23 Feb 2021 – Bishop Strickland Comments on Re-Opening Our Churches

[0] Welcome to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[1] My name's Terry Barber, and I'm here each week with the Bishop Strickland to talk about one thing, how to get to heaven by using our Catholic faith, by teaching us from the catechism of the Catholic faith, using sacred scripture.

[2] And we do this each week, so I want to remind you, you can listen to any of the shows by going to Virgin Most Powerful Radio .com .org on podcast.

[3] Bishop Strickland, thanks for adjusting to my time.

[4] I'm glad that you're here, and I just want to thank you for sharing the gospel with us so personally here.

[5] So my first question to you, Bishop Strickland, is really about your tweets.

[6] For those who are brand new, because we get hundreds of people on YouTube every week who are coming on to Virgin Most Powerful.

[7] I take these tweets that Bishop Strickland sends out each week, and then I highlight him and I say, hey, I want to ask you, what goes on it?

[8] What goes here?

[9] Well, Bishop Strickland, I was actually pleasantly surprised.

[10] I'll say pleasantly.

[11] And I see this because the Bible teaches that if your brother is doing something wrong, that you correct him, you know?

[12] And if I'm saying something incorrect on this radio show, I've always said this to you.

[13] I said, Bishop Strickland, correct me. I don't want to give any information that's not in line with the Catholic Church.

[14] And I would appreciate that because then I really know you're my friend.

[15] because I don't think you're my friend unless you love me by willing the good for me and I thank you for that.

[16] So what you ended up tweeting this week was to Bishop Bode who's a German bishop I read about him on the internet you said I respectfully call you as one bishop to another to return to the truth of the deposit of faith for your salvation for the good of the church your statement that Christ became a human being but not a man you were gentle with him you said it's ridiculous and heretical whoa the H word he said I cannot stand by in silence Bishop Strickland I have not heard from you I mean I've not seen anything like this what brought you to say to do this well that actually was a retweet from a while back but the The statement that I was reacting to was that exactly that.

[17] The Christ was a human being, but not a man. And that, I mean, it doesn't even make sense, but he was either male or female if he was a human being.

[18] And there are only two choices.

[19] And he was clearly a man. That is a blessing to every man and woman on the planet.

[20] the blessed virgin mary chosen to be the model woman the the sinless human being to be the vessel of the son of god the god man fully god fully man um jesus christ and we just have to rejoice in that and be very clear about it and that's why i mean this bishops i believe in Germany.

[21] Yes.

[22] But to make a statement like that, we have enough confusion and we just have to be very clear about who Jesus Christ is, a man that walked this earth, truly a man and truly God, a great mystery that none of us can ever claim to fully understand, but God is revealed to us what we need to understand, and we need to rejoice in that.

[23] We need to be strong in the wonder that Jesus Christ truly was conceived in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, like all of us were conceived in the womb of our mothers.

[24] And he lived to be, according to tradition and the best we can understand, he lived to be 33 years old and then died on a cross.

[25] Then, of course, we know and believe that he rose from the dead.

[26] But he was a real human being, a male human being, a man. And to really have to clarify that is something that probably not that many years ago, we'd be saying, what?

[27] Why are you having to clarify that Jesus of Nazareth?

[28] Even those who don't believe he's the divine son of God, believe and accept that he was a man who lived in the first century and worked around Nazareth, around Jerusalem, around that part of the world.

[29] The historical record is there.

[30] He was a man. I mean, it really gets a little ridiculous, but we deal a lot of the ridiculous in the world today.

[31] You know, Bishop Strickland, it reminds me, I had to correct a priest, and I tried to do it gently by saying that Jesus, he said, Jesus is in the bread and the wine.

[32] And we sing songs in Catholic churches that say that, and it's wrong.

[33] We don't believe Jesus is in the bread and the wine, that bread and wine cease to exist under the appearance of bread and wine.

[34] It's Jesus Christ.

[35] And my point is, it might sound like I'm making, oh, I don't know, a big deal over, you know, a few words.

[36] But it seems to me, Bishop Strickland, I think Bishop Robert Barron said it's a sign of a corrupt church when we're not precise about what we believe.

