A Shepherd's Voice | Bishop Strickland

During the month of November, following All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, Bishop Joseph Strickland urges Catholics to pray for the faithful departed. Drawing on Church teaching, he explains that purgatory is the final purification of those who die in God's grace and friendship but still need to be made completely holy before entering the full communion of heaven. These "holy souls" are assured of salvation. Their suffering is real, but it is temporary and redemptive.

The doctrine is rooted in Scripture, 2 Maccabees 12:46, 1 Corinthians 3:13–15, Revelation 21:27, and Sacred Tradition. Strickland clarifies what purgatory is not: it is not a second chance after death. It does not complete what Christ's sacrifice lacks. It is not a precise timetable or a collection of private revelations. It is the communion of saints in action, the living assisting these souls through prayer, the Mass, almsgiving, and penance. Love and intercession continue beyond death.

The dead are not gone. They are being purified. And they need our prayers. The question is whether we will remember them, or whether we will forget the souls who depend on us. The answer may determine whether we ourselves are remembered. Pray for the dead. They are waiting. And they cannot help themselves.

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Forty years after the 1986 Assisi interreligious gathering, Bishop Strickland raises a central question: does interreligious dialogue clearly proclaim Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, or does it risk presenting Christianity as just one religious option among many? Reflecting on Pope Leo XIV's October 27 message to participants, Strickland points out that its references to peace, prayer, fraternity, and dialogue did not explicitly name Jesus Christ. This, he says, is a serious missed opportunity.

Religious indifferentism, the belief that all religions are equally valid paths to God, contradicts the Catholic faith. Drawing on Mortalium Animos, Dominus Iesus, and Christ's words in John 14:6, Strickland emphasizes that respect for other religions must never come at the expense of proclaiming Christ's unique saving mission. He revisits the controversies surrounding the original Assisi gathering, including the placement of a Buddha statue on an altar in the church of St. Peter in Assisi. Catholic accounts dispute whether John Paul II authorized the incident, and Strickland stresses the importance of accurately representing what happened. He contrasts the controversy with John Paul II's explicit profession of Christ as Savior and Benedict XVI's later warning against religious relativism.

Dialogue and cooperation should serve evangelization rather than replace it. Strickland calls on Catholics to defend the faith with truth and charity, strengthen religious instruction within their families, pray for Church leaders, and ensure that future generations understand why Jesus Christ, not religious pluralism, is at the center of their faith. A pope spoke of peace and fraternity. He did not speak the name of Christ. And a bishop is asking why. The question is whether anyone in Rome will answer.

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There is a difference between knowing about Jesus Christ and having a personal relationship with Him that transforms your life. The Watchman's Lamp explores that difference through the story of a Protestant woman who, while facing her husband's terminal illness, encountered Christ's presence in a Catholic church and eventually became Catholic. Her experience illustrates the power of the Eucharist, Eucharistic adoration, prayer, Scripture, and the sacraments in developing a deeper relationship with Christ. Drawing on the example of the apostles, particularly Peter, the speaker argues that holiness is not self-improvement but the fruit of God's grace working through human weakness, repentance, and faithful discipleship. "They stayed close enough to be changed."

The discussion then challenges Catholics to examine how political loyalties can compromise moral judgment and Christian witness. Addressing the October 12 incident at President Donald Trump's rally in Youngstown, Ohio, involving a woman wearing a "Release the Epstein Files" shirt who was struck during a confrontation, the speaker condemns political violence, public humiliation, and the tendency to excuse wrongdoing by favored leaders. While reaffirming the grave responsibility to defend unborn life, the speaker insists that concern for human dignity must extend to abuse victims, vulnerable people, and political opponents.

No political party, candidate, or commentator should take precedence over Jesus Christ or dictate a believer's conscience. Authentic holiness requires Catholics to pursue truth, demand accountability, reject vengeance, and defend human dignity—even when it challenges their own political side.

