25 Oct 22 – What Is the Sense of the Faithful?

[0] Welcome to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[1] I'm always honored to be here to talk about how to find salvation.

[2] In other words, how to get to heaven.

[3] That's what we're talking about.

[4] And Bishop Strickland, I want to thank you again for taking the time to teach us the fundamentals of our Catholic faith.

[5] Thanks again.

[6] Thanks, Terry.

[7] And we want to talk about a very important topic.

[8] This is not a typical show.

[9] A lot of times we'll take your tweets.

[10] And I've got one tweet that I thought was powerful from, St. Pope Pius the 10th, but I saw something you sent to me, what is the census for a day and why does it matter?

[11] What, you know, with the Senate on senatorality, stressing the idea of the sense of the faithful, which is a long history in the church.

[12] I think many of us are going, well, what is that?

[13] And so I want to just turn it to you and say, teach us what the church teaches regarding the sense of the faithful and is there catechism verses for it and how can we get a better understanding of that.

[14] Yeah, thanks, Terry.

[15] I think it is a very important, just hopefully refresher for some, but if we're not familiar with that term, census fee, the sense of the faith, of the faithful, we need to be aware of that our church is guided by, we are the body of Christ, we are the bride of Christ, we are guided by revealed truth.

[16] And I think that that those two words are critical for our time, revealed truth.

[17] This is truth that I couldn't didn't come up with, you didn't come up with.

[18] No human being just said, oh, we can reason this out.

[19] Certainly.

[20] God has given us the ability to reason out a lot, and we can understand more deeply what God has revealed to us, this revealed truth, by using our reason.

[21] And that's what theologians have done since the very beginning.

[22] I see.

[23] I mean, as we celebrate the saints, I mean, we just recently celebrated St. Teresa of Avila, a doctor of the church.

[24] And the church doctors and the great theologians and many of the saints, sometimes mystics, they've added to or deepened our understanding of that basic truth revealed by Jesus Christ.

[25] So it's critical that we understand we're not driven by public opinion.

[26] We're not driven by the opinion of anyone.

[27] No human opinion is what guides the church.

[28] Amen.

[29] Human, as St. Paul says, I forget the exact quotation, but these, the scriptures are not developed from from human understandings that we've decided.

[30] cited.

[31] They come their revealed truth.

[32] That's what being part of the canon of scripture really means, is that the church has discerned that all those writings of the Old Testament, Genesis, Exodus, the prophetic books, the wisdom literature, all of that is revealed truth.

[33] And the same with the New Testament.

[34] The church discerned.

[35] There are four gospels.

[36] That's it.

[37] Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

[38] The letters of Paul, the acts of the apostles, the other letters of Peter, and the book of Revelation.

[39] All of the canon of scripture, old and New Testament, is revealed truth that comes from God.

[40] Yes, using human authors, but guided by the Holy Spirit.

[41] So understanding that is critical that we need to have a very clear understanding.

[42] That's the glorious gift of the deposit of faith that is our Catholic faith, that God has revealed to us ultimately through his son.

[43] But an understanding of this phrase census fee day, and I think what I was reminded of recently, a Vatican document that was published in 2014, a sort of a consensus of theologians at that time, 2014, 2014.

[44] what's that eight years ago so pretty modern but not yesterday not in this moment but as the church continues to develop in just sort of the 2014 document really is just a consensus of the census fee day and what that means i'd like to share just a one paragraph that was quoted that i think captures, I'd encourage people to go to v .a and search for census feeday.

[45] I've actually seen tweets or things on, it's easy for people to find those things these days, but I saw somebody posted on Facebook, the actual citation where you just go to that website and Vatican.

[46] dot VA, and you can find this article on census Fide that came that was promulgated or published in 2014.

[47] Let me share this basic paragraph that really captures in a few words the basic message.

[48] The census Fidei Fidelis is a sort of spiritual instinct that enables the believer to judge spontaneously whether our particular teaching or practice is or is not in conformity with the gospel and with apostolic faith.

[49] And let me stop there to just talk about just that very first sentence.

[50] It says something very important to, it allows a believer to discern whether a particular teaching or practice is or is not in conformity.

[51] with the gospel and with apostolic faith.

