Stephen K. Ray's Blog, page 35
March 3, 2024
Footprints of God DVD Series Update
The 10th documentary in our “Footprints of God: the Story of Salvation from Abraham to Augustine” series will not be produced. It was projected to be on the Doctors of the Church.
We currently have the first nine done, which is a full continuity from creation and Abraham through the Apostolic Fathers.
The decision was made in collaboration between Janet and I and Ignatius Press, our financial backer and executive producer. The cost of producing the final video would have been at least $300,000 and there’s no way we could recoup those costs since DVDs are being phased out — everything is now live streaming.
These movies were all filmed on location from Iraq to Jordan, Israel to Syria and all over Europe. Each one is 90-minutes divided into four chapters. Each one has a comprehensive Study Guide.
Abraham: Father of Faith and Works
Moses: Signs, Sacraments and Salvation
David & Solomon: Expanding the Kingdom
Elijah & Elisha: Conscience of the Kingdom
Mary: Mother of God
Jesus: Word Became Flesh
Peter: Keeper of the Keys
Paul: Contending for the Faith
Apostolic Fathers: Passing on the Faith
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March 2, 2024
Two Fun Things from Monday’s OT Mass Reading
Two fun things in Monday’s Old Testament readings, 1) Naaman’s skin is restored like that of a little child; and 2) he takes a load of dirt back to Syria.
A reading from the second Book of Kings 5:14-17:
“Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of Elisha, the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean of his leprosy.
Naaman returned with his whole retinue to the man of God. On his arrival he stood before Elisha and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel. Please accept a gift from your servant.”
Elisha replied, “As the Lord lives whom I serve, I will not take it”; and despite Naaman’s urging, he still refused.
Naaman said: “If you will not accept, please let me, your servant, have two mule-loads of earth, for I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice to any other god except to the Lord.”
The word of the Lord.
This dipping in the Jordan River is a prefiguring of water baptism—dipping in the Jordan for cleansing. And what do we hear about water baptism from Jesus? After he had gone into the Jordan River—into the water when the Spirit came down, he talked to Nicodemus about being born again.
It is the way we become born again—water and Spirit—and when we’re born again we’re like a newborn child. That’s why this dipping in the Jordan River is a prefiguring of water baptism. That’s why it’s interesting. Naaman’s flesh became like that of a newborn baby because it pictures the new birth we receive in water baptism that will come with the New Covenant.
And the dirt? Here we see the biblical view of holy ground. Naaman will take two mule’s load of land; rather dirt, from Israel back home to Syria. He asked for permission to take two mule loads of dirt home with him.
From this point on, Naaman will spread that dirt out where he worships, and he will stand on the holy ground of the Lord to worship. YHWH is the only God of all the earth and on his earth Naaman will worship.
One of the interesting first mentions of “holy ground”. Also it can be seen as a precursor to holy relics.
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March 1, 2024
Contraception Regret at Red Lobster
Janet and I had four children, but we started out our married life as Evangelical Protestants who fell for the lie of contraception and regret it now, but we were also open to life and wanted at least four kids to break the mold of the world that plans to have none or at the most 1.3. We discovered the beauty of the Catholic Church at 39 years old.
But now all of our four children have taken to the truth of life and the Catholic Church like fish to water. Between the four of them we have 20 grandchildren. Nothing I love more than marching into a restaurant with all or most of them — with a big smile on my face.
You should see the whole restaurant stop and stare, especially when we all cross ourselves and in unison say, “Bless us O Lord, and these thy gifts…”
There is a delightful article today in Crisis Magazine about a family who went to Red Lobster with their 6 children. It is sad and good to read at the same time. Worth a read. And is you see a large family at a restaurant, at church or elsewhere, make sure to congratulate them.
One last thing, and I am not saying this to toot my own horn or boast, but sharing it as an example. Last Sunday a family sat a few pews in front of us with six young children. They were a handful but the older ones helped with the younger. After the Mass I slipped the father $100 and told him he had a beautiful family, that he was a great dad and please take them all out for ice cream this afternoon. I smiled with joy the rest of the day. Try it!
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February 28, 2024
Nice Article – Only US Approved Marian Apparition – it is in Wisconsin
Join us for our “Shrines of Wisconsin Pilgrimage” with Cardinal Burke. We will visit Our Lady of Champion along with the National Shrine of St. Joseph and the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe and more!