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Bishop Joseph Strickland warns of growing confusion about the Catholic Church's identity, teaching, and public witness. Sacred spaces should direct people toward Christ—not become platforms for messages shaped by cultural pressures. "Is the altar still teaching us that Jesus Christ is Lord?" he asks. He warns against reducing Christian love to mere affirmation: "We have to be able to speak about love without losing the truth"—and speak truth without losing charity. Every person entering the Church must be treated as a human being, not a symbol or political cause. "Every person is a person for whom Christ has died."

A major tension runs beneath the surface: Catholics attached to traditional liturgy face restrictions while other groups receive public welcome. The bishop acknowledges legitimate questions about authority, obedience, and communion—and says he understands why some Catholics ask, "What is being measured here?" Unity cannot require silence about doctrine. Fidelity cannot mean indifference to communion. Rather than calling Catholics to choose sides, he calls for prayer, repentance, worship, clear teaching, works of mercy, and charitable but courageous speech.

Drawing on St. Francis of Assisi's call to "repair my house," Strickland concludes that bishops and faithful alike must move beyond discussing what is broken and begin rebuilding the Church "stone by stone"—with perseverance and confidence in God. The question is not who is to blame. It is who will start rebuilding. And the answer must be: all of us.

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Recognizing problems in the Church is not enough. Renewal requires courage, sacrifice, personal conversion, and concrete action. Bishop Strickland invokes Christ's call to St. Francis of Assisi, "Go repair my house", and the witness of St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. Thomas More, and Blessed Stanley Rother, men whose fidelity was stronger than their desire for safety or approval. Martyrdom, Strickland insists, is not a desire for death. It is a willingness to remain faithful when fidelity carries a price.

Strickland applies that call to specific areas of Church life: the interpretation and implementation of the Second Vatican Council, post-conciliar liturgical reform, restrictions on the traditional Roman Mass, and the Church's handling of abuse allegations. He insists on distinguishing what Vatican II actually taught from the decisions and practices that followed it, pointing to Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Concilium commission, Archbishop Annibale Bugnini, and Pope Paul VI. Catholics attached to the traditional Mass should not automatically be treated as rejecting Church authority. Those who report abuse must be heard and protected.

The larger message: genuine renewal requires both truth-telling and responsibility. "Authority is a responsibility before God. Not a shield against examination."

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Bishop Strickland confronts the central question of episcopal responsibility: "What were we given to guard? And did we guard it?" Drawing on St. Paul's command to Timothy to guard the good deposit, Strickland argues that the dramatic changes to Catholic worship over the past 60 years cannot simply be blamed on "Vatican II." The Council called for reform and greater participation, it did not compose the Mass Catholics experienced afterward. Human decisions transformed the liturgy, and bishops cannot avoid responsibility for what happened under their watch.

Sacrosanctum Concilium called for Latin to be preserved and Gregorian chant to hold "pride of place." Both disappeared. Strickland highlights Bishop Athanasius Schneider and other faithful shepherds, arguing that bishops should be able to question liturgical developments without being accused of rejecting the Pope. St. Paul confronted Peter, resisting a particular decision is not rejecting the office.

The proposed response is not rebellion but guardianship: recover sacred silence, Gregorian chant, reverence for the Eucharist, kneeling, and the Church's liturgical inheritance. Reconsider what weakened the sense of the Mass as the Holy Sacrifice.

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Bishop Joseph Strickland calls Catholics to recover a deeper knowledge and love of Sacred Scripture, while clarifying what Dei Verbum actually teaches versus what was later done in its name. He rejects the false choice between Scripture and Tradition, emphasizing that the Bible belongs within the Church's living Tradition and teaching authority.

The central criticism targets the post-Vatican II period and the influential phrase "the spirit of Vatican II," which Strickland says was sometimes used to justify changes the Council itself never commanded. The Church must distinguish the actual documents of Vatican II from later interpretations and practices, while honestly acknowledging that "something did go wrong" after the Council.

