to God's will and her willingness to be part.

[188] part of that of his incarnation, and he loves her as a human man, as we all love our mothers.

[189] So, and Mary loves Jesus as her son, as our mothers love us, as their sons, and she loves Jesus as her Lord.

[190] So the love between Mary and Jesus is the greatest love that we can imagine.

[191] because it is both divine and human, divine from Christ and human from Mary, human from Christ as well, and Mary's love, worshiping her son and loving him all at the same time.

[192] It's a great mystery that I think it's understandable that many in the beginning of the church and many today reject the idea that this woman, truly gave birth to the Son of God.

[193] But understanding that is central to understanding the mission of the Son of God to bring salvation to humanity.

[194] What you said about Our Lady was so beautiful.

[195] I'm just asking now, 1039, you know, we're almost through this segment.

[196] Richard, I'm going to just ask the good bishop if he could just talk a little bit about the immaculate conception, because many people have a misunderstanding what the immaculate conception is, and I bet every year you're preaching that every December 8th.

[197] Can you share a little bit about that with us?

[198] Sure, Terry.

[199] Well, the immaculate conception is just the church's way of describing that Mary was specially chosen by God from her conception and protected from original.

[200] sin so that she could be the proper vessel, so that she could be the mother of God, because, of course, the son of God can't be born in sin.

[201] He's sinless, and his mother had to be sinless as well.

[202] So the Immaculate Conception is gone intervening in preparing for the incarnation of his son by choosing a real woman.

[203] to be born of real parents, but the immaculate conception expresses that she was from the moment of her existence.

[204] When all of us are conceived, we're conceived in original sin.

[205] But when she was conceived, she was protected from original sin by God's intervention.

[206] That's why she's described as full of grace, because she has no sin in her.

[207] That is a foreshadowing of what Christ makes possible through his live death and resurrection, his saving act for humanity, married benefits from all of that at her conception, and models for us who we're called to be as we seek to turn from sin will never be sinless, even if at some point in our life we were able to accomplish being totally free of sin from that point on, we still are sinners because we've all committed sins in the past.

[208] So we repent of our sins and do our best.

[209] I mean, I certainly don't have to worry about having accomplished sinlessness even now.

[210] But we're all called to do that.

[211] And to see Mary, that's why she's such an important.

[212] important role model for us, because she shows us, very simpletary, she shows us that it's possible for a human being to be sinless.

[213] I think there's a tendency to think that, oh, that's impossible.

[214] Nobody can be free of sin, but Mary shows us, of course, it's by the grace of God.

[215] It's not her accomplishment, but she cooperates with that grace.

[216] And all of us are called to cooperate with grace and move further and further from sin to be poor and for the children of God that were called to be.

[217] So I think Mary is a great image for us that it is possible.

[218] It is possible for a living, breathing human being to be free of sin.

[219] Of course, Jesus, the Son of God is like us in all things but sin.

[220] He is free of sin as well.

[221] but he is also God.

[222] Mary is not God.

[223] She's strictly human, but God intervened to make her the holiest human that has ever lived.

[224] I got it.

[225] You know, I love it when you answer these questions off the top of your head.

[226] It sounds like you've been doing this for decades because you have, I know.

[227] But it's beautiful, and I think it's important.

[228] Bishop Strickland, here's another question that a lot of our not just Protestant brothers ask, but I've had many Catholics, they will, this can't be.

[229] How did Mary remain a virgin if Jesus had brothers?

[230] Well, according to Catholic teachings, when the scriptures speak of brothers, and it's well documented that they use that term much more broadly than we do.

[231] The brothers spoken of in the Gospels, the brothers of Jesus are family members, maybe as close as cousins, but even cousins are more directly, you can say, blood -related than for us, than they are in the biblical understanding.

[232] Basically, brothers in the terms of that culture wasn't just a faith -based issue, but it's just the culture.

[233] When they speak of brothers, it was anyone related.

[234] You know, second cousins, I mean, many large families would have all sorts of different levels of blood relatives.

[235] And I guess using that terminology, what the church teaches is the church teaches, is that Jesus did not have a brother in blood.

[236] He had cousins, he had relative, but he did not have a brother because he was the only child born to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

[237] Great point.