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February 25, 2024
Bishop Barron Slams Anti-Christian Media Conspiracy and a Reporter as Dumb as a Telephone Post
I am copying this from https://www.catholicarena.com/latest/...
As the Presidential Election approaches in the United States of America, media outlets are targeting anyone and everyone who might potentially deter from delivering another Biden term.
In a deranged anti Christian tirade, MSNBC news commentators equated belief that your rights come from God with a new term called ‘Christian Nationalism’. The idea behind the term ‘Christian Nationalism’ is so that the mainstream can designate ordinary Christians as being terrorists.
LOL: MSNBC says if you believe your rights come from God (and not Congress), you are a Christian nationalist.
LOL: MSNBC says if you believe your rights come from God (and not Congress), you are a Christian nationalist.
— Liz Wheeler (@Liz_Wheeler) February 23, 2024
This equating of ordinary Christian beliefs with Islamist terrorism is going to become a more regular topic of debate as the election nears.
As a result of the attack from MSNBC, Bishop Robert Barron responded in a video by calling this approach dangerous.
Friends, I wanted to share some reflections with you concerning a recent clip I saw from @MSNBC, which was one of the most disturbing and frankly dangerous things I\u2019ve ever seen in a political conversation.
Bishop Robert Barron (@BishopBarron) February 23, 2024
Friends, I wanted to share some reflections with you concerning a recent clip I saw from @MSNBC, which was one of the most disturbing and frankly dangerous things I’ve ever seen in a political conversation. @HeidiReports @politico pic.twitter.com/3KO9LY4eXh
— Bishop Robert Barron (@BishopBarron) February 23, 2024
The post Bishop Barron Slams Anti-Christian Media Conspiracy and a Reporter as Dumb as a Telephone Post appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.
February 21, 2024
Lovely Aerial View Video of Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee
Wow, we miss the Holy Land. We have been to Capernaum and on these boats over 150 times with groups and filming projects and exploring. Can’t wait to get back.
This is where Jesus lived the three years of his earthly ministry – at the house of Peter which was located under the octagonal brown-roofed church next to the white synagogue.
Matthew 4:13 “And leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.”
Matthew the tax collector was outside the city along the road you see in this video. He was collecting taxes from those passing between two provinces.
Matthew 9:9 “As Jesus went on from Capernaum, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.”
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February 20, 2024
May Holy Land Pilgrimages Postponed
May’s Holy Land Pilgrimages Postponed
Here’s the letter sent to our registered pilgrims…
“Steve and Janet Ray here with an update on Israel and our pilgrimages planned for May 2024. We have been in close contact with my friends and colleagues in the Holy Land and based on the current situation and expectations, we have decided to postpone our May trips.
We are very sorry to do this, but we want to be responsible and professional, and the potential risk makes the pilgrimage untenable.
Although Gaza is no longer our main concern because it is under control and contained within the borders of Gaza, there are escalating hostilities and instability on the northern border with Lebanon. Hezbollah which is a satellite organization under Iran is making threatening overtures. It is uncertain and could erupt into another war which we do not want to be involved with.
So, to be prudent and to err on the side of caution, we will not be going to the Holy Land in May. Our next pilgrimages to Israel are planned for September, November and December and we will keep communications open with everyone as the situation progresses. (See our other destinations at www.FootprintsOfGod.com)
Of course, it goes without saying, that we should pray for peace in the Middle East. It is a tinderbox right now and we must pray for Israel and the many Christians who live there.
Psalm 122:6-8 “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you. May peace be within your walls, And prosperity within your palaces. For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, “May peace be within you.”
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February 17, 2024
As Easter Nears, Atheists Again Use the Holy Day to Deny Jesus’ Existence
This is an article written by my friend Thomas Williams Ph.D. of Breitbart. I collaborated with him to address the tedious atheists who come out of their dens at Easter and Christmas to take potshots at Christians.
I hope you enjoy this simple pithy response. This is the whole article reproduced below.
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The Christian season of Lent always triggers the anti-God squad, and 2024 is no different, with limelight-seeking atheists trotting out the tired “Jesus never existed” thesis in preparation for Holy Week.
Writing in Aeon, professional provocateur Gavin Evans leads the band of God-slayers with his February 15 article, entitled “There Was No Jesus,” rehashing old arguments that Jesus was the invention of a group of unscrupulous hucksters who sought to create a religion around a myth of their own creation.
