Stephen K. Ray's Blog, page 28
July 16, 2024
Vance not the choice of some Catholics?
It is sad that so many expect perfection before they will stand behind a good man.
We have two choices this November — radically different choices for the future of America, our families, Israel, the world and the Church. Who else will fight on our behalf to stop the insane destruction of America and restore sanity in the world.
Even if one is skeptical about Trump and Vance remember that God uses flawed people. He does not expect perfection before he calls a person for his service.
God draws straight with crooked lines. He has always used flawed men to do his will — King David the murderer and adulterer (whom God says was a man after God’s own heart) and Solomon the idolater.
God calls himself “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”, yet Jacob means “supplanter” and he was a crook and swindler. Moses was a murderer and stuttered, Aaron the High Priest was a coward and pushover.
God used Peter who denied him and waffled in his ministry at times and many others who were not even believers like the King of Persia (Ezra 1:1-4) — a host of flawed individuals.
I am not going to waste my time or your’s pointing out flaws in Trump or Vance (but I will point out my own). Frankly, from what I am learning, Vance is the ideal man to fill this slot. He is intelligent, conservative, a Catholic, eloquent, young and ready to defend freedom of religion and America.
I will pray for him and defend him and oppose the nay-sayers who have nothing better to do than take cheap potshots. Who would they be happy with?
Here is a 1.5 minute clip on Vance’s conversion to the Catholic Church.
https://x.com/CatholicVote/status/1812974268986323076
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July 15, 2024
JD Vance, Catholic Convert, Trump’s New Running Mate
Trump has chosen his vice president and it will be JD Vance. He’s a young senator from Ohio and a recent convert to the Catholic Church.
From what I can find he’s also pro-life and gave a talk at Franciscan University a couple years ago. Here’s a picture of him with Dr. Scott Hahn.
And I can’t wait for the first vice presidential debate.
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July 12, 2024
July 11, 2024
Q & A from Non-Catholics – Questions I answered on Catholic Answers Live
It is always a great joy to answer lots of questions from non-Catholics who are questioning Catholic teaching and practice. Some of them are belligerent and others working their way into the Church. These are the questions I answered this week.
https://catholicconvert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ca240710b.mp3You can listen to the audio or watch it on YouTube. I am the first of two hours.
Questions Covered:
06:15 – Why is the Filioque such a big deal?11:24 – Was Mohammeds spiritual encounter authentic, and if it was, was it angelic or some other nefarious being?14:10 – I was raised Pentecostal. I think I understand the Marian dogmas, but it feels weird, and it feels like worship. How can I make it feel less like worship?19:19 – If your name is in the book of life then how could it ever be removed?31:55 – What is the response to the claim that speaking in tongues is necessary?35:55 – How and when did the Catholic faith start?43:03 – If a priest is in mortal sin, how can he absolve me of my sins?48:37 – How can we challenge the claim that only the apostles had the ability to forgive sins and not the successors?52:39 – I want to go back to church, will it cost me money? What are the requirements?The post Q & A from Non-Catholics – Questions I answered on Catholic Answers Live appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.
July 10, 2024
Apostolic Fathers, Part II with William Albrecht: Polycarp, Clement, Justin Martyr & Ireneaus
A month ago William Albrecht and I got together for an hour to discuss the Apostolic Fathers in general and then honed in on the life of St. Ignatius of Antioch who almost singlehandedly brought me into the Catholic Church.
We finished up our 2-art series with an overview and discussion of four more of these early witnesses to the Apostolic Tradition — with the words of the Apostles “still ringing in their ears”. We cover St. Polycarp of Smyrna a disciple of St. John the Apostle, St. Clement of Rome a convert of St. Peter’s and 3rd pope from Peter, St. Irenaeus a champion of the Faith and disciple of Polycarp and finally Justin Martyr.
Below the video is a timeline and chart showing the proximity of these Apostolic Fathers to the Apostles and Jesus himself. Click on the timeline for a larger, printable image.
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Saints & Shrines of France – including D-Day and Opening of Notre Dame Cathedral!
The first time we did this pilgrimage through France it was a huge success and a very blessed time. This trip will be even better! Join us November 30 – December 9, 2024.
