Editor’s note: The following text is taken from a speech given by Bishop Joseph Strickland at the CORAC National Conference and originally published on Strickland’s Substack on July 15, 2025.

(LifeSiteNews) — My brothers and sisters in Christ,

When the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary, the world did not notice. No government issued a statement. No scholars rushed to analyze it. But in that quiet moment, Heaven touched earth. The eternal Word entered time, and Truth Himself began to dwell among us.

Let’s pause there. Because that is where we must begin. Not with news headlines. Not with political forecasts. But with the stillness of the Annunciation.

That hidden moment, when the Immaculate Virgin, full of grace and chosen from all eternity, received the message that would forever divide time and eternity.

And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women — (Luke 1:28).

Section I: Returning to the spiritual plumb line

In the book of Amos, the Lord gives the prophet a vision:

This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them.” — (Amos 7:7-8)

That plumb line is Christ. Unchanging. Uncompromising. Incarnate Truth. In a world bent and twisted by ideologies, fears, and factions, we need this plumb line more than ever. It doesn’t shift with elections. It doesn’t lean with public opinion. It is fixed in Heaven and revealed in Christ.

This is not a metaphor we can ignore – it is divine clarity drawn into human history. The plumb line in God’s hand exposes the spiritual crookedness of a people who have wandered. And God does not drop it outside the city, or outside the sanctuary – He places it in the midst of His people. He does not measure pagans; He measures His own: the Church, the family, the shepherds, the faithful – all are being held to the line of Christ.

To say that Christ is the plumb line is to say that we no longer get to define what is straight and true – He does. His Word. His Gospel. His Body and Blood. His commandments. His very life is the line by which everything else is judged. And just as God told Amos, “I will never again pass by them,” we are warned: there comes a moment when God’s patience turns to justice. Mercy delays judgment, but it does not cancel it.

We must ask: how are we building? Are our walls straight? Are out altars level? Is our witness aligned with the Lord’s eternal Truth? Because whether we like it or not, the plumb line is already hanging in our midst.

Section II: The danger of drifting from the center

Unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it — (Psalm 126:1).

Too many Catholics are drifting into activism without adoration. Commentary without contemplation. Rhetoric without repentance.

St. Peter Canisius once warned:

Better that only a few Catholics should be left, staunch and sincere in their religion, than that they should, remaining many, desire as it were to be in collusion with the Church’s enemies and in conformity with the open foes of our faith. — (Letter to Pope Pius V, 1566)

This is not about retreating from the public square. But we must remember: the Church does not exist to echo the world. She exists to convert it.

We must be especially vigilant at gatherings like this, where people come with passionate concerns – about government overreach, climate policies, economic collapse, globalism, Zionism, wars, and all the powers that seem to shake the earth. These topics matter, but they are not the center. If we lose the center, everything else collapses. And the center is Christ. Not climate. Not country. Not commentary. Christ.

If we are not rooted in Him – in His Word, in His Eucharist, in His Sacred Heart – then our labor, even when sincere, becomes noise. We must be careful not to build towers of analysis and action that are not anchored in prayer. The devil is more than happy to let us become obsessed with earthly battles, so long as we forget the eternal war for souls.

Our mission is not merely to expose corruption or critique ideologies. Our mission is to call the world to repentance and communion with God. That begins not with a megaphone but with a monstrance. Not with rage but with reverence.

Let us not be seduced by the whirlwind of causes. Let us return to the stillness where God speaks. As Scripture says, “Unless the Lord build the house…”

We must let Him build it – through us, yes – but only if we remain centered in Him.

Section III: Mary’s ‘fiat’ as our template

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to thy word. — (Luke 1:38)

She did not say, “Let it be done according to what makes sense to me,” or “Let it be done according to the data.” She submitted to the Word – and in that submission, Truth took flesh.

