On this week’s two-part episode of The Bishop Strickland Show, Bishop Joseph Strickland discusses not living like the scribes and Pharisees, the evils of the Democrat Party, the importance of the Akita message for our times, apostasy “at the top” of the Church, and more. Host Terry Barber begins Part 1 of the episode by asking Bishop Strickland about the recent Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago and how any Catholic could vote for that party given their stances on killing the unborn. Strickland agreed, saying, “It’s just a travesty that a national party is promoting death; it’s the party of death.”....CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE
“Any Catholic who votes for that party – no party’s perfect, but it is beyond understanding, and it’s beyond belief that a Catholic can that fragrantly say, ‘Oh, well, they’re good about this or that,’ promoting [abortion] is just exacerbating – I mean, it’s just terrible,” the bishop added. Barber added that if you choose to vote for the party of death, you can’t be a Catholic in good standing, to which Strickland agreed.
His Excellency then offered commentary on Matthew 23:23-26, in which Our Lord admonishes the scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites and blind guides. The bishop underscored that this Gospel passage reminds us not to point our finger at others’ sins but to look at ourselves instead, and that includes bishops and clergy like himself. “We all need to examine our conscience and look into our hearts and say, ‘Where am I guilty of exactly what Christ is accusing the scribes and the Pharisees of?’ We need to all hear the Gospel.”
Strickland pointed to attempts nowadays to soft-pedal the Gospel, sometimes eliminating these passages where Christ can sound a bit harsh, but he reminds listeners to remember that this is still love because Our Lord is God’s Divine Son who is always Love and Truth Incarnate.
“So when He’s saying these things that sound harsh, we need especially to listen.” The bishop reminded listeners that he, even as a bishop, needs to listen to this Gospel like everyone else, and so do all Catholic clergy. “There are shepherds who aren’t listening to this Gospel. We need to be aware of that, not judging but calling them back to humbly and honestly listen to the word of God.”
Connecting this Gospel reading back to politics and abortion, Strickland emphasized that life is a precious gift from God, and God is the author of life. “And when leadership in this nation says, ‘Oh, God’s not the author anymore, we’re in control,’ that leadership needs to be questioned, and people that are Catholic and are not questioning that kind of leadership, frankly, they better wake up.”
His Excellency continued: “Because promoting abortion and immoral activities, and a man mutilating his body so he doesn’t have to worry about conceiving a child when he is intimate with a woman in a way that should always be open to a child being conceived, because the only appropriate place for that intimacy is in the commitment of marriage.” He added that all this shows that our country’s leadership is promoting evil because they’re so far from the truth of the Gospel.
Later in the episode, Barber shifts gears to the message of Our Lady of Akita in light of Sister Agnes Sasagawa’s death at the Feast of the Assumption. The host read part of Our Lady of Akita’s second message:
The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres … churches and altars sacked; the Church will be full of those who accept compromises, and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord.
Barber noted that he believed we were living this prophecy now and asked Strickland for his thoughts.
The bishop said that Akita’s message is critical for our times and that he believes this message is part of Fatima’s Third Secret. “This is a hard-hitting message, and I think many have tried to deflect it because what bishop wants to admit that this is what we’re living? But we need to admit it; we need to quit compromising. I mean, that’s a huge part of where we are; one little compromise becomes another and another, and then finally you find yourself compromised right out of supernatural faith.”
His Excellency added that too many shepherds of the Church now find themselves compromised, and if they’re compromised, they’re either not strong enough to stand up for the Church’s true teachings, or they believe it needs to become more modern. “In many ways, what the Akita message really gets down to is what happens to the Church if modernism takes over, and that’s where we are,” Strickland said.
Bishop Strickland begins the second part of the episode by reading Matthew 23:27-32, in which Our Lord continues admonishing the scribes and Pharisees for living an outward faith but being dead inside. Before diving into the Gospel commentary, Strickland recounted the story of St. Augustine, whose feast day was celebrated at recording time. The bishop noted that the saint was on the wrong path, and his mother, St. Monica, had prayed unceasingly that he be called to repentance, just as Our Lord called the scribes and Pharisees to repentance, and reminded parents about these saints.
“[St. Augustine] was very far off the Christian path, really living a pagan life, a life contrary to what Jesus Christ is about. And she prayed for much of her life for the conversion of her son, and it was her great joy that he did not just convert but become one of the greatest theologians and teachers of the Church of his time and even in our time,” he said.
But the bishop added that it wasn’t his mother directly, but St. Ambrose who brought St. Augustine back to the faith. “I think that’s a great reminder that parents can be hardened by, that it’s not all up to them. Certainly, they pray [they] provide the best example they can, but what I’ve shared with parents is [to] pray for the right person to come into your son’s, or daughter’s, or whatever loved one’s life. Pray for the person that can bring them closer to Christ, closer to the message of His Gospel.”
Turning back to the Gospel passage, His Excellency underscored that the faithful need to listen to and ponder the words, “Woe to you Scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites!”
“Jesus Christ is saying these [words] that if I said them in the world today, people would say, ‘Ah, you’re being harsh, you’re calling people names, you’re being hard and not like Jesus.’” He further noted that often when we preach the truth, it’s very easy to be accused of not being like Jesus. However, Strickland stated that to “be like Jesus” doesn’t only mean to be kind and merciful – that’s important, too – but also to call out others’ errors and change their hearts.
And in this Gospel, Our Lord strongly calls out the Pharisees and scribes to their faces. “Calling the leaders of His faith, in His time, calling them hypocrites, that’s very strong. And I think we need to hear that strength. … What does He say following that? He’s not just calling names; He’s calling them to a change of heart. He’s calling them to the truth, just like He calls all of us, and we’re obligated to call all others in His name.”
Strickland ended the show by reading from his latest letter about “corruption and the powerful evil forces” in the Catholic Church and society, including apostasy “at the top” of the Church. The letter further called on the faithful to heed the warnings of Fatima and Akita and cling to the Holy Eucharist and the Blessed Mother.
To hear more from His Excellency, tune in to this week’s episode of The Bishop Strickland Show.
To watch all previous episodes of The Bishop Strickland Show, click here to visit LifeSite’s video page dedicated to The Bishop Strickland Show.
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