Stephen K. Ray's Blog, page 36

Another fun video on my book “Genesis, A Bible Study Guide & Commentary” discussing new issues

There is SO much in Genesis. Each interview is also SO different. This one discusses Nimrod, the Sons of God and Daughters of Men issuing in giants. The curious life of Jacob, so different from his grandfather Abraham and more. Enjoy!

The post Another fun video on my book “Genesis, A Bible Study Guide & Commentary” discussing new issues appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Tel Aviv Airport is Busy Again! Tourists are Coming Back! Join us May 15-24

I watched a video recently about tens of thousands of Indian workers arriving back in Israel to find jobs. After October 7 all the foreign workers left the country due to the war with Hamas. But now the world is realizing Israel is again safe and the war is now contained in Gaza far to the south.

So, foreign workers are flooding back into Israel.

Also, my friend at Corporate Travel Services just wrote that Travel Insurance is again covering travel to Israel,

“Hello all, I met with our contacts at Travel Insured today.

I am letting each of you know that starting this coming Tuesday, Travel Insured will again begin selling policies for travel to Israel (They had arrested all insurance sales for Israel travel when the war began).”

This is all good news. I’ve heard there are already pilgrimage groups touring the holy sites in Israel now. We are going back in May and September!

UPDATE 2/14/2024

The post Tel Aviv Airport is Busy Again! Tourists are Coming Back! Join us May 15-24 appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

This British Guy Gets It! “My Christianity is NOT for wimps” as he shouts down a liberal crowd!

This is the kind of Christianity and proclamation that will set young people on fire, not the rainbow flag crowd!

The post This British Guy Gets It! “My Christianity is NOT for wimps” as he shouts down a liberal crowd! appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

I am African too – In Two Ways!

Several years ago my wife Janet and I had our DNA tested to discover our genealogical roots. I had always been told that I was English, Irish, German and French. The last names of my ancestors confirmed the tradition that had been passed down to me. The tests came back and confirmed what we had been told. My wife is 99% northern European and I am 98% northern European.

But it is the small percentage of non-European blood that was most interesting. My wife and I are both 0.6% Jewish of the Ashkenazy line. This entered our family bloodline in Europe sometime between 1600-1800.

Frankly, I could not have been happier to know I had the blood of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob running through my veins. I always wanted to be a relative of Jesus and Mary, not just spiritually but physically. So we announced to our kids that they were 1.2% Jewish.

But to my surprise I also found out I was about 1% African! This percentage is “broadly Western African”, Nigerian, Ghanaian and a smattering of others. This element was included in our bloodline sometime prior to 1750. Fascinating indeed!

But now, after reading the recent article “Spiritually, Doctrinally, I’m An African!” in The Catholic Thing — I realized I am African on a much deeper and spiritual level than just 0.1% of my genetic code.  I am theologically and spiritually more akin to African Catholics than to many in the West.

After witnessing the vibrant Catholic life and worship in Africa, the author, Fr. Jeffrey Kirby, shares how an African bishop asked him the unusual question, “Why is God in Africa?” The young man responded, “I don’t know, Your Grace.” The bishop answered, “God is in Africa because God goes where He is wanted!”

And the people in Africa want him and want his Church and the morals that go along with being a faithful, orthodox Catholic.

Here are a few short paragraphs from the article —  which is why today I realize that I am African on two levels, genetically and spiritually.

In [a recent] interview, the Holy Father addressed African opposition to Fiducia supplicans, saying the African continent is “a special case,” since “for them, homosexuality is something ‘ugly’ from a cultural point of view; they do not tolerate it.”

When I read that, I felt a spiritual affinity and a unity in the Spirit with Africa.

Our shared Catechism of the Catholic Church still echoes the Church’s perennial moral teaching: “Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.’ They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.” [No. 2357]

At the 2019 meeting of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) [Vatican News]

If being an African means being opposed to homosexual relationships, and seeing homosexual acts as “ugly,” since they offend the complementarity of man and woman and mock the selfless act of nuptial intimacy, and if being an African means not tolerating such relationships, and efforts to normalize them, especially in supposed “gay marriages” and other such ways, then I had to start asking myself some hard questions.

Since I’m not a part of a small ideological group seeking schism [as the Pope said we were]  – and never would be – I realized for the first time in my almost fifty years: I’m an African! Spiritually, doctrinally, I’m an African…”

I highly recommend reading the whole article which you can find HERE.