D-Day, also known as the Normandy Invasion
This turning point in World War II occurred on June 6, 1944 — eighty years ago. We will celebrate that crucial battle in Normandy France and walk on Omaha Beach. On that day, more than 156,000 American, British, and Canadian troops stormed the fiercely defended beaches of Normandy in northern France. This operation marked a critical turning point in World War II.
Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris
This iconic church was severely damaged by fire in 2019. After 5 years of of restoration, Notre Dame is scheduled to open on December 8 AND WE WILL BE THERE! We are hoping to have Mass in the Cathedral the day it opens.
To top all of that, we will also visit Lisieux, home of St. Therese and celebrate Mass where her family did. Mont-Saint-Michel is stunning beyond belief as we spend time exploring and visiting the village.
We will visit the Cathedral of Saint Vincent and later that day celebrate Mass in Pontmain where the Virgin Mary appeared to four children in 1871.
Paris and the Seine River cruise. Chartres, Notre Dame Cathedral, St. Catherine Labouré’ incorrupt body and the Miraculous Medal.
Just a few blocks away, another incorrupt body of St. Vincent de Paul. See the Basilica of Sacre-Couer in Montmartre, where perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament has continued uninterrupted since 1885.
And so much more. For the interactive map, itinerary, brochure and more info — and to register on-line visit here.
You will also receive a 2-hour movie of your pilgrimage as a keepsake. Here is the video we produced for our pilgrims on our last pilgrimage through France.
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July 5, 2024
Tears Singing Good Ole Baptist Hymns
The old Baptist hymns still stir me and bring tears to my eyes. They take me back to my childhood when the family would dress up, us kids in our little suits with cheesy ties and short-legged pants (I’m the one in the plaid jacket). Dad would always give us candy during the service and put his arm around us while tickling our ears. The good old days.
Dad used to tear up at the old hymns. As he lay in his bed dying a few years ago we put the Bill Gaither Trio (YouTube) albums on the iPad I bought him. He would listen to the classic hymns over and over again. I think he could already see the Lord and was ready to go.
Sunday we sang two of those old classics at Mass. I looked over expecting to see my dad and mom sitting there in their 50’s suit and dress, smiling as their three boys fidgeted in the pew waiting to get back to our ponies and swimming pool. Yeah, I had tears running down my checks.
When I got home I called my brother Tim. He said he too cannot even sing those hymns at Mass without choking up and the words stop coming. Mom and Dad were the best; those old Baptist hymns are surely sung in heaven and I have fond and loving memories on my Baptist upbringing.
The hymns from last Sunday were “What Can Wash Away My Sins, Nothing but the Blood of Jesus” and “How Great Thou Art” (YouTube video).
Put the hymnal away — I can sing those by heart and from my heart. I still sing them mom and dad who is surely watching from heaven — still praying for their boys.
What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
For my cleansing this I see–
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
For my pardon this my plea–
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
Nothing can my sin erase
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
Naught of works, ’tis all of grace–
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
This is all my hope and peace–
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
This is all my righteousness–
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
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July 4, 2024
July 3, 2024
Did you know about this verse of the “The Star-spangled Banner” – we were “once” a Christian nation
Did you know about this forgotten verse to the “Star-spangled Banner”?
(Picture: this is the flag on my front porch!)
“O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand;
Between their lov’d home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace may the heav’n rescued land;
Praise the power that hath made and preserv’d us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto – “In God is our trust,”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave;
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”
I am proud to be a Catholic American! I display our flag proudly and I am ever so grateful for my US passport so I can always come back home.
Also, read this wonderful article about our country and our flag https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/07/america-the-awesome/
It starts out —
“For all the pomp and circumstance of its presentation, there is something admirably humble about America’s national anthem.
“Britain’s anthem is cartoonish, with its repeated entreaties to “save” an already-well-secured monarch and its insistence that God is destined to “scatter” the “knavish” enemies of the crown. France’s anthem is utopian, with all those references to the “child of the fatherland,” the “day of glory,” and the prospect of “impure blood” watering the fields.
But America’s? America’s has about it that quality of the unknown. From the outset, it poses questions. “O say, can you see?” it inquires. “O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave / O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?”
“Eventually — when the “rocket’s red glare” gives “proof through the night that our flag was still there” — the answer is “Yes,” and yet, implicit in the inquiry is the notion that if things had gone a little differently, the flag and all that it represents might well have ended up in tatters…” Finish HERE
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July 2, 2024
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