[238] When we come back, we'll talk more about the Blessed Virgin Mary.

[239] And now back to the Bishop Stricklandauer.

[240] Welcome back, indeed.

[241] We're talking about the Blessed Virgin Mary in a little catechism.

[242] Mary and the Saints.

[243] And Bishop Strickland, here's a question people ask in this quick catechism question.

[244] Did Mary ascend into heaven?

[245] Is she in heaven now?

[246] Well, the technical term is that Mary was assumed into heaven.

[247] And that's significant because only Christ ascended under his own power as God's divine son.

[248] Great point.

[249] Mary was assumed in the power of the Holy Spirit.

[250] spirit.

[251] But she was assumed into heaven.

[252] It's not recorded in scripture, but it is part of the tradition of the church.

[253] And it fits logically with the beginning of her life was extraordinary, full of holiness, marked by God's grace, and thus the end of her life.

[254] And that's where the tradition of the church.

[255] Sometimes it's called the dormition of Mary, which basically means she went to sleep.

[256] She did leave this earth, and now she's appeared many times, but that is appearing from heaven.

[257] She's not walking this earth after 2 ,000 years, but Mary was assumed into heaven and joined the saints and the angels in eternal worship of God.

[258] And that's what she comes back to us in these apparitions, like Guadalupe, Lord's, Fatima, many others.

[259] Mary brings the message really, it's remarkably simple, and it repeats exactly what John the Baptist said.

[260] and what her son said, repent and believe the good news.

[261] Mary doesn't use exactly those words, but she does tell us to turn from sin, and Mary makes it very clear that heaven is well aware of the depth of sinfulness in our world, and she's warned us over and over again that we must repent of our sin and pray for, pray vigorously for everyone, pray for our world in order to avoid the calamities that await us if we just continue on the path of sins.

[262] So, yes, the Blessed Virgin Mary was assumed into heaven.

[263] As Jesus ascended, she was assumed.

[264] And so both are there at the throne of God, the Father, and the power of the Holy Spirit.

[265] it.

[266] Mary constantly interceding in joining with the saints, real human beings who have accomplished what God wants all of us to accomplish in this journey to life, the salvation of our souls, everlasting life with God.

[267] So Mary and the saints are pulling for us.

[268] I don't know if it was when we were talking with you, Terry, but I remember one conversation I had with Bishop Athanasia Schneider.

[269] And someone asked, as two bishops that speak up the truth and are sometimes their consequences for it, do we feel alone?

[270] And Bishop Schneider gave the great answer, no, we're not alone.

[271] We are with Mary and the Saints.

[272] And that is a tremendous community, often called the Cloud of witnesses that is with all of us.

[273] So Mary and the saints are a great reminders that there's always hope.

[274] We need to rekindle the joy that may get diminished by worries and by distractions.

[275] But the saints remind us what real joy is about, and that is fulfilling God's will for us.

[276] His will is that we be with him in eternity, because he loves us so much.

[277] It's just, you know, the simplicity of God's love, it's profound as well, but it's like your love for your wife and your kids and your grain kids.

[278] It's like my love for the flock that I've served, even though I'm not serving them any longer directly, I still have a love.

[279] and when you love as followers of Jesus Christ, your desire is that that person you love is with God in heaven.

[280] And that's what a husband and wife are called to do to help each other.

[281] That's your primary vocation as a marriage to you and your wife together, help each other get to heaven.

[282] And I've often said to married couples, as I prepare them for marriage or encourage them along the way, the best way to love your children, really the best way for you, Terry, and your wife, to love your children and your family, all the people that you love, the best way for you to love them is to love each other.

[283] And part of loving each other is encouraging and urging and supporting that both of you are ultimately, achieve salvation by the grace of God.

[284] It's not our own achievement, but we have to cooperate with it.

[285] And so when you love, when I love, it's desiring that that person fulfill God's will for us.

[286] God is always willing our salvation, but it gives us the freedom to ultimately and outright reject him if we make that foolish and tragic choice.

[287] He gives us the freedom to do that because God is love and he's taught us that love can never be anything but free.