The gist of Evans’ plodding 4,100-word piece is that “a cult leader who drew crowds, inspired devoted followers and was executed on the order of a Roman governor” should have left a deeper trail in contemporary records.
Evans’ screed apes the argument of the likes of Richard Dawkins, who wrote that it is possible “to mount a serious, though not widely supported, historical case that Jesus never lived at all” as well as the musings of Christopher Hitchens, who asserted that Jesus’ existence is “highly questionable.”
Yet as biblical scholar Stephen K. Ray pointed out to Breitbart News, “the first century did not have the Internet and social media, much less newscasters and chroniclers. Moreover, Jesus was raised in a backwater village and performed his ministry away from the metropolis and as secretly as possible for only three short years.
“His trial was rushed partly at night to push it through the Jewish Passover, and Jesus was one of thousands executed as a disrespected criminal who would have been buried in a common grave had it not been for one of his secret followers.
“Despite all this, there is more documentary evidence for the existence of Jesus and the historicity of the four Gospels than for any other ancient historical figure. No one in the first centuries ever doubted his existence, much less his ministry.
We “know” Jesus really existed insofar as we can know any historical fact. That is to say, none of us was present on the earth two thousand years ago to empirically verify Jesus’ existence, so we must rely on the historical record.”
But the historical record is as conclusive as we could possibly hope for. As Theodore Dalrymple noted in the City Journal, “If I questioned whether George Washington died in 1799, I could spend a lifetime trying to prove it and find myself still, at the end of my efforts, having to make a leap, or perhaps several leaps, of faith in order to believe the rather banal fact that I had set out to prove.”
In other words, what you believe depends on what you are willing to believe.
Plenty of scholars have undertaken to collect all ancient historical references to Jesus, which are surprisingly ample. They include the celebrated Roman historian Tacitus; Suetonius, chief secretary to the emperor Hadrian; Julius Africanus, who quoted the historian Thallus in a discussion of the darkness that followed the crucifixion of Christ; Pliny the Younger, who in his Letters recorded early Christian ritual practices; Lucian of Samosata, who stated that Jesus was crucified for introducing new beliefs.
The Jewish historical record includes the most famous ancient Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, who, in his Antiquities, refers to James, “the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ” as well as to Jesus’ death under Pontius Pilate.
The Babylonian Talmud confirms Jesus’ crucifixion on the eve of Passover and the accusations against Christ of practicing sorcery and encouraging Jewish apostasy.
The texts of the New Testament itself, which include historical assertions about Jesus, were written not many years after his death, when many of his contemporaries were still alive. Yet there is no record of any contemporary figure refuting these claims or asserting that Jesus never lived.
The clearest evidence of Jesus’ historical existence is the witness of literally thousands of Christians in the first century AD, including the twelve apostles, who were willing to give their lives as martyrs for Jesus Christ.
They could have escaped death by disowning Christ or stepping forward to say that it all had been a hoax. This did not happen. Some people will die for what they believe to be true; no one will die for what they know to be a lie.
Yet, as Stephen Ray observed, “there are many today who want to make a name for themselves by spouting off about something they cannot prove and with a hatred for something they intensely want to disprove.”
The post As Easter Nears, Atheists Again Use the Holy Day to Deny Jesus’ Existence appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.
February 16, 2024
Free “Sacraments Chart” in preparation for my Son Rise Morning EWTN show on Tuesday
Free Sacraments Chartby Steve Ray
I will be joining Son Rise Morning Show on Tuesday (as I do every Tuesday) at 7:35 AM for my “Things in the Bible” series.
In preparation, I am making my Sacraments Chart available for free downloads.
Want to know all about the Sacraments in a handy, short reference format? Download this link and print out your own 2-page chart — Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church. It gives you references from the Bible and the Catechism.
This chart was made to go with my 7 talk series on the Sacraments: Food for the Journey, Weapons for the War. You can purchase this set by clicking here.
I had to fight my way into the Church! In the process, I learned a lot about the Catholic truth and the Sacraments.
This series was done in front of a live audience and is presented first from my old Evangelical perspective. I explain what I thought and taught as a Protestant. Then I step to the other podium and argue with my old view and explain the Catholic teaching on the Sacraments. It is full of stories, anecdotes and examples.
The post Free “Sacraments Chart” in preparation for my Son Rise Morning EWTN show on Tuesday appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.
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