[37] And it seems like right now, in my lifetime, and I'm saying, you know, 40 years, I've seen a lot of loose language that can be misinterpreted.

[38] And it seems that we need to get back to being more precise.

[39] That's just my take.

[40] Would you agree with that?

[41] I do.

[42] And we have great precision in Catholic theology.

[43] We need to pay attention to that, especially when it talks about something as significant and mysterious as the Eucharist.

[44] All the precision doesn't take away the mystery that is there.

[45] But we do have to be very clear that the Eucharist becomes Jesus Christ, body and blood, soul and divine.

[46] that is the perennial teaching of the church.

[47] And we do need to be very clear about that.

[48] I love that you brought this up, Terry, because in my own prayer and reflection, I've really been reflecting a lot on what we say in the profession of faith.

[49] We believe in God, creator of all things visible and invisible.

[50] And when you talk about the Eucharist, the visible reality is a piece of bread.

[51] It looks like a piece of bread.

[52] The invisible reality is that it has been transubstantiated into the body and blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ.

[53] And in many ways, the crisis of faith we see in the world is many who claim to be believers, and certainly many who celebrate their lack of faith, their lack of belief in God or any kind of religious reality.

[54] But what pervades the world is a tendency to say, if I can't see it, I don't believe it.

[55] And we profess in our creed.

[56] we believe in a God who's created a whole universe of things that are invisible, that we can't see, we can't perceive, we can't hear.

[57] And really, I've heard people say that the greater reality is the invisible in terms of quantity.

[58] If you think about all the angels and all those who have gone before us, the souls who have lived before us, the reality of God, the invisible universe of God's kingdom really is probably quantifiably larger than the visible universe.

[59] That's our faith.

[60] And what's beautiful about our faith is that the invisible and the visible are woven together, especially in us.

[61] Yeah.

[62] we are part of both the visible and the invisible universe people hopefully after they've died but you can dissect the human body and we've learned so much about the human body but there's no little pocket there where you say okay here's the soul the soul is an invisible life force that God gives us, that animates us, that gives us human life.

[63] We have bodies and bodies are sacred because we are vessels of the Holy Spirit.

[64] We are vessels of an individual person that God is created.

[65] But that's part of, you know, probably every week, somewhere along the way we touch on the sad reality of abortion.

[66] Yes.

[67] But invisible in that newly conceived person is already an invisible mark of God's life.

[68] Certainly, as that conception has just happened in a woman's womb, the reality of that soul is, hard to detect, because it's hard to detect even the physical, visible reality of the newly conceived person.

[69] But from that moment, the visible and the invisible is present.

[70] That's why abortion is such a tragedy, because we're eliminating new people, new persons, that God has said, let life be here.

[71] And we're saying, no, thanks, God.

[72] Not in this case.

[73] And sadly, I just wrote something on my website recently.

[74] Can I interrupt you, though, Bishop?

[75] Because I want to hear what you have.

[76] We've got 20 seconds for the break.

[77] You're going to share with us something on your website that you just wrote.

[78] So when you come back, folks from the break, that's what we'll have Bishop Strickland share.

[79] You're listening to the Bishop Strickland Hour on Virgin Most Powerful radio.

[80] I'm Terry Barber, and I'm too blessed to be stressed.

[81] We'll be back with more to inspire you to call Deeper in Love.

[82] Jesus Christ and his church.

[83] Welcome back to the Bishop Strickland hour.

[84] My name's Terry Barber, and Bishop Strickland was just telling us about something he wrote on his website.

[85] So Bishop, it's all yours.

[86] What was that?

[87] Well, I suggested considering at least a change of how we use our language, because we believe that abortion is.

[88] murder.

[89] Right.

[90] And certainly, I think everyone agrees that murder is wrong.

[91] So what I did was suggest that we talk about any taking of an innocent life to say that that life has been aborted.

[92] And I go through a list of certainly an unborn child whose life is taken.

[93] Their life is aborted.

[94] Right.

[95] A five -year -old who maybe gets shot in a drive -by shooting, that life is aborted.

