Pledge your prayers for Bp. Strickland HERE
(LifeSiteNews) — On this week’s episode of The Bishop Strickland Show, Bishop Joseph Strickland and show host Terry Barber offer commentary on some of Strickland’s tweets.
Starting the show, the pair discuss a tweet in which Strickland expressed gratitude for those supporting him amid his potential removal as bishop of Tyler, Texas, though he called for all focus to be on Jesus Christ alone.
“We need to be strong in Christ,” he explains. “I think this time, for me at least, is a time to really look at the priorities.” Continuing his exposition, Strickland notes that Christ was “stripped” of everything, and recalls the saying of Job, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away… blessed be the name of the Lord.”
“I think we all have to have that attitude… whatever we’re doing,” he continued.
READ: Bishop Strickland on same-sex ‘blessings’: God does not and cannot bless sin
Strickland also points out that martyrs witness for Christ to the point of shedding their blood, and that while not all are called to shed their blood for Christ, all are called to be “white martyrs.”
“It’s the same rules for all of us,” Strickland observes. “Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus. And they’re all woven together. But that’s what’s called discipleship. And there’s joy in that.”
His Excellency further says that while he is himself joyful and at peace, he realizes he does not know what the next day will bring him.
Strickland also observes as a 65-year-old that had he been ten years older, he would have been at the canonical retirement age as is, but that he would still “need to speak up for the message of Jesus Christ and call people to the perennial truth that is Jesus Christ.”
Speaking about his prayer life, His Excellency says that while he has not received visions or heard voices, he feels close to the Sacred Heart, as well as the support of the Virgin Mary and the saints in prayer: “Many of them suffered a lot more than I’ve had to suffer in life.”
“It’s a bit burdensome to not know what’s… coming next, but really, if we’re honest with ourselves, none of us knows what tomorrow brings. But we trust in the Lord.”
Strickland also encourages people to pray, fast, and give alms for the upcoming Synod on Synodality set to begin Wednesday. Speaking to almsgiving specifically, Strickland observes that while almsgiving is associated with Lent, “it doesn’t have to be restricted to Lent.”
ANNOUNCEMENT: Bishop Strickland will address LifeSite’s Rome Life Forum conference on October 31
“Fast, maybe skip a meal, and throw in $5 that would have cost for that meal, or $10,” he says, suggesting that people should “pass it on” for someone that potentially has not had a meal “in a couple of days.”
Later in the episode, Strickland addresses a tweet featuring a quote from St. Jean-Marie Vianney, patron saint of parish priests, about how any earthly work anyone can undertake cannot match the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Commenting on the tweet, Strickland says “all of us need to remember… the Mass is the most important thing we do, and spending time with the Lord in the Eucharist in prayer… is really essential for priests.” Explaining the point further, Strickland says he has “come to learn that that’s the most important time we spend.”
“If [the Mass is] the greatest work, and it’s the work of God, then it’s essential for the life of His Church that we focus on the Mass and celebrating it with reverence and calling people to be there,” Strickland continued.
Invoking the documents of the Second Vatican Council, Strickland adds “we need to really understand what it means that it’s the ‘source and the summit of the Christian life,’ and, therefore, of the Catholic faith.”
To watch all previous episodes of The Bishop Strickland Show, click here to visit LifeSite’s Rumble page dedicated to The Bishop Strickland Show.
Pledge your prayers for Bp. Strickland HERE