Bishop Strickland on Your Phone! Would you like to get regular messages and updates from Bishop Strickland on Saint's feasts, prayers and more sent straight to your mobile phone as text/SMS messages? To join, you can text the word strickland to 313131directly from your phone, or... Sign-up below here we'll add you to the Bishop's list.

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Catholic YouTube junkies of the world, unite – you are needed for the New Evangelization. That was essentially the message of the recent Catholic YouTubers Hangout, the first-of-its-kind online meeting of dozens of Catholics from around the world who last month about bringing the Gospel to their YouTube channels. About 50 channels logged on to take part, hailing mostly from the United States, but also with channels joining from places like Italy, Brazil and Spain. The hangout started as the brainchild of Daniel Glaze, who is one-half of the channel &ldqu...

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Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always wanted a ton of kids. My mother to this day laughs about how, even in my “too cool” teen years, babies would always melt my heart. I had no problem looking like a fool in front of my peers if it meant getting a laugh out of a child or having a chance to hold a baby. (If you’ve ever watched that scene in The Office where Michael Scott states that he tries to hold a baby every day, I can completely relate.) I can’t really explain why I’ve always had that fascination with children, but the best I can say i...

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“Let us allow ourselves be touched by the mercy of God with a good confession, in order to become ever more merciful like the Father.” —Pope Francis Confession is difficult for everyone. So I’ve laid out some simple principles on how to make this very demanding and taxing event a bit easier, with the hope that by the time you exit the confessional, you feel better about yourself. That’s the point right? Let’s get started.  (1) First things first: find a good distraction Facebook, Clash of Clans, Instagram, heck eve...

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Christians have a path to the future in lives of joy and love, Archbishop Charles Chaput said at the annual Napa Institute conference. NAPA, Calif. — In a world that can sometimes seem disheartening, Christians have a path to the future in lives of joy and love, Archbishop Charles Chaput told those gathered Thursday at the annual Napa Institute conference. While Christians need to see the world’s problems as they are, “we can’t let the weight of the world crush the joy that’s our birthright by our rebirth in Jesus Christ through bapt...

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Bishop Joseph E. Strickland is calling on the clergy, religious, and lay faithful of the Diocese of Tyler to pray a 54-day Rosary Novena in support of his vision for a teaching diocese. The Novena will begin on Aug. 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and continue until Oct. 7, the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary. “I recently outlined in my Constitution for Teaching the Catholic Faith a bold new vision for catechesis and evangelization in the Diocese of Tyler. My earnest hope is that we as a Diocese more boldly and effect...

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Fr. Mike Schmitz wants to straighten out some confusion regarding Catholics’ veneration of saints. In this video he explains how—far from being icons to worship—statues and paintings of the saints are reminders of what God can do in someone’s life, so honoring the saints doesn’t take away from the glory we give God. It actually brings him greater glory.

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Recently, I had the great good pleasure of presiding at the wedding of my niece, Bryna and her now husband, Nelson. While we rejoice in their love for each other, the fact that they have now become living symbols of Christ the Bridegroom’s ecstatic love for his Bride, the Church is reason, in the very deepest sense, to give thanks.

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Meet the five new men entering discernment and formation for the priesthood in the Diocese of Tyler in 2017.

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As we continue to celebrate the centenary of Our Lady's apparitions at Fatima, Portugal, Bishop Strickland has asked the faithful of the Diocese of Tyler to learn and take inspiration from the prayers that the Angel of Peace and Our Lady gave to the three children. In July, we consider what is known as The Pardon Prayer.

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Bishop Joseph E. Strickland has released a new pastoral constitution designed to guide the teaching of the Catholic Faith in the Diocese of Tyler for the next 30 years. The constitution was promulgated to the Diocese in the May edition of the Catholic East Texas magazine and can be downloaded here. Recognizing that the darkness of evil, especially in the forms of relativism, secularism, and apathy, is an ever-increasing threat to humanity, even in East Texas, the constitution lays out an ambitious plan to counter that trend by “allowing the Light ...

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EMORY – St. John The Evangelist Church in Emory was destroyed by one of the tornadoes that ripped across East Texas the evening of April 29. About 45 people were sheltering in the parish hall some 10 feet away from the church during the storm, but no injuries were reported. Mass was held outside the church April 30, with parishioners gathering “in prayer and gratitude,” according to St. John’s Facebook page. St. John is a small parish of about 150 families in Rains County. The Catholic community formed in 1994, and was named a parish ...

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