[96] Maybe it's a teenager who gets kidnapped for human trafficking and then they're abused and ultimately die as a teenager.

[97] Their life is aborted.

[98] Maybe it's the 20 -something that gets caught up in the drug culture and ultimately either takes their own life or dies because of the drugs, an overdose, their life is aborted.

[99] Maybe it's the handicapped person that is really debilitated and someone decides, oh, they don't need this treatment or their life doesn't have the quality that it needs to continue.

[100] So they are aborted.

[101] The elderly person that is at the end of their life, but not dead yet, but they're helped along because the quality of the judgment is the quality of their life is not worth living.

[102] Their life is aborted.

[103] So to really use that language, maybe it helps people to understand the aborting of a human life at whatever stage.

[104] is is wrong and I truly believe that if we don't value the life of the unborn then all those other aborted lives diminish in value as well right Bishop Strickland I just got an article it's not something I normally read but it's um it's from the Jesuit publication so I have you know I mean I have a lot of good friends that are Jesuits so this is a says your bishop said it's time to come back to church.

[105] And the question is, is it a sin if you don't go?

[106] And so basically the article is giving responses from bishops around the country saying, you know, different things about why is it important to come back to church.

[107] I'd like to know your thoughts on the last year of, you know, closing churches because we still have, well, many of the churches are closed here in Los Angeles if the pastor decides it's not safe to have mass inside they're still doing some outside masses and some of them won't even do that they'll do drive -by masses where you pull your car into the parking lot and then somebody comes out and gives you holy communion but what are your thoughts about this well terry there's some basic principles that i think we all need to be reminded of it's a commandment of god that we must worship him And that worship for us as Catholics, the primary worship, our greatest prayer, is the Eucharist.

[108] Because as we were saying earlier, Jesus Christ, body and blood, soul and divinity, actually is there in the form of bread and wine after the consecration.

[109] So that is essential.

[110] That is essential to us as Catholics.

[111] Certainly, there are people.

[112] that have not been able to go to mass for far too long, and there are various reasons for that, sometimes because the church is shut down, or because they are very fragile in health, and they really aren't going anywhere.

[113] I know people that virtually haven't left their home, except possibly to go visit the doctor because they have to.

[114] Those people, That's the reason as a bishop, I've continued the dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass, because in my experience, those people who really shouldn't because of the frailty of their health, they're the ones most likely if we did, if I chose to, and some bishops have, every bishop has to make those decisions himself.

[115] of.

[116] But I've chosen not to reimpose the obligation because I don't want exactly those most vulnerable people.

[117] In my experience, they're the ones that would likely say, well, I've got to get myself to mass, even though it may not medically be the right thing to do.

[118] But there are many things that I think we need to talk about in this issue, Terry, that we have an obligation to worship God.

[119] And those who are truly homebound, and we've always had people that were homebound.

[120] We have good souls that go and take the body of Christ to them, priests or deacons or lay people properly instituted as lay communion ministers.

[121] that we've always had homebound people that simply can't get out of their house.

[122] We'd love to.

[123] And for them to participate virtually and then to have communion brought to them, we've done that for years, and we need to continue to do that.

[124] A directive or an encouragement that I sent out to our priest just recently was to encourage their people.

[125] If you're going to the grocery store and you go into the mall and you're going all these other places, then the obligation to go to Mass is very real for that person.

[126] Of course.

[127] We still have the social distancing, so our churches are limited as far as their capacity.

[128] Right.

[129] And what I encouraged our priests to do was to encourage those people that, if they can, to attend Mass on any day of the week, at least one.

[130] a week to actually attend Mass. And certainly, if it's spiritually beneficial, and I know for many people it is, if you can, to attend Mass virtually every day.

[131] But in this time, I would encourage that people who are sincere and know that they have an obligation to worship God, an obligation to participate in the Eucharistic liturgy in the mass to truly participate, to not just watch it on their computer screen.

[132] And I don't want to denigrate those.

[133] That's all they can do.

[134] That's wonderful that they give that time and enter prayerfully into that.