[52] So each of us, it's not certainly, we turn to our pastors, we turn to the Holy Father, we turn to the bishops, all of that magisterium that the catechism talks about in paragraphs 91, 92, 93.

[53] And so I was absolutely in the very beginning of the catechism this is spoken of.

[54] But what's important, in that first sentence is it reminds us there's something this has to conform to to a teaching or practice is it or is it not in conformity with the gospel and with apostolic faith so anything that is being talked about today any opinion that is expressed anything that's taught as we've said before, both of us.

[55] If using this language, I will say once again, and I know you join me. Amen.

[56] If what I say is not in conformity with the catechism, with the faith that we embrace as Catholics, then tell me, then correct me. I need to be corrected.

[57] We need to discern is it or is it not in conformity with the gospel?

[58] And that means, you know, the whole teaching of Christ, the corigma, the message of Jesus Christ that is certainly contained in the four gospels, but beyond that, and really all the Word of God that is accepted as divinely revealed word of God and with apostolic faith.

[59] So that word conformed, that word conformity, that word, I think is critical for our time.

[60] It means that if I say something as a bishop that isn't in conformity with the deposit of faith with the scriptures, with the magisterium of the church through the ages, through the dogma and the doctrine that is promulgated in the catechism, if I'm not in conformity with that, I'm wrong.

[61] Bishop, let me just jump in, let me jump in because I'm listening to you and I can hear people going, wow, that's that's amazing um i was always taught that divine revelation ended at the death of the last apostle so that that's yeah that's our teaching from when i was a kid i was taught that that hasn't changed revelation has ended yes is it is a closed canon thank you we're not going to add books not going to add teachings thank you is not i mean you know both of us know and many people listening There are many different mystics.

[62] There's the apparitions of Our Lady.

[63] There are all sorts of things.

[64] But those do not add to.

[65] No, they don't.

[66] They are examined just like this sentence is.

[67] Is it in conformity with what has been revealed?

[68] So when you look at something like Our Lady of Fatima, which the church has said, yes.

[69] This is in conformity.

[70] This is accepted as divine lay.

[71] authored, you could say, that it's something that is divinely revealed.

[72] It is personal revelation.

[73] Anything after Christ and after the canon of Scripture, that is personal revelation.

[74] That is not part of the public revelation.

[75] And the distinction there is nothing, even like Fatima, that has been accepted as authentic in conformity with the faith.

[76] Exactly.

[77] It's not something that has to be believed.

[78] Right.

[79] I mean, if somebody says, I don't really believe Fatima, that's okay.

[80] I mean, for many of us, we find it very enriching to our understanding of the gospel and apostolic faith.

[81] But if you don't, if it's something post -Christ, it doesn't have to be believed.

[82] But it is, you know, if it's something post -Christ, it doesn't have to be believed, but it is, you know, if If it's authentically accepted by the church, it's something that needs to be seriously considered.

[83] And I happen to embrace those things that are, but we have to make sure we understand that it's private revelation.

[84] Yes.

[85] It's not part of the deposit of faith.

[86] Bishop, I have thought when I saw that Paul VI said that the fathom a message is a reaffirmation of the gospel, that's saying from what I understand is nothing in that fathom a message.

[87] is contrary to divine revelation.

[88] And that's, I think, a question that on private apparition is asked, is there anything that's contrary in that message to the gospel?

[89] And the church says, no, and it's approved.

[90] I simplified it, but I don't know if that's...

[91] No, I think that's another good way of saying it, because it needs to be clear that it's in conformity with what the truth is that we already know.

[92] All right, when we come back here on the Bishop Strickland Hour, We're going to talk more about the sense of the faithful.

[93] Stay with us, family.

[94] Welcome back to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[95] We're talking about the sense of the faithful and why this is so important to talk about it today, Bishop Strickland.

[96] I know we have, you know, the Senate, a senidality going on, and, you know, we have a lot of people who, I guess, less than 1 % of Americans, you know, had a survey about what they want to talk about.

[97] And it seemed like we got kind of mixed up.

[98] because things were being said that we should talk about like women's ordination or things that are off the table, so to speak, of what the church has talked about.

[99] And I think this is important for you is to get us back on track.

[100] So please share more with what the church officially teaches when it comes to the sense of the faithful.

