Stephen K. Ray's Blog, page 486

In the News

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 8, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The U.S. Supreme Court has denied an atheist's legal challenge to the national motto "In God We Trust" imprinted on U.S. currency, thereby letting a federal appeals court ruling that the references to God are constitutional stand. Read the whole story here.

IMPERIAL, Neb. — It sounds like a story dreamed up by a little boy, but to understand what Colton Burpo says you have to hear what he says happened to him.  Read the whole story and watch video here. My wife Janet read the book and said it was so sad how impoverished Protestantism is. They have no concept of the Communion of Saints and therefore were baffled by much of what the boy said.

Teen Depression

Our parish, Christ the King in Ann Arbor Michigan, recently conducted an excellent conference on Teen Depression. The audio files can be found here. Pass it on to anyone you know who has struggling teenagers.

Woman who Repents of Pseudo-ordination

From Canon Lawyer and Friend Ed Peters:

A blog post about the National Catholic Reporter story on Norma Jean Coon, the woman who recently repented of her pseudo-ordination. Discussion of her excommunication, reconciliation, and the National Catholic Reporter story.

I read with bemusement the National Catholic Reporter story on the recent reconciliation of Norma Jean Coon… My reactions to the Coon case and NCRep's story on it fall into three parts. Fair Warning: You're gonna think I'm making the first part up. I'm not.

Read more here: http://canonlawblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/norma-jean-coon-excommunication.html

Origins of Irish Dancing

I've always enjoyed Irish Dancing but never knew how it got started. Enjoy!

Origins of Irish Dance

Minnesota is Cold

Great time in Sauk Centre. Now driving for day of talks in Little Canada, near Minneapolis. It's COLD!

Parish Missions and Conferences during Lent

Seems like I live here lately, but I'm again at Detroit Airport on my way this time to Sauk Center Minnesota, then to Little Canada MN.

Next Weekend to Lawton Oklahoma and Chapin South Carolina.

Political Views: Yeah, You Know What I Think?

1) Waffles anyone? 2) Waiting for the new Obama statue!

Catholic Answers Live – Making the Most of Lent

On Wednesday I was the first guest on Catholic Answers Live. The topic was "Getting the Most Out of Lent.'

Below are the questions I answered. To hear the broadcast on-line, click here (available soon) and for more listening options, click here.

1)  Should I keep my ashes on my forehead when I go to work? What if the boss tells me I have to wash them off?

2) What is the biblical basis for Lent?

3) What day is the end of Lent? Why is it not exactly 40 days?

4) Is chicken considered meat? I want to give up meat for Lent. What are the rules?

5) When I was young my mother never ate meat on Fridays? Why has that changed?

6) What is Ash Wednesday?

The Skull is Talking to Me

THE SKULL TALKS TO ME EVERY MORNING!

It says, "As you are now, I once was; as I am now, you soon shall be — remember your mortality!"

No better way to approach Ash Wednesday and 40 days of Lent.

Artists have painted St. Jerome with a skull on his desk. Popes were known to keep skulls in their libraries.  I now have a real human skull sitting next to me in my home office.

The famous Capuchin Church in Rome has a labyrinth of rooms filled with bone which are not just stacked in piles, but are used to decorate. The lamps are made of human bones, designs on the walls, altars, everything is made of bones of the monks who have died there over the centuries. The sign above the entrance says the same thing the skull pictured above is saying to me.

Are Catholics morbid, obsessed with bones and relics, consumed with the thought of death. Yes and  no. We are concerned about these matters, but we are not morbid. We are realistic. We know that life is short and we need to keep things in perspective and our priorities straight.

We also know that life is full of vanities. Much of what vies for our time, energy and money is like a puff of smoke that detracts us from what is really important. Notice the skull to the right, look closely. It is entitled "All is Vanity." If you look closely you can see a picture inside the skull. (You can click on the image for a larger picture.)

I wanted to buy my coffin in advance–one to my liking and made of carved oak–to use as a coffee table in our living room. I wanted it there to remind me that someday my body would spend a lot of time in there–under the ground. But my good wife nixed my plans. She said I could get one to stand upright as a bookshelf, but not to set on the floor looking like a funeral parlor.

My goal is to pour out my life for the Savior in this life and to remind myself every day that from dust I came and to dust I will go. The skull reminds me every moment that "it is appointed for men once to die, and after that the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). I want to be ready.

What is the Chocolate Connection with Lent? Nice article here.

Alexis Love's though

Evangelicals with Statues?

Today I took off running through a commercial area behind the hotel. I discovered a nice jogging trail through the woods so I swung onto the trail and headed through the trees. Soon I came into the open to see a beautiful lake. A sign caught my eye. It had an arrow pointing to "Baptismal Pool." I kept running.

Sure enough a little distance ahead there was an elaborate structure with seats, railings and a ramp down into the lake. It was obviously designed for full immersion baptisms (see pictures).

I was puzzled. Why a baptismal pool in a commercial park? I looked carefully at the large building to the right which appeared to be a large office building – but surprise! it was a large mega-church with a sign "Fellowship Church."

I looked back at the baptismal pool and remembered my upbringing in modest Baptist churches. They didn't have lakes with elaborate ramps down to the ducks and white egrets sharing the water. We had huge bathtubs behind the pulpit where people were immersed after church services – all wearing white robes and holding their noses.

But what does baptism do for these good meaning folks? According to their theology baptism does nothing – it's not even necessary. Jesus commanded it so they do it but nothing happens. It was just an external act we did to show the world (even if it was in the privacy of our little church) that we had believed on Jesus. I know because I was raised this way and later passed on the Baptist tradition myself.

Of course evangelicals condemn Catholics as unbiblical for teaching that obeying Christ in baptism actually does something – bringing about new birth (John 3:5), washing away sins (first words Paul heard from Ananias when he hit the dust, Acts 22:16), and incorporating us into the death and resurrection of Jesus (Romans 6:1-5).

Funny that they make such a costly structure to do something that doesn't do anything. According to most of them – baptism is unnecessary for salvation and is merely optional since we are "saved by faith alone and not by sacraments."

Funny that Baptists are called Baptists even though they consider baptism as unnecessary! Originally, after splitting from Martin Luther who believed baptism did something, even with infants, Baptists were originally called "Anabaptists". "Ana" means again. Since they rejected their infant baptism as Catholics they decided they all had to be baptized again – thus "Anabaptists." it was actually a way of demonstrating their protest against the Catholic Church (thus the title Protestant). Later they dropped the prefix "ana."

I continued running around the next curve and stopped again. There in front of my eyes was was a big outdoor statue. I took a double-take, blinked and looked again. Yup, it was a statue! A statue of Jesus ascending to heaven!

Wait a minute? Aren't Catholics accused of being idolaters because of statues? What is a statue doing in the garden of an

Evangelical mega-church? It brought to mind the inconsistency of Protestants, remembering my Baptist mom's little statue of Mary and Jesus on our table at Christmas, part of the nativity scene.

If I was staying over the weekend I'd have visited this "church" just as an observer out of curiosity. I'd follow the arrow to "worship space." I'm not sure whether I'd buy a cappuccino or an espresso to enjoy while watching the worship show entertainment. I would not want to be the only one with an empty cup holder in my theatre-style seat.

After shaking my head and wiping the sweat from my brow I ran back to the hotel to pack and fly back home after giving a Catholic Parish Mission. I prayed a quick prayer along the way – while huffing and puffing – and thanked Our Lord for His Catholic Church and for opening the eyes of one more unworthy servant.