[135] But if they can, and if they are going out to many other places, but saying, oh, I'm still not going to mass, I'd encourage them to really pray about that and think about their obligation to worship God.

[136] It can be, with the obligation lifted, it can be on another day.

[137] But to really look at their schedule and to make a commitment to at least once a week and our churches are blessed to have daily masses.

[138] The social distancing is not an issue because at the cathedral, I have the 7 a .m. Mass on Fridays most weeks when I'm in town.

[139] They're probably 30.

[140] And the numbers do go up a bit during Lent, which is wonderful.

[141] Let's say we have 50 people there.

[142] We still got room for a lot more people for a daily mass. So the social distancing, I kind of laugh about it because just naturally human beings, when they come to a daily mass, they naturally social distance.

[143] They're not really social distance.

[144] They've been doing that for years.

[145] Exactly.

[146] Just because people that are devoted and come, many people come every day to daily mass. They like to find their kind of spot in the church where they're comfortable, where they like to be.

[147] And it's usually well distant from other people.

[148] Right.

[149] Certainly married couples or families that may be able to be there would sit together.

[150] So the social distancing during the weekdays is built in.

[151] And I'd love to see a time when people are taking the obligation to worship as Catholics in the Eucharistic liturgy, in the mass, to be, to know that's our obligation because we love Jesus Christ and we love his church.

[152] I'd love to see every mass offered maxed out for the social distancing that as many people as the church can hold are there.

[153] still caring for each other and if they choose to wear a mask that's encouraged but the social distancing we are following those guidelines but we would have a whole lot more people going to mass in a given week if every mass celebrated was at maximum capacity and that way for people that can only go on Sunday, it allows them to go.

[154] And then for those who can go on another day, to leave space for those who can only go on Sunday, that's what I would encourage.

[155] But I think we need to remember the obligation.

[156] And hopefully it's beyond obligation.

[157] It's a hunger.

[158] It's a churches were closed for about six weeks, at least in this diocese back in April, May, sadly, around Easter and Palm Sunday, the churches were closed.

[159] People were hungry to truly participate in the Eucharistic liturgy.

[160] And I encourage them to rekindle that hunger if they've kind of gotten caught up in, well, the obligation has been dispensed, which it has.

[161] Right.

[162] But let's Let's be Catholic, let's celebrate Jesus Christ, and let's do our best to at least once a week come not just virtually, but in person, and celebrate the Eucharist, receive the body of Christ if we're properly disposed spiritually.

[163] Bishop Strickland, what you just said here at our chapel, we have at the Sacred Heart Chapel, historic Sacred Heart Chapel, we have daily mass, a Novosorto Latin Mass twice a week.

[164] and a lot of elderly people in their late 70s and 80s come to that mass because we only have 20 people that come and so the social distancing is just what you said, not a problem and you know what I find really interesting some of these older folks they tell me they walk to church and I never thought of this he said why do you walk he says I just think it's really nice that I can receive holy communion and walk through my neighborhood with Jesus inside of me. And man, here this guy just said that.

[165] I never really thought of why he...

[166] I was always wondering why he walks.

[167] He's got a car?

[168] No, he wants to proclaim Jesus.

[169] I'm taking Jesus to the streets.

[170] And I thought, man, that guy taught me something there.

[171] And he's 70.

[172] That's great.

[173] And that was my old baseball coach from 45 years ago, who lives back in Covina with us.

[174] And he comes every week on Wednesday for Holy Mass. and I just found that out.

[175] Wow, he inspired me. Hey, when we come back, we'll ask Bishop Strickland about something I think is very important.

[176] We've got Lent coming up, and he's got the St. Philip Institute, and I'm going to ask him, what is going to get?

[177] What's the St. Vincent's the St. Philip Institute offering people for Lent.

[178] We'll be right back.

[179] Welcome back to the Bishop Strickland Hour.

[180] I made a teaser about the St. Philip Institute.

[181] This is an institute that I want all of our listeners to go to, especially during the Lenton season.

[182] Bishop Strickland, what can our listeners find at your Institute for Lent?