[101] Thanks, Terry.

[102] And I think it is probably one of the most critically important things that we all need to refresh our understanding of or deepen our understanding or find anew if we have never heard of it before, it's important because we're not guided by opinion.

[103] We're guided by truth that's been revealed to us.

[104] And really what the church's mission is, and what hopefully this synodality is the approach that can be taken and should be taken is seeking a deeper and richer understanding of the truth that's been revealed to us.

[105] us.

[106] I like to go back to Jesus.

[107] And I love it.

[108] And remember, he's a person.

[109] Just like you are an individual, there'll never be another Terry Barber.

[110] Maybe, you know, somebody that looks like you or sounds like you or very similar.

[111] Maybe your brothers are, you know, you get, you know, confused for your brother.

[112] I don't know, but there will never be another Terry Barber.

[113] The same is true.

[114] about Jesus Christ.

[115] Amen.

[116] He, a real human being, fully gone and fully man, and the great mystery of the incarnation.

[117] But there is, Jesus Christ is one unrepeatable human being as well.

[118] Through the conception, his conception in the womb of Mary, under the power of the Holy Spirit, and the great mystery of how that occurred, How does God become a human being?

[119] But we know he did, and we know that he took his human flesh from the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Holy Spirit igniting that, you might say, conceiving in the power of God.

[120] So how does that work?

[121] We don't fully understand, but we believe and know that he is the incarnate son of God.

[122] the eternal son conceived in the womb of a woman.

[123] So I think the importance is here to recognize that Jesus Christ is an unrepeatable human being that walk this earth also simultaneously at all moments and always fully the son of God and the great mystery of who he is.

[124] But to me, that's an important point for remembering.

[125] just like you don't morph into somebody else.

[126] Yeah, you age, you mature, that's what human beings do.

[127] Jesus was a newborn infant who couldn't walk, couldn't talk, and his body was still developing.

[128] I mean, he was fully a human being, the same human being as a day -old infant as he was as the man, 33 years old, who died on the cross.

[129] But I mention all of that because I think it helps me to recognize that we're talking about a person revealing who God is.

[130] And so we have to be faithful to that person, to the reality of Jesus Christ, the son of God incarnate, believing and knowing that he's the fullness of revelation.

[131] as we've talked about before, all of scripture reveals Christ in some mysterious way, every element of scripture, even if you go to the book of numbers and all that kind of confusing language that, you know, it's like so complicated and all these different people mentioned.

[132] But all of scripture from Genesis to the book of revelation is a mysterious revelation of who God is, of who Jesus.

[133] is as Jesus is the face of that revelation.

[134] I believe if we remember all of that, then, of course, it's not just an opinion.

[135] Our faith is not an opinion.

[136] It's about knowing a person.

[137] And that's what we need to constantly go back to.

[138] That's what the census fee day in that context is a sense of knowing Jesus, knowing, just like, I mean, we've come to know each other to a certain, degree.

[139] Your wife knows you a lot better than I know you.

[140] And friends and family know me a lot better than you know me. But we have a sense of each other.

[141] And I know that if I heard Terry Barber said this, I'd say, you know, that's not the Terry I know.

[142] Exactly.

[143] That doesn't sound like the Terry I know.

[144] That's what we're doing in a beautiful way.

[145] way with our faith, if it doesn't, if it's not in conformity with the gospel and with apostolic faith, then what we're saying our gut says, that's not the Jesus I know.

[146] Yeah.

[147] And that's what every faithful person really needs to go back to.

[148] Let me read this whole paragraph.

[149] Please do.

[150] Because I think it's important and it says more than just that first.

[151] sentence, which is very important in itself.

[152] The census v. Fidelis is a sort of spiritual instinct that enables the believer to judge spontaneously whether a particular teaching or practice is or is not in conformity with the gospel and with apostolic faith.

[153] It is intrinsically linked to the virtue of faith itself.

[154] It flows from and is a property of faith.

[155] It is compared to an instinct because it is not primarily the result of rational deliberation, but is rather a form of spontaneous and natural knowledge, a sort of perception.