The post I am African too – In Two Ways! appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Is the Rosary boring and monotonous? Try these two little tricks…

Is praying the Rosary monotonous at times? Well, here are two little practices that may keep your mind focused and make you aware of what you are really praying —  the meaning of the prayer and the words.

First, a few weeks ago I shared the chart I made of the Scriptural references for each of the Mysteries. This places the Rosary smack dab in the middle of the Bible. We say at the beginning of each Mystery…

“The 1st Joyful Mystery, the Annunciation when the angel brought the good news to Mary — St. Luke 1:26-38.”

This way it keeps our mind on the biblical foundation of each Mystery and helps meditate on the life of Christ and his holy Mother. Here again is the list of Bible verses we that we use.

You will notice that we are indebted to St. Luke for many of the Mysteries, and that in by design since he is the one who interviewed Mary so as to provide the first two chapters of his gospel.

I printed out the list in a size that I could glue or tape to a  3 x 5 card. We keep a number of the cards with our Rosaries and everyone praying with us has this card in their hand — especially the grandkids.

When we pray for the virtues of “faith, hope and love” we say, “1 Corinthians 13:13” which reads, “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

By doing this simple practice it keeps your mind on the Scriptures, the biblical events each Mystery recalls and helps everyone stay tuned and engaged.

Second, the reciting of the decades is repetitious and can be monotonous for some of us. My mind races in other directions, I don’t mind admitting it. But I bet most people will join me in this admission.

So, here is another little technique that will make the recitation enjoyable and more meaningful, not just the auto-response over and over again without engaging.

Take the sentence, “We ran up the hill.” If we recite this simple sentence with no particular emphasis, it is just a simple, unimpressive sentence. It would be boring to say it five times in a row.

BUT try reciting it five different ways each time emphasizing a particular word with a raised voice. Here are the five ways:

“WE ran up the hill.”

“We RAN up the hill.”

“We ran UP the hill.”

“We ran up THE hill.”

“We ran up the HILL.”

This way the sentence means something very unique each time you recite it. I has five different meanings and makes reciting it five times quite interesting and expressive.

Now, apply this to the Rosary. I will give on a few examples and you can run with the rest yourself.

“HAIL Mary, full of grace.” Here you emphasize the greeting. It is a descriptive biblical word meaning “to rejoice,” or “to be merry.” The root word incorporates “grace” — charis. It is a word the Greeks used when addressing a god. It serves as a morning greeting, the end to hymns and a warm introduction to a conversation.

So, with the 1st Hail Mary you emphasize “Hail” and think of its unique meaning to Mary. In the culture women were not so greeted. Even she was surprised by it — “She was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.” (Luke 1:29)

With the 2nd Hail Mary you emphasize the second word of the greeting: “Hail MARY full of grace”. Here it is a little interesting because the name Mary is not used by the angel. He simply says, “Hail Full of Grace”. But think on the name Mary, which is really Miriam — she was named after Miriam the sister of Moses.

With the 3rd and 4th Hail Mary’s  you emphasize “full” and “grace” but realize that in the original Greek it is only one long word kecharitōmenē. This technical word means “you who were made full of grace in the past, and remain in that state now!” It is in the passive tense — she did not do it, God is the one who acted upon her in the past and now to make her full of grace.

God’s full flow of favor has already been concentrating upon her. Mary, more than any other human being in the Bible, is the recipient of the most impressive salutations. St. Pope John Paul II said that kecharitōmenē is Mary’s name in the eyes of God.

So, look how exciting this is and we are only on the 4th Hail Mary!

Next, with the 5th Hail Mary emphasize “the Lord” meaning God as the master of the world and history. Think of the awesomeness of the one who has sent this message.

The 6th Hail Mary emphasize that God is not far away or unknown — “the Lord is WITH YOU”.

So I think you get the idea. Give these two little tricks and try and see if the prayers are more meaningful and engaging.

The post Is the Rosary boring and monotonous? Try these two little tricks… appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

This Evangelical Pastor is figuring it out – a short 2 minute video

It only makes sense that as Evangelical Protestantism is going through an age of confusion and compromise, that some are going to start figuring it out.