[183] Well, especially for Lent, beginning Ash Wednesday, our institute staff, St. Philip Institute .org, with Philip with 1L, they've put together a daily scripture journey through the 47 days of Lent beginning Ash Wednesday to just help people put into context what the message of salvation is, beginning with the book of Genesis and all the way through to the Gospels.

[184] Clearly, just a brief visit for key moments along the journey of God's saving plan for us, as recorded in Sacred Scripture.

[185] But I believe it will be a great assistance to people and a great spiritual way to journey for the Lenton season.

[186] It will be available in English and in Spanish, which is very important for much of the country and certainly for our diocese.

[187] But I really encourage people.

[188] You can visit St. Philip Institute .org.

[189] What you have to do is really just sign up your email address and they will send you, I think the plan is to every week send those reflections for the coming week.

[190] But that's one of many things that are being offered.

[191] There are lots of podcasts.

[192] There are many opportunities.

[193] We have some great people.

[194] We've just welcomed a couple of new staff members that are doing a great job of getting the truth out there.

[195] It's good news.

[196] It's a joyful message of Jesus Christ in our Catholic faith.

[197] And people throughout the country, really throughout the world, need the good news of the gospel like never.

[198] before and need the joy that a relationship with Jesus Christ, with the Blessed Virgin Mary, with the saints and the whole communion that is the Catholic Church, the joy that comes from having a vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ through his church is what the St. Philip Institute is all about.

[199] Well, talk about something positive that you tweeted, Bishop Strickland, also the Institute, but I love this prayer.

[200] It's called a special needs prayer.

[201] I read it to my wife and I thought, wow, honey, listen to this.

[202] And I'll read it to our listeners and then you give a comment about why you did this.

[203] Loving God, our creator, help us to be the voice of those who cannot speak, the ears of those who cannot hear, and the eyes of those who cannot see.

[204] Help us to recognize the wholeness rather than the brokenness of those with special needs.

[205] we acknowledge the dignity and sanctity of each life please take away our indifference and give us new hearts teach us oh God who are made in your image to act and to love in your image amen well that's a powerful prayer Bishop Strickland where did you get that from I mean I've never read that before it's actually something a friend of mine sent to me and I said said that's worth sharing more broadly, and that's what I try to use tweets for, to just get good news out there.

[206] And especially we were talking earlier about that, the tendency, the phrase that I really don't like, but quality of life.

[207] Yeah.

[208] God, I think we need to remember, if we have the breath of life, God is saying, there's quality of life.

[209] there.

[210] It takes many different forms.

[211] And I'm sure we've both seen what the world describes as special needs.

[212] They're special people very often with special gifts that may be part of that invisible realm that we were talking about.

[213] Because the world likes to measure things and accomplishments and certainly there are many beautiful people that have great gifts and are able to contribute to society.

[214] But when we look at those who have special needs that maybe they can't see or maybe they can't speak well or maybe they're unable to some part of their body doesn't function properly and maybe they can't walk or maybe they have no hands.

[215] But there's a beauty there, and sometimes that invisible presence is what shines forth, especially in the special needs.

[216] One of the things I'm sure we're both aware of is the Down syndrome children and adults.

[217] Thankfully, many of them are living into adulthood now.

[218] They bring blessings and gifts to their families and to their communities that are invisible in many ways.

[219] ways, intangible.

[220] They may not be able to do some of the things that their siblings can do or other members of the community that are the same age, but they bring a beauty of life that it's humbling to all of us to remember.

[221] And they can say things or do things that really cause you to stop and realize how beautiful life is, how preciously.

[222] life is, and we need to be very careful about measuring it in terms of what's marketable, what's the sort of ideal image, all of those things that creep into, even the Christian mind and the Catholic mind.

[223] We need to be very careful because it's a very different way that God sees the beauty of the human person, and many times those with special needs have a beauty that shines forth in wonderful ways if we just open our eyes to it.

[224] Well, Bishop Strickland, one of the families out in Tyler, Texas called me, and they have a son who serves the altar for you at the cathedral, who's a Down syndrome boy.

[225] I know who you're talking about.

[226] Well, you practice what you preach, and I think it's awesome.