A major focus is bishops' responsibility as successors of the apostles and teachers of the faith. Strickland argues that bishops became increasingly occupied with administration while neglecting their primary apostolic duty to teach. "If bishops do not teach their people," he warns, "other people will", including culture, universities, television, the internet, and theologians detached from the Church's teaching.

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Bishop Joseph Strickland reflects on the ocean, its depths, its mystery, its reminder that what we cannot see is still real. Standing on a ship, looking out at the water, he considers how modern Catholicism has lost its capacity for mystery, trading the supernatural for the manageable, the astonishing for the ordinary. The Church has become a civilization of the surface, and the crisis runs deeper than declining numbers; it is a loss of supernatural faith.

Strickland recalls the Gospel scene: the disciples in a storm, the waves breaking over the boat, and Jesus asleep in the stern. They panic. He calms the sea. And they ask, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" That question, Strickland argues, must return to the Church. If Jesus is merely a moral teacher, Christianity is manageable. But if He is God, everything changes.

Catholicism is supernatural from beginning to end. Angels are real. Grace is real. Sin wounds the soul. Confession restores it. The Eucharist is not a symbol; it is God. The Church survives not because of programs or strategies, but because Christ is in the boat. Strickland urges Catholics to believe again, not vaguely, not sentimentally, but with the conviction that transforms everything.

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The Catholic Church must speak more clearly about traditional teachings on marriage and sexual morality—particularly as confusion surrounding homosexuality and LGBTQ advocacy grows within the hierarchy. Drawing on the biblical account of Sodom and Gomorrah, the speaker argues that Scripture and Catholic teaching have consistently condemned sexual activity outside the union of one man and one woman. Naming grave sins is not hatred—it is concern for souls, like a physician's duty to identify a serious illness.

The segment criticizes the growing divide within the Church: blessings for couples in irregular situations, LGBTQ-associated ministries, and increasingly ambiguous pastoral messaging. The hierarchy is restricting traditional Catholics and the Latin Mass while failing to confront challenges to perennial moral teaching. The double standard is clear: the faithful are silenced while confusion is normalized.

The segment invokes Our Lady of Good Success, warning of a period of weakened faith and widespread confusion—but emphasizing hope through a return to Christ, holiness, apostolic teaching, and greater courage in proclaiming Catholic doctrine. The Church must speak clearly. The faithful must act courageously. And the truth must be proclaimed—no matter the cost. The message is not about condemnation. It is about salvation. And that is the only message that matters.

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In this powerful reflection, Bishop Strickland leads a reading of Dei Verbum, the Second Vatican Council's dogmatic constitution on divine revelation, and pauses on a single sentence that stopped him in his tracks: "The marvelous condescension of eternal wisdom is clearly shown" in Sacred Scripture.

Strickland explains that God's condescension is not prideful speaking down, it is a loving descent. The eternal God bends low to speak in human words, to enter human history, to take on human flesh. He does not wait for mankind to climb to Him. He comes down. He speaks through shepherds, kings, fishermen, and prophets. He allows His Word to be expressed in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. And ultimately, He takes flesh in the womb of the Virgin, the Word made flesh, dwelling among us.

The condescension of God is most fully revealed in the Incarnation and the Eucharist. The King of Kings comes to us on our altars, veils His glory, and remains with us in the Blessed Sacrament. He stoops to wash feet, to touch lepers, to eat with sinners, but He does not bless sin. He calls sinners to conversion. Mercy descends into the pit to bring the sinner out, not to leave him there.

Strickland urges Catholics to read Scripture daily, with the Church, in prayer and silence, and to obey what God reveals. Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. And if God has stooped so low to speak to us, how can we remain indifferent to His Word?

The question is simple: how far has He gone to reach us? The answer is everything. And the response must be reverence, gratitude, faith, obedience, and love.

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