Pope Pius XII proclaimed:

For nothing was ever more worthy of God than that the only-begotten Son of the Father … should be born of a Virgin. — (Mystici Corporis Christi, 1943)

The Annunciation is not just a joyful mystery – it is a radical challenge to every generation. Will you receive the truth or resist it?

Mary’s fiat – “Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum” [Let it be done unto me according to thy word] – is the Church’s first great act of surrender, and it must remain ours. In a world addicted to autonomy and allergic to obedience, her response remains a sword to the modern spirit. She does not negotiate with God. She does not ask for guarantees. She consents with open hands and a pierced heart.

Her “yes” is not passive. It is fierce in its humility. She agrees to a path of suffering, scandal, and solitude – not because it is easy, but because it is true. She welcomes the Word – not because she understands everything, but because she trusts the One who speaks it.

In that moment, the eternal God entered time, not through the gates of empire or temple, but through the fiat of a virgin. It was her faith – not her strategy – that opened the door of salvation.

This is the pattern we must imitate. If we try to shape our mission according to human logic, we will miss the miracle. If we seek safety instead of sanctity, we will end up with compromise instead of Christ.

The plumb line of truth was first welcomed into the world through her “yes.” If we are to revive our Church, revive our families, and resist the flood of lies, it must begin the same way: not with prideful plans, but with surrendered hearts.

Section IV: The battle we are actually in

For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. — (Ephesians 6:12)

It is tempting to focus on earthly threats. But the true battle is spiritual. While others speak of economics or energy grids, I speak of grace. Because grace will outlast every empire.

The first Christians had no influence. No armies. No votes. But they had Christ – and that overturned the world.

Today, many are sounding alarms about food shortages, digital currencies, political corruption, global alliances, climate agendas, and artificial intelligence. These are real concerns, but they are not the root. The root is always spiritual. The powers of darkness care little about your fuel supply – they want your faith. They don’t fear economic collapse – they fear Eucharistic revival. The enemy isn’t just tampering with governments and currencies. He’s after your soul.

St. Paul reminds us that our wrestling is not with flesh and blood – not ultimately. Politicians come and go. Tyrants rise and fall. But behind the scenes, demons strategize. They traffic in confusion, distraction, and despair. And when we forget this – when we reduce the crisis to politics, policies, or even plagues – we end up fighting shadows with sticks.

We must return to the weapons of light: prayer, fasting, truth, the Rosary, the Holy Eucharist. We must fortify our souls more than our cellars. We must be clothed in the armor of God, because no bunker will protect you if your soul is unguarded.

The early Church faced emperors and lions, yet their strength was not in numbers or influence. It was in the fire of grace. They overturned the world with no swords, no platforms, no seats in Caesar’s court – but with the name of Jesus on their lips and the Cross in their hearts.

If we forget that the real war is spiritual, we will be pulled into a thousand skirmishes and win none. But if we stand in grace, rooted in Christ, we stand in victory – even if the world collapses around us.

Section V: The true call to preparation

St. Alphonsus Liguori said:

He who prays is saved; he who does not pray is damned. — (Prayer: The Great Means of Salvation and of Perfection, ch. 1)

Let me say it plainly: a generator will not save your soul. A stocked pantry won’t protect you from judgment. A rosary prayed with faith and repentance will do more than all your strategic planning combined.

Prepare, yes – but prepare in holiness. Be self-sufficient in virtue. Be ready in grace.

We live in a time when the instinct to prepare is strong – and rightly so. But preparation that forgets eternity is a trap. Too many are more ready for blackouts than judgment. They have backup batteries and escape plans but no repentance. What will it profit a man if he survives collapse but stands unready before the throne of God?

St. Alphonsus does not speak in poetic metaphor – he speaks with eternal urgency. Prayer is not optional equipment; it is the oxygen of the soul. Without it, grace withers, discernment fades, and sin finds open doors.