[227] We actually have a family friend, their daughter has Down syndrome, and she's the most loving little girl.

[228] I mean, if I don't see her for six weeks, she acts like I hadn't seen her in a year or two, wants to hug me and I just love it.

[229] They're the most loving kids.

[230] I can just say it.

[231] It's just so beautiful.

[232] Bishop Strickland, I'm going to ask you about a tweet that you said because I just came back from my physical for my once a year annual physical and this relates to your tweet.

[233] You didn't know it, did you?

[234] You said, we must repeatedly and vigorously condemn those atrocities against the human race.

[235] To allow this to continue is a crime against humanity and black.

[236] blasphemous against Almighty God.

[237] Fetal, tissue, and vaccines, studies on orphans confirmed by the Stanley plot, and then you give a YouTube channel where they could see what you're talking about.

[238] Can you share a little bit with us because I have some comment also to make about that?

[239] Yeah, the video that that tweet is referring to is just horrific.

[240] It has an individual that is being asked about aborted children and his attitude is as troubling as what he's saying because his attitude you would think he's talking about sacks of sugar or lumps of coal or bags of trash it's just like oh yeah I think there were 73 or maybe it was 74 I mean it's just very casual in talking about how body parts are used to and what with all the controversy about the vaccine i pray that it really becomes an opportunity to open the door for awareness of good people there are many good people even those who don't have a formal relationship with god in a religion there are many good -hearted people that recognize these atrocities for what they are And we've got to let people know that the research done using aborted children's bodies is just horrific.

[241] There are many ways.

[242] Vaccines are just the tip of the iceberg.

[243] There are many ways that children are used as research material.

[244] And that we need to stop that.

[245] We need to call for that to be changed.

[246] And I'm hopeful that with all the controversy about the vaccines, that that can be a door that opens for awareness to people.

[247] It's happened with me. I wasn't aware of a lot of this a couple of years ago.

[248] But once we become aware, we can't close our eyes to it anymore.

[249] And we need to advocate for change.

[250] And one thing that I think we need to.

[251] in today's world with all the controversy and all the turmoil and the violence that too easily erupts.

[252] Let's remember every person is precious in the eyes of God.

[253] Even that person, even the man on this video who is talking so casually about butchering children, he is precious in the eyes of God.

[254] He is a son of God that is precious.

[255] We need especially to model that as Christians.

[256] We all fail.

[257] We're all sinners, but we need to pull back from any time that we get into such a strong message of the truth, if that begins to denigrate the value of another person, we need to say, whoa, whether it's political or within religions or in the just in commerce and whatever aspect of society, even those, that's where the, you know, bombing an abortion clinic is not the answer.

[258] Taking one life to support another life, that isn't the answer.

[259] We need to hold precious even those who are doing diabolical things because God holds them precious.

[260] We wonder why.

[261] But we don't understand that the wondrous love of God in the fullness of its dimensions for us or for the other person.

[262] And the more we can embrace that.

[263] And I can imagine people thinking, oh, well, that's just sort of a pie in the way.

[264] the sky attitude no it's the gospel of jesus christ he's the one that tells us love your neighbor as yourself and every person on the planet from conception to natural death is a neighbor well said bishop strickland we're going to come back to the catechism when we come back you're listening to the bishop strickland hour on virgin most powerful we'll turn that down we'll be right back welcome back to the bishop strickland hour goes into the catechism of the Catholic Church, for those looking on YouTube, I would encourage all of our listeners to get a copy of the catechism.

[265] A couple people took me up on it.

[266] I'm going to say it again.

[267] If you need a catechism, I'd be happy.

[268] If you can't afford one, call us at 877 -526 -21 -5 -1.

[269] I'll get you a little catechism.

[270] Because I'm going to tell you, Bishop Strickland, as a young person, I don't know about you.

[271] When you were young, okay, at one time you were young.

[272] One time, I really, as a young man, got into reading my Baltimore Catechism, and it really gave me insights about the attributes of God and who God is and what I'm here for.

[273] And as I got older as a teenager, I got the life of Christ, I got other catechisms.