[156] The senses Fidefidelis arises first and foremost from the conaturality that the virtue of faith establishes between the believing subject and the authentic object of faith, namely the true the truth of God revealed in Christ Jesus that is the the the money language here namely the truth of God revealed in Christ Jesus amen that's what we have to constantly humbly lovingly seek to know more deeply to know him more deeply to know Jesus Christ more deeply.

[157] And it's not an opinion.

[158] It's not the latest fad or the latest idea.

[159] We constantly go back to ask ourselves, sort of bringing all of that paragraph together, the best way to express it that I can find is, is it in conformity with Christ Jesus?

[160] Amen.

[161] With what he did, with what he taught, with how he acted.

[162] I mean, just recently, one of the Gospels, one that we know well, had the rich man with more wheat than his barns could hold, says, oh, I'll tear down these barns and build new ones.

[163] And Christ uses that example to remind us that wealth is not, worldly wealth is not the answer to the hunger that is deep in each of us.

[164] And that foolish man in the gospel story that tears down his barns and builds new ones to hold all this wealth of grain that he has, in another version, the man dies that night.

[165] And what good does it do him?

[166] There are too many of us.

[167] And I accuse myself as much as I don't want to point fingers at anyone.

[168] We've all got to look into our interior.

[169] I've got more stuff in my house than I need.

[170] I need to give some of it away.

[171] I need to recognize we don't need a lot.

[172] We need basic nourishment.

[173] We need shelter.

[174] We need clothing to keep us healthy and to be reverent and with our bodies to be the proper children of God were called to be.

[175] But we don't need, you know, Terry, I'll confess, I got more shoes than I need.

[176] I got more shirts than I need.

[177] And I have given some away.

[178] but I need to give more away because I you know there are people that don't have their basic needs that's Jesus when when we are recognizing that you know I've got enough and I need to give more away that's conformity with Jesus and to say oh I need more and more wealth or more and more power or more and more anything yeah is taking us away from Jesus and that's what we have to do for I think it's a critical moment in the life of the church because we haven't catechized well and I say we the church universal we as two faithful men yeah I agree we need to teach better for ourselves and for everyone in the church especially for young people because they can get taken down blind alleys that say well I think this is what should happen And young people aren't, their conscience isn't formed well enough, and not just young people.

[179] There are too many people in the church, of my age, older and younger, that we haven't done a good job of forming our conscience.

[180] How do we form our conscience?

[181] Is what I'm studying and learning in conformity with what Jesus has revealed to us?

[182] That's the question we constantly have to ask ourselves.

[183] And if we're not so sure, we need to go deeper into that teaching rather than saying, well, my sense of Fidei, if it's taking us away from Jesus, it's not authentic.

[184] It's not in conformity.

[185] There's an easy way to ask ourselves, is this really Jesus?

[186] And if I'm saying, oh, the gospel says I need to be super wealthy, then we've got to really be careful.

[187] because, and sometimes you hear people say that.

[188] Health and wealth.

[189] The idea that gaining more and more wealth, oh, that's a sign of God's blessing.

[190] Everything we have is a sign of God's blessing.

[191] But if we're hoarding more and more and not recognizing, I need to give some of this away, then we need to really listen to that wake -up call that just turning to the scriptures is going to bring us to.

[192] well said and bishop strickland i'd like to quote the catechism of the catholic church when we come back from the break actually we can do that now i didn't realize we got a minute or two and then i want your commentary because the catechism i think takes a complex teaching which is it seems like it does a lot of times and makes it like okay i get it well here's what it says paragraph 92 the whole body of the faithful cannot err in matters of belief this characteristic is shown in the supernatural appreciation of the faith, the census for day, on the part of the whole people, when from bishops to the last of the faithful, they manifest a universal consent in matters of faith and morals.

[193] When we come back, I'd like you to explain that little paragraph of the catechism.

[194] And, you know, you continually use this perennial teachings of the church to kind of guarantee that we're on the page of Jesus.

[195] And I'd like you to explain that to our listeners when we come back.

[196] Paragraph 92, the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

[197] Stay with us, family.

[198] You're listening to the Bishop Strickland Hour on Virgin.

[199] Welcome back to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[200] As you can tell, at the end of the segment, we quoted the Catechism paragraph 92.

[201] Bishop Strickland, can you just share that paragraph and how it clearly teaches a perennial teaching of the church?

