Stephen K. Ray's Blog, page 4

A New Perspective on St. Peter: Not a Bumbling Fool but an Astute Businessman and Civic Leader

My show with Teresa Tomeo on a new perspective on Simon Peter. When the name Simon Peter is mentioned, we usually think of his impulsiveness, his shortcomings, verbal outbursts, and especially his denial of Our Lord.

But today we will discover another side to Simon Peter — more than is apparent on the surface — his family and social life, his business life, and the qualities which Jesus saw — qualities that others have often missed.

It’s a good idea to look at Peter’s business and community life before he ever met Jesus.

I present a very different view of this man chosen by Jesus to be the first “CEO” of the most incredible and long-lasting institution ever founded — the Catholic Church.

Below is my article “St. Peter: CEO of the Catholic Church” and an audio YouTube of my conversations with Teresa Tomeo on EWTN Radio.

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Heading back to the Holy Land – Update from a priest who went this year!!

Heading back to the Holy Land. Registrations are coming in

Join us over Christmas break, Dec 28-Jan 8.  No crowds, no lines! The local Christians await us.  

Providentially, I just received today this message from a priest how took a group of 25 to the Holy Land earlier this year. It is as I knew and expected.

“Yes I was there on pilgrimage this past January. A group of about 25 pilgrims. It was an incredible experience.

Had been there about 17 years previous and it was a totally different encounter.

We flew in and out of Amman Jordan, so got to experience the border crossing there, which was norma,l just took a lot of time.
Our guides were incredible.

Was never worried about safety, saw very few soldiers. Actually I realized saw less this trip than did the previous.

We were the only group in all the places so we got to experience some of the things did not previous because there was not the lines or the people. Numerous times had the site to ourselves or a few even myself individually for many minutes without anybody else coming in.

All the workers we encountered were all very grateful as for many we were the first group they saw in 15 months. They were all very gracious and hospitable.

God bless.
Father Harlan Waskowiak

The post Heading back to the Holy Land – Update from a priest who went this year!! appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Heading back to the Holy Land

Heading back to the Holy Land. Registrations are coming in

Join us over Christmas break, Dec 28-Jan 8.  No crowds, no lines! The local Christians await us.  

The post Heading back to the Holy Land appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Which Bible Translation Should I Use?

I am doing a show

FOR THE WHOLE ARTICLE CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE OR CLICK HERE

 

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If You Missed the Grand Getaway Catholic Conference on Mackinac Island, Here’s a 22 Minute Video You May Enjoy

For 20 years, Corporate Travel Services has been putting on a Catholic conference on Mackinac Island at the Grand Hotel. Here’s a few pictures.

325 folks took part in this wonderful event with speakers including myself, Dr. Edward Sri, Fr. Mike Schmitz, and Fr. Leo Patalinghug. Teresa Tomeo also did her live radio show with the group.

The post If You Missed the Grand Getaway Catholic Conference on Mackinac Island, Here’s a 22 Minute Video You May Enjoy appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Pray for a Friend and Pilgrim Dying Today

Pray for a friend Ron Beeckman who is breathing his last today in hospice. He and wife Barbara were on pilgrimage with us in June unaware of Stage 4 lung cancer.

He’s a great man in love with God, the Church and his family. He is prepared to go and we pray for his soul grace for his family.

The post Pray for a Friend and Pilgrim Dying Today appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Solanus Casey Did A Miracle in Our New Home

We are at Mass today in honor Blessed Solanus Casey, a solemnity only in Detroit and Milwaukee. After we moved into our new home we discovered an old man lived there who had been healed by Solanus Casey as an infant.

His mother gave birth to him in Detroit. They told her her son would not survive. She took the old cable car from the hospital to St Bonaventure monastery.

She asked Fr. Solanus to heal her child. He told her that he was healed. The hospital called the monastery with good news! She rushed back and he was healed. The miracle was verified.

He lived in our new house until over 90 years old.

The post Solanus Casey Did A Miracle in Our New Home appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Another Good Movie – Redemption

There are a lot of good movies, but many of them slipped past us. Janet and and I like looking for good movies and then sharing them with others. One thing I always look for is a movie about redemption.

Wikipedia says, “The film encompasses several themes, including the importance of love and family, the possibility of spiritual resurrection amid death and the concept of redemption through Mac Sledge’s conversion to Christianity.”

Today we rewatched the movie we’ve watched in the past. It’s about an alcoholic country singer who finds redemption and a new family.

Robert Duvall is one of our favorite actors and he plays this role with real class. He even composed and sang his own songs in the movie. He won an Oscar for it.

Here is the trailer…

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Never Been on a Danube River Cruise? Well, You Can Enjoy One by Video!

On every pilgrimage, I make a movie. My grandson Danny, but it’s the movie with music and other edits.

On every pilgrimage, I make a movie. My grandson Danny edits them into a high resolution Vimeo video.

Here is our two hour, very Catholic video of our Danube River Cruise through five count. It was our 20th anniversary of pilgrimages celebration.

 

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We went to Confession on Saturday

Went to confession on Saturday. It’s always a wonderful experience, though I always feel better coming out than I do going in.

After being absolved, I always say to the priest, “Those are wonderful words to hear, Father, and thank you so much for being a priest!”

To listen to a very funny and delightful story of a boy’s first confession, this is told by my friend Batt Burns, a famous Irish storyteller on one of our pilgrimages to Ireland. You can join us there again August 3-12, 2026.

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