[274] It just, I kind of graduated, but I always thought I learned so much by going through a catechism, you know, systematically learning about my faith.

[275] that it really helped me as a young person so I would encourage not just young people everyone the catechism is set up to introduce you to the person of Christ and it's really set well get into all the different segments of it but the one that we're doing right now is at the beginning of the catechism and we're talking about apostolic tradition and I guarantee a bishop strickman if you ask Catholics what's apostolic tradition they would really say well I'm not quite sure so you look it up in the catechism Anytime you can't, you don't know what someone says about your faith, look it up.

[276] Paragraph 75 says this, Christ the Lord, and whom the entire revelation of the most high God is summed up, commanded the apostles to preach the gospel, which has been promised beforehand by the prophets, and which he fulfilled in his own person and promulgated with his own lips.

[277] In preaching the gospel, they were to communicate the gift of the God.

[278] of God to all men.

[279] This gospel was to be the source of all saving truth and I love this other part and moral discipline.

[280] That's the good news.

[281] So Bishop Strickland, what's your take on that paragraph 75?

[282] Well, as is so often the case with the Gaticism, it just says so much in just a few lines referring to documents to sacred scripture and it really does capture beginning to talk about what an apostolic tradition is.

[283] The apostles were sent out with the good news.

[284] And as we've talked about before, Jesus in his first words says, repent and believe in the gospel, believe in the good news.

[285] So really, especially what I find striking as we talk to, about apostolic tradition, this is how the church began, how Christianity began, the apostles.

[286] We talk about in the profession of faith, the church is one holy Catholic and apostolic.

[287] I think we need to all really embrace that, especially in this time.

[288] I've just recently read a book that talks about how for centuries, we had what was called Christendom, and Pope Francis actually said to the Roman Curia, I believe it was, but there's a statement that he said that I think is correct, that Christendom is gone.

[289] Christendom doesn't, it's not how the world operates any longer.

[290] And that's been building for centuries, but I think we are at the end of Christendom, as we know.

[291] it probably five, 800 years ago.

[292] That, for many people, is probably a depressing thought that Christendom doesn't really, the world does not operate under Christian principles any longer.

[293] But, and certainly, we wish that we could just build on what Christendom was and continue to pervade the world with the good news of Jesus Christ.

[294] That's not where we are.

[295] But rather than getting depressed about it, the whole idea of being apostolic, I think, is the key to it.

[296] And that's what this book talks about.

[297] We are in a new apostolic age.

[298] It really resonates with what I've said before that we need to be first century Christians in the 21st century.

[299] Amen.

[300] To have that fresh approach.

[301] And really, that's what we're what I try to do.

[302] That's what I think every bishop and every priest and deacon all ordained and certainly every baptized person.

[303] But we are here to serve the baptized.

[304] And we need to look for new ways to bring this beautiful good news of Jesus Christ to the world.

[305] And we need to be apostolic in the ways that they were.

[306] They confronted a culture.

[307] where many of them in the early church had to die for that faith, and like we've talked about before, we need to be willing to die, not asking to die, but willing to die for the truth of Jesus Christ.

[308] If it's something that's enough of a sideline in our lives that we say, well, certainly I believe in Jesus and I want to follow his teaching, but whoa, I'm not going to die for it, then that isn't very apostolic.

[309] The apostles died for the faith, and that's the kind of faith that we need to live for, is something that we're willing to die for.

[310] And it needs to be that strong, because otherwise, if it's not quite that strong, the pressures of the world keep chipping away at it and diluting it.

[311] And that's what we see, is a diluted faith that needs to to be bolder and stronger, more joyful, more full of the good news.

[312] Wow, the last, I big amen to that.

[313] Bishop Strickland, paragraph 76 teaches us about, you know, how the apostles passed us on.

[314] In keeping with the Lord's command, the gospel was handed on in two ways, orally by the apostles who handed it on by the spoken word, they're preaching.

[315] And again, by example, they gave by the end.

[316] institutions they established what they themselves had received whether from the lips of Christ from his way of life and his works or whether they had learned it at the prompting of the Holy Spirit now second part in writing by those apostles and other men associated with the apostles who under the inspiration of that same Holy Spirit committed the message of salvation to writing.