There is nothing wrong with storing food, planting seeds, or learning skills. But if we are not rich in the Spirit, our barns are empty. If we are not disciplined in virtue, our weapons are made of straw. The real storm is not what sweeps through the land – it is what seeks to sweep souls away into despair, delusion, and destruction.

What matters most is not how much you have stored in your freezer, but how much humility you have stored in your heart. The saints did not survive on self-reliance – they endured by surrender. Their preparation was penance. Their shelter was sanctity. Their defense was the Blood of Christ.

We must learn to live as though eternity matters – because it does. When the world begins to shake, the only ones who will stand are those who have already knelt.

Section VI: A prophetic word for this moment

Woe to you that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness. — (Isaiah 5:20).

Proclaim the truth and do not be silent through fear. — (St Catherine of Siena, Letter T368 to Raimondo of Capua)

We must speak. Not to gain followers. Not to win arguments. But because Christ is Truth, and we must not be ashamed of Him.

Even in the Church today, truth is often betrayed. Christ is crucified again – by silence, compromise, and betrayal. But even now, God is looking for souls who will say fiat with Mary – who will let the Word become flesh again through their fidelity.

This is not a time for soft words. This is not a time for neutrality. Isaiah’s warning was for the people of God who had lost their moral compass. We are seeing it now: good priests silenced, faithful Catholics maligned, sin celebrated, and cowardice applauded. There are shepherds who bless what God condemns. There are scholars who twist doctrine into distortion. And there are faithful who sit in pews, confused and weary, wondering if anyone will speak the truth aloud.

St. Catherine did not say “proclaim the truth if it’s safe.” She said, do not be silent through fear. Truth is not an opinion. It is a Person – Jesus Christ. And when we are ashamed of Him, we are no different than Peter at the fire – warming ourselves while Christ is on trial.

We must proclaim the truth because it is the only way souls are saved. We must speak when it costs us something. And when truth is crucified again in our age – whether by cowardice in chancelleries, compromise in liturgy, or collusion with the world – we must still say, with our lives: He is Lord.

God is still searching for those who will not merely repeat pious phrases, but embody truth with fire and fidelity. Who will let the Word become flesh again – through courage, through clarity, through sacrificial witness? That is the prophetic call of the moment.

Final exhortation: Re-aligning everything

Jesus Christ, yesterday, and today: and the same forever. — (Hebrews 13:8)

The plumb line does not bend. And neither should we.

Be like Mary. Receive the Word. Bear the Word. Let the Word take flesh in your life.

Let your fiat be the answer Heaven hears from the faithful.

The world is tilting. Truth is mocked. Even within the Church, many are twisting themselves into strange shapes to fit the spirit of the age. But Jesus Christ has not changed – and never will. The Word remains the same, and the plumb line is still hanging in our midst. It will not adjust to our comfort. It will not lean to match our preferences. We must realign ourselves to it – or we fall.

Now is the time to get our souls in order. Our priorities. Our speech. Our homes. Our ministries. Our Church. Everything must be brought back into alignment with Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

This is not a moment for delay. The walls are cracking. The storms are rising. But if we are anchored to Christ, we will not be shaken. If we live by the plumb line of His Word – clear, unwavering, incarnate – we will not drift.

Look to Mary. When confusion entered the world, clarity entered her womb. When fear hovered over the earth, faith stood in her “yes.” Her fiat was not a slogan – it was surrender. And in that surrender, the Divine Word took flesh.

Let it be so with us. Let your life preach the Gospel. Let your words reflect heaven. Let your soul be a dwelling place for truth. Say yes again. Say yes when it’s costly. Say yes when you’re afraid. Say yes when you feel alone. Say yes when others walk away.

Let heaven hear the echo of Mary’s voice – not just from Nazareth, but from us, here and now.

Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum.

Let it be done unto me according to Thy word.

If even a remnant will say it and mean it, the Church will be renewed, and the world will see Christ – clear, unbending, victorious – shining through us.