Stephen K. Ray's Blog, page 13

“Good Catholics were Confused…” While the world lauds our late pope, it’s not to early to evaluate his legacy

I have always prayed for Pope Francis. From Poland this week I will continue to pray daily for the repose of his soul and that God receives him with mercy into the kingdom. But I cannot jump on the bandwagon of praise and adulation.

This article by Fr. John Perricone, published in Crisis Magazine, brings balance to the remembrances and lauding of our late pope. No, it is not too early to discuss these matters, since many have been discussing them all along. He left many good Catholics confused.

He said “Go out and make a mess!” and he did. The title of this excellent article is:

May Pope Francis Rest in Peace. And May Peace Return to Mother Church

Click on the link above for this good and worthwhile article to keep things in perspective this week as we remember Pope Francis’ legacy and pray for the repose of his soul — and for the ship of state to be steadied and again set on a straight course.

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“The Pope is Dead. Long Live the Papacy!

I don’t always agree with Eric Sammons over at Crisis Magazine Editor spas in the past.

But I thought this was a good analysis of the Francis pontificate and the papery in general. There’s a lot of lotting going on right now, but this one article I think cuts through the fluff.

The Pope is Dead. Long Live the Papacy.

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Excellent Short Review: Archbishop Chaput on Pope Francis

The Church After FrancisCHARLES J. CHAPUT APRIL 21, 2025

I have personal memories of Pope Francis that I greatly value: a friendly and generous working relationship at the 1997 Synod on America when we were both newly appointed archbishops; his personal welcome and warmth at Rome’s 2014 Humanum conference; and the extraordinary success of his 2015 visit to Philadelphia for the Eighth World Meeting of Families. He devoted himself to serving the Church and her people in ways that he felt the times demanded. As a brother in the faith, and a successor of Peter, he deserves our ongoing prayers for his eternal life in the presence of the God he loved.

Having said that, an interregnum between papacies is a time for candor. The lack of it, given today’s challenges, is too expensive. In many ways, whatever its strengths, the Francis pontificate was inadequate to the real issues facing the Church. He had no direct involvement in the Second Vatican Council and seemed to resent the legacy of his immediate predecessors who did; men who worked and suffered to incarnate the council’s teachings faithfully into Catholic life.

His personality tended toward the temperamental and autocratic. He resisted even loyal criticism. He had a pattern of ambiguity and loose words that sowed confusion and conflict. In the face of deep cultural fractures on matters of sexual behavior and identity, he condemned gender ideology but seemed to downplay a compelling Christian “theology of the body.” He was impatient with canon law and proper procedure. His signature project, synodality, was heavy on process and deficient in clarity.

Despite an inspiring outreach to society’s margins, his papacy lacked a confident, dynamic evangelical zeal. The intellectual excellence to sustain a salvific (and not merely ethical) Christian witness in a skeptical modern world was likewise absent.

What the Church needs going forward is a leader who can marry personal simplicity with a passion for converting the world to Jesus Christ, a leader who has a heart of courage and a keen intellect to match it. Anything less won’t work.

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Pope Francis has Died – My Talk on Pope Francis and Pope JP II is relevant today

I gave this talk in 2019 to a group of Knights and Dames  of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre with 10 bishops present. It was one of the toughest talks I’ve ever had to give and I think I walk the tight rope well.

It seems the talk is as relevant today as it was then.

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Invest 2 Minutes – brought tears to my eyes!

Very theologically astute and 100% correct. Yet so simple.

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Was Jesus Crucified Naked? My new article in Catholic Answers Magazine

You’ve seen crucifixes all your life. Every Sunday, one looks down at you from above the altar. One may be hanging around your neck right now.

Usually, the corpus on the cross does not appear brutalized or overly bloody, and the loins are modestly covered. But in a way, modern portrayals of the crucifixion do us a disservice, failing to display the humiliation, degradation, and torture Jesus actually endured for our sins.

Yes, it is highly likely, even unavoidable, that Our Lord was crucified naked.

Listen to the article or click on the image to read the article.

https://catholicconvert.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/amazon_polly_145713-1.mp3

 

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Google Earth Captured Satellite Image of Moses Crossing Red Sea!

Moses leading Israel through the Red Sea

The guys at Glue Society (Warning: not all of their stuff is edifying) have provided some unique Google Earth shots from biblical times including the creation of the Garden of Eden, the Crucifixion, the landing of Noah’s Ark on Mount Ararat and now (to the left) Moses Crossing the Red Sea.

You can see them here but you will need to sign in.

However, for some who were born yesterday, these are not real Google Earth satellite images, they are actually a couple of pictures God added to the back of the Bible when he dropped it down from heaven.

Three crosses in Jerusalem in 30 AD Noah’s Ark landing on Mount Ararat

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What Did Jesus See from the Cross? My Show on Catholic Answers Live

https://catholicconvert.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/ca250414a.mp3

When Jesus was hanging on the cross, what did he see when he looked down and around him? In other words, what other people and entities were there for the crucifixion?

I just finished the show with Catholic Answers Live on this topic. above you can listen to the audio and below watch the YouTube in which I share some images.

Here is the document I promised I would put up with a list of the people and entities at the foot of the Cross and the biblical references for them. Click on the image for the whole 6 pages.

Also, watch for my article in Catholic Answers Magazine on Good Friday —”Was Jesus Crucified Naked?”

Happy to Easter to everyone!

 

The post What Did Jesus See from the Cross? My Show on Catholic Answers Live appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

What Did Jesus See from the Cross?

When Jesus was hanging on the cross, what did he see when he looked down and around him? In other words, what other people and entities were there for the crucifixion?

I just finished the show with Catholic Answers Live on this topic, and I will put the link up when they provide it either later tonight or tomorrow morning.

Here is the document I promised I would put up with a list of the people and entities at the foot of the Cross and the biblical references for them. Click on the image for the whole 6 pages.

Also, watch for my article in Catholic Answers Magazine on Good Friday —”Was Jesus Crucified Naked?”

Happy to Easter to everyone!

 

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Happy Palm Sunday – What about “Hosanna”?

By the way, happy Palm Sunday. This is a day taken up with the proclamation “hosanna”, recalling Jesus and his triumphal entry into Jerusalem with palm leaves waving. We all had palm fronds for the Mass today.Did you know that the word “hosanna” is only used once in the Old Testament (Psalm 118:25) and only five times in the New (always regarding Palm Sunday)?Psalm 118 was used for feast days in Jerusalem so “Save us, Lord” (“hosanna”) became a liturgical phrase, and it was shouted even by the children.

Mt 21:15  “When the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that Jesus did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant.”

This all came to life when our four-year old granddaughter Ellie video face-timed us today to show us the Palm front. And in her cute little voice excitedly shouted, “Hosanna, hosanna!”It’s one of those words you think is everywhere in the Old Testament but it’s not. It’s only used once — in Psalm 118:25 — “Save us, Lord”.

And it’s not even translated as “hosanna“ in my top English Bibles. The underlying Hebrew word (הוֹשִׁ֘יעָ֥ה hô·šî·ʿā(h)ʹ) is “Lord Save Us” in English.

Screenshot

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