[202] Sure, Terry.

[203] It's, it really, as you said, it captures, in a few words, really, some very significant and fairly deep understanding of how we live our Catholic faith, how we live our relationship with Jesus Christ.

[204] One of the key phrases I see, this characteristic is shown in the supernatural appreciation of faith.

[205] We've talked a lot about supernatural.

[206] And I think that's, it's another way of speaking of what I mentioned already is divinely revealed.

[207] This is beyond us, supernatural.

[208] It's not something that we through our scientific ability, we can just go analyze the trees and the rocks and say, okay, we've figured this out.

[209] This is supernatural.

[210] It's beyond us.

[211] It's been revealed.

[212] And I think that that whole understanding is something that we really need to emphasize.

[213] The whole body of the faithful cannot err in matters of belief.

[214] That is a reminder that we really are all connected.

[215] And it says from the bishops to the last of the faithful.

[216] And I think that we really need to reflect on this and ponder what it really means.

[217] And probably, I don't think of examples at this moment, but it would probably be a good idea to really talk about some things that we do believe, you know, I think one of the most basic, you know, do we believe that, do we believe that Jesus Christ is God's divine son?

[218] I hope so.

[219] And, you know, the sense of the faithful and all the bishops, absolutely.

[220] Yeah.

[221] There's no, there's no question of that.

[222] And if that's our starting point, again, we go back to look at him, to look to him, to develop a deeper relationship with him, with his word, with the sacraments, with the whole message of the church.

[223] but I think that we need to really embrace the reality that all of us are children who need to keep learning, who need to keep developing that base of knowledge that helps us to know him.

[224] And I think there's a tendency, and it's certainly not new in the church.

[225] There's always been this tendency.

[226] Sometimes we use the word heresy.

[227] But what is heretical?

[228] It basically is departing from what is in conformity with Jesus and the church he established.

[229] And I think that's what we're constantly.

[230] And I think what's good about this paragraph 92 is it says the whole body of the faithful.

[231] That means every baptize person in every person.

[232] affirmed in the Holy Spirit in an even deeper way.

[233] But really, every baptized person has an obligation to be part of this, to speak to our understanding of the teachings of the faith, of what we believe.

[234] So we're all obligated to deepen that and to come to a more profound understanding of what this truth really means.

[235] That is a challenge.

[236] And it's something that all of us need to humbly approach acknowledging that, I mean, there are things that we learned as kids that we hopefully have a deeper understanding of, but it's still, we can always go deeper because ultimately it's a mystery of God revealing himself to us.

[237] That's the beauty of the church.

[238] That's the beauty of the church.

[239] That's the beauty of Christ divinely incarnate or incarnate among us as God's divine son.

[240] It's the beauty of the Word of God of everything that encompasses the deposit of faith of what the church believes.

[241] And the attitude that all of us need to strengthen and to develop more deeply is this is a journey of discovery of deeper relationship with Jesus.

[242] And it's not inventing something new.

[243] And I think there's that tendency in today's world because there are a lot of things.

[244] I mean, I like new gadgets that we've invented and new things that we've been able to develop that.

[245] I mean, there are a lot of things in our lifetime.

[246] I mean, it'd be hard for a teenager to believe that these cell phones that we use, or this using a computer to zoom halfway across the country to talk to each other.

[247] All of this is new inventions.

[248] But I think that tendency to love new inventions and always want something new, it can fool us into thinking, oh, well, our faith operates the same way.

[249] And really, our faith calls us deeper, not to something new, but something deeper and more.

[250] profound of the same truth that we knew.

[251] And sometimes, I mean, beautifully, Jesus, and we just celebrated before at the beginning of this month, St. Teresa of the Little Flower, the little way, she reminds us, when Jesus says, let the children come to me, he's saying something very profound.

[252] Yeah.

[253] Because it's a reminder that we adults who think we've got it all figured out and we're so sophisticated and we're so wise, real wisdom, a lot of times we can go back to when we were kids and that basic awe before the Lord, that awe before creation, that understanding that this world is something deeper than we ever imagined, that is the kind of sense that we need to nurture in each of our lives, a sense of wonder and awe.