@JerusalemJones this man is starting to get it. @patrickmadrid https://t.co/o4BJ9NYz6D

— Ray (@_Sacred_Heart) February 3, 2024

The post This Evangelical Pastor is figuring it out – a short 2 minute video appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

To Bless or not to Bless – thorough analysis and summary of the situation

This recent article in What We Need Now is an excellent summary of the problems encountered with Fiducia Supplicans, or the Declaration of Blessings which includes blessing of homosexual couples and others in irregular relationships. It is written by Rev. Peter M. Stravinskas. I recommend this article as a good nutshell analysis of the situation and the scandal it has caused, and will cause.

After an introductory paragraph the article lays out the direction it will take.

“Just as the Declaration is intent on setting context for the document, I think context is also important in our current consideration of it. The context is the decade-long campaign of this pontificate to undermine the moral theology carefully enunciated in the magisterium of Pope St. John Paul II, found in his “theology of the body,” and in texts like Familiaris Consortio, Veritatis Splendor, and Evangelium Vitae. But a few examples:

He then gives context of this papacy which led to the declaration. He concludes by saying:

“Pope St. Leo the Great, in a Christmas homily, which we read each year in the Divine Office for the same feast, moves beyond the idea of the human person made in the divine image and makes even more precise St. Paul’s injunction to issue this stirring exhortation to greatness of soul:

‘Christian, remember your dignity, and now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return by sin to your former base condition. Bear in mind who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Do not forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of God’s kingdom.

‘Through the sacrament of baptism you have become a temple of the Holy Spirit. Do not drive away so great a guest by evil conduct and become again a slave to the devil, for your liberty was bought by the blood of Christ.’

Leo raises the stakes and instructs his hearers that not only are their sexual sins offenses against their Holy Spirit-temple-bodies but also against Christ Himself, who is Head of that Body of which they are members by virtue of their baptism. Thus, we Christians have a natural, human dignity, to which is added a supernatural dignity. Leo’s successor, Benedict XVI, challenged us: “The world promises you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.”

My first course for the licentiate of sacred theology at the wonderful Dominican House of Studies in Washington was taught by the inimitable biblicist, Father Francis Martin.

The first week of that semester coincided with Pope John Paul II’s removal of the license to teach Catholic theology from Father Charles Curran for his obstinate refusal to align his positions with those of immemorial Catholic moral theology.

An Episcopal cleric in the class asked Father Martin, “Are you embarrassed with the Pope’s action against arguably the most prominent theologian in the country?”

Father Martin replied, “People say that Charlie Curran is a nice guy.” He went on: “We Charismatics love the line, ‘Jesus is Lord.’ But what does that mean? It means that He must be the Lord of all of me—of my head, my eyes, my ears, my heart—and, yes, even of my genitals. It’s that last point that Charlie Curran has trouble understanding.” In truth, it is not possible to carve out areas removed from the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And that is the freedom, to which and for which Christ has made us free (see Gal 5:1).

And that is the fundamental problem with this document—and of much of this pontificate. What we need now is a return to the clarity of teaching that was once a hallmark of the Vatican.”

The whole article is here.

The post To Bless or not to Bless – thorough analysis and summary of the situation appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Lovely parade of young African children affirming the Catholic Faith! Very touching!

Lovely affirmation of the faith by young African children. The present and future of our Church. Click image below.

The post Lovely parade of young African children affirming the Catholic Faith! Very touching! appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Jesuit Fr. McTeigue: Our Lively Interview on my new book on Genesis

Fr. Robert McTeigue SJ is a sharp guy and this theology is “right on the money”.  He interviewed me this week on my book “Genesis, A Bible Study Guide and Commentary” with a show title of “Rediscovering the Book of Genesis”. He is a good interviewer and the discussion as lively.

This was probably my favorite interview of many on my new book. Hope you enjoy it!

https://catholicconvert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/TCC_-_012524-1.mp3

Link With Show Notes: https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/29652838

Direct Audio Download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/thecatholiccurrent/TCC_-_012524.mp3

The post Jesuit Fr. McTeigue: Our Lively Interview on my new book on Genesis appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Podcast with Eddie Trask: My Conversion Story and thoughts on the Church today

It was a delightful hour interview and I shared things about our story that I have not shared before in telling the story. Hope you enjoy it.

Also, if you like conversion stories, check out Eddie’s YouTube channel for over 140 stories from all walks of life and religions.

The post Podcast with Eddie Trask: My Conversion Story and thoughts on the Church today appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.