(LifeSiteNews) — On this week’s two-part episode of The Bishop Strickland Show, Bishop Joseph Strickland discusses the importance of following the Word of God, how the Church hierarchy distorts that message, the importance of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and her Holy Rosary, the mission of the Church, Cardinal Burke’s statement about the end times, and more.

Bishop Strickland begins the first part of the episode by offering commentary on Luke 8:19-21, in which Our Lord says that his mother and brothers are those who follow the Word of God. Strickland noted that many Protestants will point to this Gospel passage and say about the Blessed Mother, “See, even Jesus says she isn’t important.” However, the bishop says it actually shows how important she is to the mission of Christ.

“[I]t’s the greatest compliment to Mary that He could give: ‘who hear the Word of God and act on it.’ That’s exactly what we pray in the Angelus: that Mary heard the Word of God through the angel Gabriel that she was to be the mother of His Son, and she acted on it and said yes. And then, of course, that’s only one moment in the whole lifetime of Mary doing that, hearing the Word of God and acting on it, and it really so simply reminds us what we’re called to do,” Strickland said.

His Excellency then emphasized that if we want to have that close relationship with God, like His mother and brothers, then we need to hear the Word of God and act on it, which is especially important in our modern times. The bishop highlighted St. John Bosco’s vision of the two pillars guiding the ship through a storm and said it’s clear that one of those pillars is the Holy Eucharist, which we need to live out His Word.

“[I]t’s not Jesus in His human body standing on a pillar, it’s His Eucharistic presence. And I think that that tells us something very important. The Eucharistic presence of the Lord is His presence with us now in the world we can all long for,” he said.  

Strickland reminded listeners that we can be in Our Lord’s presence by going to Eucharistic adoration. The bishop then underscored how beautiful it is that we see many people hearing the Word of God and becoming Catholic even today when many in the Church, including the hierarchy, aren’t properly teaching the Word of God.

“To claim that one religion is as good as another is really blasphemy in the face of Christ because He didn’t say that. He said, ‘Follow me,’ and we know, as two committed Catholics, we know that the Catholic faith in her beauty brings us closer to holiness, closer to the Lord. Certainly there are human flaws in the Church because she is embodied in a human community that has saints even today and has sinners, just like in the time of Christ,” he said.

Strickland also underscored that the current hierarchy fails to tell people to repent of their sins and change their lives. “[I]t’s as if the way too many speak, even from the top of the Church, it’s like, ‘Oh, well, hear the Word of God, but don’t change, don’t do anything different, don’t repent of your sins. Just come on and follow Jesus, but ignore the part about repentance.’ But hearing the Word of God and acting on it means being changed, becoming a new person, becoming one who can grow closer to Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

Later in Part 1, host Terry Barber asked His Excellency about the power of the Holy Rosary and quoted from St. Louis De Montfort in his famous book True Devotion to Mary: “When God wants someone to become very holy, He makes them great devotees of the Virgin Mary.” 

Strickland stressed that the Blessed Virgin, through her Holy Rosary, has really helped form him as a bishop.

“My journey could be described simply as Mary grabbing me by the Rosary and pulling me closer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Because the Rosary is what Mary tells us to pray, and the rosary is just a beautiful part of my prayer that really is like a bottomless well of graces and blessings,” the bishop said, encouraging anyone who wants to live their faith more vibrantly to – in addition to studying the faith by reading Sacred Scripture and the Church Fathers – to pray the Rosary and ask Mary to help you grow closer to her Son.

Bishop Strickland begins the second part of the episode by offering commentary on Luke 9:1-6, in which Our Lord summons the apostles and sends them to proclaim the Kingdom of God. Strickland highlighted that this Gospel really shows us the power and authority of the Church that Christ first gave to the apostles and continues even to this day.

“It’s always important to remember the Church does have power and authority, but it’s power and authority that comes from Christ. It’s His power and authority. You can say that he’s delegated [that power to] the apostles originally and through apostolic succession, through all these centuries, he’s delegated the successors of the apostles, the bishops, that same authority.” The bishop added that it’s easy for us to think that the authority given to the apostles only applies to those times, but we must remember that the Church’s power and authority are still in effect today.

A bit later, His Excellency emphasized another important point in this Gospel is that Christ gave His Church teaching authority so the faithful can still encounter Him 21 centuries later.

“[W]e’re still able to encounter Him through the sacraments, we’re able to hear His teachings, to hear His Word. And, if God the Father had chosen, it might have been a wondrous moment in history when the Son of God reigned over the Earth and brought healing and light and grace,” His Excellency said.

“But then, if there was no Church, it would have been bound to that time and place. But the Church is Catholic, universal, because the mission of Christ is Catholic, universal, and I think all of that we’re reminded of in this Gospel passage.”

Finally, the bishop looked at the final few verses from this Gospel reading, which remind us that we’re free to accept or reject the teachings of Christ. Strickland reminded listeners that the apostles converted many, but not everyone.

“Jesus alludes to that when He says, ‘When you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet,’” the bishop said. His Excellency noted that sadly we’re seeing the highest officials in the Church try to adapt Our Lord’s teachings to the world instead of trying to convert them.

“[They say,] ‘Oh well, we’ll change the message, we’ll adapt it to make everyone want to embrace it.’ The sad reality of that [is] it’s not what Christ said to do, it’s not what Christ did, and just in reality, if [Church teaching] gets watered down so far that everyone embraces it, then it becomes pretty much meaningless,” Strickland said.

Later in Part 2, Barber asked Bishop Strickland about Cardinal Raymond Burke’s statement that it “certainly seems” we’re living in the “last times.” The host noted that Jesus Himself said that it is only for the Father to know when the end times will come and that for most of us, our “end times” will come when we die and go to our particular judgment. The bishop agreed.

“Christ gave us a very clear answer: only the Father knows. But I guess it’s just human nature to look around. I mean, we see crazy weather, crazy politics, and corruption in the Church,” Strickland said, highlighting that rather than speculate on whether the world might come to an end soon, we need to focus on a more important question: where are we with God?

“We came into life as individuals, as one son or daughter of God; we will leave life in the same way. And I think it’s good to reflect on,” the bishop said, adding that death is going to come whether we like it or not and detailing what we need to focus on while we’re here on earth.

“[T]he most important thing, it’s kind of like we say in the act of contrition, that it’s not just to be prepared so that we don’t go to hell, but living as one who’s preparing for eternity gives us a better life in this world. A more peaceful and fulfilling life if we’re avoiding the seven deadly sins of lust, greed, gluttony, wrath, sloth, envy, and pride,” Strickland said.

“If we’re avoiding those, we’re going to be happier. We’re going to be more at peace; we’re going to be welcomed more in the human community. So our life, even if we’re still here, our life, remembering that final judgment, living in those terms, is going to make our life better.”

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.