[254] and astonishment at the wonder of God and that to analyze it and to think, oh, we can just manipulate everything that's losing that beautiful sense of wonder that comes as a part of the sense of faith, the sense of Fide.

[255] Bishop Strickland, as I listen to you, I think this approach would really solve a lot of the issues in the Catholic Church today.

[256] And what I mean by that, is we have people dressed like you, dressed like me, coming up with these new ideas that are not in conformity to the gospel.

[257] And in the perennial teachings of the church, so I appreciate that.

[258] Pope Benedict XVIth, he had a unique, he calls this article I've got here, unique universal assent that recognizes a belief in which all baptized faithful in agreement.

[259] He explained two examples in history of the church to a general audience back in 2010 and I'll give you these two and then I want to have your comment on it he said thus faith both in the immaculate conception and the bodily assumption of the Virgin was already present in the people of God he says while theology had not yet found the key to interpreting it in the totality of the doctrine of the faith the people of God therefore precede theologians and this is all thanks to that supernatural sense of the faithful, namely that capacity infused by the Holy Spirit that qualifies us to embrace the reality of faith with humility.

[260] I love this humility of heart and mind.

[261] Beautiful.

[262] In this sense, the people of God is the teacher that goes first and must then be more deeply examined and intellectually accepted by theology.

[263] Your thoughts?

[264] Now, beautiful example, as you would expect from Pope Benedict.

[265] But the Immaculate Conception, the census Vidae was already there, as it's saying.

[266] The people, just in their own prayer and their own understanding of the wondrous role of Mary, a creature, a human being, but that she couldn't be tainted by sin the way we are.

[267] Right.

[268] and and be that vessel of the sinless God's divine son.

[269] So without using the language, Immaculate Conception, what Pope Benedict is saying is the people had this sense.

[270] The widow that prayed in church all the time or the widower or the, you know, the young mother, people praying, it resonated with what their prayer told them.

[271] though they didn't have the wording of immaculate conception, they knew that Mary had a special role and was even coming into this world.

[272] And it beautifully resonates with so much of what we talk about all the time.

[273] And it's a reminder that it is at the moment of conception that a new person, amen.

[274] Unrepeatable child of God comes into being.

[275] And how, However long that child lives, sometimes even spontaneously, they don't live very long in what we call a miscarriage.

[276] But unless we intervene and take that life, thankfully, an awful lot of people just go through the normal course.

[277] And it is an amazing process.

[278] And so the immaculate conception of Mary from that very.

[279] first moment of her existence as a unique daughter of God, unique and unrepeatable, as is every daughter and son of God.

[280] But this one chosen to be protected from sin by the son that she can seek.

[281] I mean, and that really blows your mind when you read some of the great theology that reminds us.

[282] I mean, Mary is benefits from the fruit of everything that Christ, did for us in his life, death, and resurrection, Mary is already benefiting from the salvation that Christ brings to the world as she's conceived in the womb of her mother immaculately so that she is that proper vessel to receive the Son of God.

[283] So all of that, you can get into some very complex theological terminology, but the beautiful faith of the simplest man of faith, the simplest man of faith, the simplest woman of faith, it resonates.

[284] And I say, yes, that's what I knew in the depth of my being through my prayer without being able to put it into words.

[285] Well, said, we come back.

[286] We'll have more with the Bishop Strickland Hour on Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[287] Stay with us, family.

[288] We'll be back after a quick break.

[289] I've never had a show co without Bishop Strickland standing up for the unborn.

[290] And Bishop Strickland, our Archbishop Gomez is doing that.

[291] And boy, do we love his leadership on this.

[292] In California, we have Prop 1 that's basically saying California will pay for any abortion anywhere in the United States.

[293] We'll pay your airfare, we'll get you a hotel, and we'll kill your children.

[294] And this is Prop 1.

[295] And so he's telling all the priests in his diocese.

[296] Some people get a little nervous because he's, you know, delving into politics.

[297] But you know what?

[298] I really appreciate that kind of leadership from the Archbishop because he's got brochures in every Catholic church telling people to vote no on Prop 1.

[299] And he gives the reasons.

[300] Now, what we did is a little different.

[301] I think we're at our church, which is, you know, privately owned.