[288] It has to be a free choice, but he urges us, sends us, gives us saints, sends his son, gives us the Blessed Virgin Mary.

[289] So God has given us every possible opportunity to embrace the salvation that he offers us, but he will never force us.

[290] And I think that really, Terry, is kind of a distortion that we see in the church and in the world today.

[291] God absolutely invites all.

[292] All are welcome into heaven.

[293] All are invited by God.

[294] But that invitation means something.

[295] It means a change of heart.

[296] It means that we conform ourselves to God's will and not to our own.

[297] And that's a lifelong challenge for all of us who, by the grace of God, are embracing it.

[298] But I think we really need to keep repeating that.

[299] Absolutely, all are welcome.

[300] Mary's apparitions for all humanity to hear and follow her son.

[301] Jesus came for all humanity for all time, but he comes with a challenge of repenting of sin and believing in the gospel.

[302] And really, Terry, I think all of that is a reminder that the gospel is not some kind of magic formula.

[303] It's about being changed.

[304] It's about being shaped, reshaped, we can say, into being the children of God, that God originally created us to be.

[305] Sin has distorted that, but through Jesus Christ and his saving grace, it's possible for us once again to embrace that life that was meant for us before the fall of Adam and Eve.

[306] So really, it all comes together as one message of seeking everlasting life.

[307] And thank God we have the help of Mary and the Saints.

[308] Amen.

[309] Final question.

[310] What is Mary's relationship to the church?

[311] She's mother of the church.

[312] She's queen of heaven and earth.

[313] And her apparitions show us that she is an active, loving mother.

[314] She's not just having, you know, wondrously given birth to the son of God and nurtured her life.

[315] But her mission, as Jesus' mission, is ongoing.

[316] and her son, Jesus Christ, will continue their mission of love until the end of time.

[317] So Mary as mother of the church, and like we've talked about before, there are many different models of the church.

[318] But Mary as mother of the mystical body of Christ that is the church, I think that's a beautiful way of thinking of Mary's relationship with all of us, just as she nurtured as a real human mother, nurtured the life of Jesus in her womb, she nurtures the life of all humanity, nurturing wanting for us to embrace sanctifying grace, to live a life of grace, to live doing our best to overcome sins.

[319] So Mary is there desiring that all of us live as her children as well as the children of God.

[320] She is that the mystical body of Christ, I think, is a beautiful image that helps me to understand what Mary's role is.

[321] She truly is your mother, Terry, and my mother.

[322] Amen.

[323] She is the mother of every person, if only we will embrace her motherhood, not replacing our human mothers.

[324] I'm sure for both of us, our mothers weren't perfect, but they helped us to embrace.

[325] the faith.

[326] Embrace Mary as our heavenly mother.

[327] And so in a way that echoes what Mary and Jesus are about, a loving mother helps her children, sons and daughters, to come closer to their heavenly mother and to her son, who is our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

[328] Wonderfully said.

[329] We're at the end of our time.

[330] I really enjoyed listening to you speak on our lady because that's a topic that's close to your heart and close to my heart.

[331] And wow, we finish that whole chapter right there.

[332] So thank you.

[333] I also want to remind everybody they can get these shows on our YouTube channel called Full Sheen Ahead.

[334] They can go to get our free app.

[335] It's free.

[336] You just download the app.

[337] and you can listen to all the different shows that we have.

[338] So that's one way of doing it.

[339] Bishop Strickland, could we get a blessing for our folks today?

[340] Almighty God, we ask your blessing for everyone listening to VMPR radio and to Terry and I as we discuss the beauty of our Catholic faith and the strength that we're called to have.

[341] Even in times of turmoil and confusion, Lord, we pray that we will see clearly as the Blessed Virgin Mary did and all the saints did to see the wonder of your love for us and the light of your son guiding us.

[342] And we ask this in the name of the Father and the son of the Holy Spirit.

[343] Amen.

[344] Thank you so much, Bishop Strickland.

[345] Thanks so much for folks listening.

[346] We'll catch up with you next week.

[347] Same time, same station.

[348] And again, I want to thank all your listeners who have been supporting us here at Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[349] Your support has been very inspiring for us.

[350] Continue fight for souls.

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