[317] I just think it's important, Bishop Strickland, that we understand those sources because that's fundamental to the faith.

[318] Absolutely.

[319] Yeah.

[320] And it's a reminder.

[321] The oral, orally, that's, how does something get delivered orally by a living person?

[322] Yeah, exactly.

[323] I loved it the way in the paragraph just before that.

[324] Yeah.

[325] It says Jesus Christ promulgated with his own lips.

[326] Yes.

[327] People have lips.

[328] Jesus Christ was a man who lived in the first century, and he spoke with his lips, probably most likely in Aramaic, maybe newest smattering of other languages, but Jesus Christ spoke the word.

[329] He is the word.

[330] It's such a beautiful reminder of the mystery of Jesus Christ.

[331] He is the word of God, the eternal word.

[332] He becomes the incarnate word.

[333] And he's using his own lips to speak the truth that he is by his very existence.

[334] It's marvelous if you think about what Jesus Christ represents for humanity.

[335] He is the incarnate.

[336] He is the incarnate.

[337] word, and he's speaking, using human lips, human vocal cords, making sound that proclaims the good news and shares it with the apostles so that they can then listen with their ears and speak with their lips, the good news.

[338] And I think what this 76 in the catechism really reminds us of is something that we believe, but can easily be forgotten.

[339] As it speaks of given orally and in writing, it reminds us it's a living word.

[340] The teaching of Jesus Christ, it came from a living being, and it's still a living word.

[341] And that reminds us that as the baptized, certainly as a bishop or priest, or for you as a dad, or we all have secondary vocations in one way or another.

[342] but our primary vocation is the baptized with our own lips sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with a world that desperately needs his message and that's what that's what we have to do wow wow we're at the end of the show but i'll tell you you've done some teaching today that i want to recommend though bishop shirkland people who hear this and they want to share it with their friends if they're on youtube just like us hit the ring the bell because you can share this teaching.

[343] I'm not going to tell Bishop Strickland not to listen to what I'm going to say in a minute here.

[344] But we're very few bishops who will go on radio on podcasts and just take the hour to teach people the faith by talking about the cultural issues of the day and then pulling out a catechism and teaching.

[345] Now, I know Bishop Strickland, you as a, even before you were a bishop, I bet, is it a fair statement that you enjoyed teaching?

[346] like Bible studies or maybe R -C -I -A.

[347] I assume that that was in your blood.

[348] Is that a fair statement?

[349] Yes.

[350] And honestly, Terry, I grew in that.

[351] It's an important ministry.

[352] And even as a priest, there were temptations to get so caught up in the administration and the office work that you said, oh, I don't have time to teach.

[353] But we need to be.

[354] And I've encouraged the priest in this diocese.

[355] to be the primary teachers in their parishes, because people need to learn.

[356] And we as priests have a lot to offer.

[357] Even the priest, this says, oh, I'm no great teacher.

[358] It doesn't have to be necessarily a formal classroom, but find ways to teach the good news of Jesus Christ to your people.

[359] That's what priests need to do.

[360] Bishops, priests, and deacons, that's a primary work that we're called to, to teach the truth.

[361] Oh, gosh.

[362] I'm excited.

[363] Thank you very much for saying that.

[364] How about a blessing to our radio listeners, because we have a minute left in the show.

[365] The Lord be with you.

[366] And with your spirit.

[367] Almighty God, we give you thanks for the gift of your son who lived among us and spoke with a human voice, the truth that he embodies, the incarnate truth of your loving, grace.

[368] Bless us and guide us always in his life.

[369] By the Blessed Virgin Mary intercede for us.

[370] Thank you, Bob, end of the song, the whole spirit.

[371] Amen.

[372] Thank you so much, Bishop Strickland.

[373] And I want to thank all our listeners for helping us promote these shows through the internet, through your social media.

[374] And I want to just thank all those who have been supporting Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

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

[376] Until next time.

[377] I'll see you again on the Bishop Bickland Hour on Virgin Most Powerful Day.