[302] But we have our Sacred Art Chapel, a 12 -foot banner that says vote no on Prop 1.

[303] It's evil.

[304] and we state why it's evil now I'm sure we're going to get a little heat from the community because some people are going to say that's wrong but you know I just look at I got motivated by my Bishop Strickland that if he's willing to print this up tell all the priests to talk about saving the unborn that inspired a layperson like me to say let's spend some money on a big banner and put it in our church and let's take the heat because it's the right thing to do now Bishop Strickland I have to shift gears for a minute.

[305] I'm going to put you on the hot seat because you tweeted something from St. Pope Pius the 10th.

[306] And again, it motivated me as a layman.

[307] I'm like, wow, this needs to be said.

[308] As a matter of fact, if you go to our full Sheenahead YouTube channel, folks, you'll hear about this.

[309] But let me quote what you sent out and then ask you as a bishop, because as a father, it applied to me, it applies to the Pope, it applies to everyone.

[310] check this out and then your thoughts it says by saint pope pious the tenth he says how i tremble to think that souls can be punished for all eternity on the account of the negligence of their pastor that the innocent people can be led from the path of truth because the words of the inspired text were never preached to them and that the spirit of the world and of our time especially should pour into ill -instructed minds for want of a firm hand to check its tide.

[311] This is what the Pope said, and I believe it's this powerful.

[312] He says, I have a sacred duty to defend the truth openly, for God will ask me to render an account for all those souls who have strayed into the way of perdition.

[313] Basically, saying at his exit interview, he already had it, that he realizes that he has a responsibility for the salvation of souls.

[314] How does that apply to me and to you, Bishop Strickland?

[315] Well, very directly.

[316] Yeah, you think?

[317] Oh, my God.

[318] And, I mean, as a bishop, I take that very seriously.

[319] Yeah.

[320] And I know you do as a Catholic man. Yeah, husband.

[321] Really, no one is exempt from some responsibility, but the responsibility grows with the responsibility of whatever our role.

[322] And for me, as a bishop, that, you know, really there are about 1 .5 million people here in these 33 counties that I'm accountable for.

[323] Wow.

[324] And doing my best.

[325] And certainly, some of them are never going to listen to a Catholic bishop.

[326] But that doesn't mean that I don't have an obligation to share the loving truth of Jesus Christ.

[327] And to warn about what is evil.

[328] I mean, like you talk about this Proposition 1 in California, it truly is diabolical to, you know, it hasn't been that many years when they said, Oh, well, abortion should be available or seldom.

[329] Rarely done.

[330] And now it's like, no, it should be just really celebrated.

[331] You know, the opportunity to murder unborn children should just be celebrated in any place that, I mean, that's what the government there is wanting to do for, like Texas.

[332] Thankfully, it's very restricted here.

[333] So they're saying, oh, okay, Texans, come on over to California.

[334] We'll help you kill your babies.

[335] it goes back to the conversation we've been having this session.

[336] And that's where we really have to lovingly call people to the truth.

[337] Because for anyone to see these beautiful images that are available so easily in this time of great technology, you can see into the womb and see that child.

[338] Exactly.

[339] Expressions on their face, they're kicking around.

[340] You know, just it's common sense.

[341] It's that sense of the truth that is just built in to a human being.

[342] To deny that is really a distortion that we need to just lovingly but very clearly with clarity in charity, as we say, just keep reminding people, don't pretend to yourself that that's anything but a child in the womb.

[343] Another person, an unrepeatable, created in the image and likeness of God himself, that child boy or girl is, you know, that's who's there.

[344] And, you know, it really, I really applaud Archbishop Gomez for taking the challenging path of speaking the truth for the sake of the Catholics, absolutely, for the sake of everyone in the state of California and throughout this nation.

[345] California, sadly, is the leader in a lot of these areas, and other states seem to look to California and say, oh, that's the latest thing, that's the new thing, we need to do.

[346] We need to imitate California.

[347] And sadly, it happens.

[348] And a lot of times the evil things that are embraced, they get repeated and they get copied as well in other states.

[349] So it is important for too often.

[350] We've dropped the ball.

[351] We've failed to speak clearly.

[352] And I'm glad that Archbishop Gomez is speaking clearly.

[353] He'll probably get some heat for it.

