Stephen K. Ray's Blog, page 11

What is Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism? A Proper Veiw for Catholics

Thanks to my friend Ándre Villeneuve for this well-researched and presented argument against antisemitism and anti-zionism.

He exposes the bigotry of LifeSite News in their reporting on issues related to Israel and the Jews. Well worth the watch.

And here’s the full article with lots of links as supporting evidence:https://www.catholicsforisrael.com/articles/israel-and-the-church/279-catholic-antisemitism-the-case-of-lifesitenews

Visit his website HERE.

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Proud of our gratuate grandson Joshua Ray!

Very proud of our grandson Joshua Ray, who graduated from Ave Maria University in Florida (a great school).

Josh graduated with a Politics Major/Theology Minor, Summa Cum Laude & received the politics department award for being their top student!

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EWTN’s “Catholics Come Home” with Tom Peterson – great time recording and upcoming TV show

When Tom Peterson started his ministry, “Catholics Come Home,” it resonated with many folks. He invited fallen away Catholics to return home and encouraged faithful Catholics to stay on the ship and invite others to join them.

Tom and I’ve been friends for over a decade, and it was a pleasure to be invited to his lovely home and studio in Georgia to video record an upcoming show on “Catholics Come Home.” As you see in the pictures, his home was turned into a full-fledged EWTN studio for a week, with technicians rushing around, cords and wires being plugged in, and lights and cameras everywhere.

We hope you enjoy the show coming up soon. I will update you on the schedule. God bless Tom and his important ministry!

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An Excellent Initial Analysis of the new Pope

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Steve Discusses Mary with Marcus Grodi – an oldie but a goodie

In this interview with Marcus Grodi of the Journey Home on EWTN, we analyse the doctrines of Mary — what I believed as a Baptist and how I came to understand the fullness of the truth about Mary. It was a long journey, but I love to share the excitement of the discovery.

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Steve Shares the Biblical Basis for the Papacy: “Peter: the Rock, the Keys & the Chair”

This was recorded with the Coming Home Network.

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Holy Father – is he Holy?

A young man stood up at my conference in the Philippines a while ago and parroted (yelled out) the Fundamentalist mantra: “The Pope is a sinner like everyone else; why do you call him ‘HOLY Father’?”

I leaned into the microphone and said to the young man in front of 2,000 people, “You should really read your Bible more carefully and do your homework before you stand up and embarrass yourself in front of 2,000 people.” I then explained why we call the Pope our Holy Father.

There are several meanings for the word “holy” and that is what the young man did not understand. If holy simply means without sin, it is hard to see why “things” are called holy. For example, the HOLY OF HOLIES is a place. Is it called holy because it has not sinned?

And what about HOLY GROUND? God told Moses to remove his sandals — he was standing on HOLY GROUND. I guess that means that this dirt had not sinned but the dirt in the next gully had sinnned. HUH?

The word HOLY in Hebrew is kodesh and means apartness, holiness, sacredness, consecration, separateness. Holiness can mean without sin. It can also means dedicated or set apart for God.

So, is the Pope holy in the sense of being completely sinless? Of course not. But the Pope is set apart for God in a special way as the HOLY Father, the Vicar of Christ, the Bishop of Rome and the Successor of Peter.

Bottom line, he is the HOLY FATHER and this fits perfectly with the Bible.

So much for a dumb challenge at a conference.

PS Remember that even WE are called holy. Paul considered all of us saints (literally “holy ones” with a small “s”). He writes,

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother. To the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints (literally: “holy ones”) who are in the whole of Achaia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 1:1-2).

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Our New Holy Father

Pope Leo XVI is our new Holy Father—and an American no less. Prayers for his solid leadership, authentic orthodox teaching and guidance for the Church under the blessing of Our Lord Jesus into the decades ahead. He has my prayers.

Catholic Answers’ initial introduction to our new Holy Father Pope Leo XIV.

Jimmy Akin weighs in here:

 

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Does the Holy Spirit Choose the Next Pope? No.

Does the Holy Spirit choose the next pope? No.

Cardinal Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict said, “I would not say so, in the sense that the Holy Spirit picks out the Pope … The Spirit does not exactly take control of the affair, but rather, like a good educator … leaves us much space, much freedom, without entirely abandoning us.”

And, “There are too many contrary instances of popes the Holy Spirit obviously would not have picked!”

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What Kind of Pope Will We Have?

A week or so ago, I posted on Facebook and X. It received a lot of attention. Most folks agreed wholeheartedly, others opposed the idea, and a bunch of folks played dumb or simply didn’t get the implication of my post. I wrote,

We don’t need a successor of Pope Francis; we need a successor of St. Peter.

35,000 people read it, 2.4 liked it, 253 forwarded it and it received 108 comments (as of 5/5/25).

Then The Loop from CatholicVote posted a comment by Cardinal Kasper from Germany which explained EXACTLY what I meant in my one sentence comment. So I followed up my first comment with this one:

This is what I was talking about when I said, “We don’t need a successor to Pope Francis; we need a successor of St. Peter”

“’EVERYONE’ WANTS ANOTHER FRANCIS” According to German Cardinal Walter Kasper — a leading progressive voice and close ally of Pope Francis — everyone in the Church wants a new Francis. “Without looking for a photocopy, I am convinced that we will continue along Bergoglio’s line,” Cardinal Kasper said. “I have spoken about it with many cardinals.”

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