[354] Oh, yeah.

[355] But, you know, that's okay.

[356] The heat in this world doesn't compare the heat of the condemnation to the everlasting fires of hell.

[357] And that's what that's what that quote from Pope St. Pius X is talking about.

[358] You know, to not warn people, you're going to hell in a handbasket to not even warn them using the word of God truly clearly revealed to us, that becomes a sin on top of a sin, you know, to do this and to say, to advertise pregnant women who want to have an abortion come to California, we'll help you out.

[359] That's wrong, but it's multiplied and deepened for us as pastors of Jesus Christ, who is the font of truth, truth incarnate.

[360] for us to not speak his truth to that situation, that multiplies the sin.

[361] And in some ways, it may be worse for us than for that woman because we don't know the circumstances that she's dealing with.

[362] There's no circumstance that makes it okay to kill a child, but God in its great mercy and compassion may understand more clearly why this woman makes that wrong.

[363] choice than for us as shepherds who know the truth to be too concerned about some worldly issue to speak the truth to an issue like the sanctity of the life of the unborn.

[364] So really, as we're talking, Terry, it's one truth, it's one message, it's one Lord Jesus Christ, we can apply the census fee to everything that comes along.

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

[366] We need to deepen our own catechetical knowledge and deepen our understanding of the truth of the faith.

[367] And once that we're strong and deeper and these are the values we know we have to teach, then we have to teach according to whatever our responsibility is.

[368] I have a more extensive responsibility than you do, but us collaborating and sharing the truth, can make a big difference.

[369] And that's what should motivate us, just like Pope St. Pius, the 10th says, we better be aware that staying silent in the face of these evil plans and evil propositions, that puts us in jeopardy as well as the people that we're neglecting by not sharing the truth.

[370] Well, Sandy, before you give us a, blessing.

[371] I like to plug to St. Philip Institute because the resources there are not just for your diocese, but for the whole world.

[372] How can people reach the St. Philip Institute?

[373] And what's it all about?

[374] Well, absolutely.

[375] Go to St. Philip Institute .org.

[376] Philip with one L, just St. Philip Institute.

[377] Great teachings of everything we've been talking about.

[378] I'll guarantee you, if you want to get some of what they're teaching at this St. Philip Institute, your understanding of Jesus Christ and the faith will deepen, and you'll have a stronger census fide to deal with all the insanity and the foolishness that we're being bombarded with in the world today, and too often the church isn't speaking up.

[379] But the St. Philip Institute is just sharing the same truth that we all know from the catechism, from the Word of God, from Jesus himself, from the magisterium of the church.

[380] Well, said, how about a blessing for our listeners?

[381] Bishop Strickland.

[382] Sure.

[383] The Lord be with you.

[384] And with thy spirit.

[385] Almighty God, we ask your blessing for Terry Barber and all those at Virgin Most Powerful Radio, for all those listening, and for all those who have the opportunity to share these programs with others.

[386] May all of us joyfully grow in our own personal census feed aid, our understanding of the wondrous truth revealed to us by the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

[387] May the Immaculate Virgin, and Mary, intercede for all of us to know her son more deeply.

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

[389] Amen.

[390] And thank you so much, Bishop Strickland.

[391] I want to remind our listeners, all the podcasts are available at vmpr .org, not only of Bishop Strickland's show, but all of the shows that we're doing.

[392] Charles Colon's a brand new show.

[393] He's coming in from Austria once a week to give a presentation on the history of the Catholic Church, and it's just been fascinating, the first show I listened to.

[394] So check that out.

[395] It's a brand new show here on Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

[396] I want to remind, we talked about Fatima.

[397] Our lady said at Fatima that souls are going to hell because no one is there to pray and make sacrifices.

[398] What are we willing to do?

[399] Bishop Strickland, we make sacrifices for the salvation of souls and for those who are not being prayed for.

[400] We all can participate in this great work, whether you're 105 or 5 years of age.

[401] And I just wanted to leave you on that powerful message from our lady.

[402] May God richly bless you, and I hope to have you come back.

[403] Same time, same Christ Station.

[404] And thanks again for listening to Virgin Most Powerful Radio, the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[405] Pass it on to your friends.

[406] God love you and your family.