Stephen K. Ray's Blog, page 491

Two New Adventures: Jericho & Hebron

I am soon posting two new videos sharing our adventures in the Holy Land. I don't do this for the fun of it but to help others understand, love and enjoy the land of God through video.

WHY DO I POST THESE VIDEO ADVENTURES?

There is a need for people to know the the Bible and the Catholic faith are not a myth — like saying, "Once upon a time in a land far away in the land of fairies and elves…" NO, the Bible and the Catholic Church are ROOTED IN HISTORY. I can take you to the places where it all happened. We can walk in the footprints of God.

We can smell what Jesus smelled, see what he saw. We can see the tombs of the patriarchs, apostles and saints. What we believe is verifiable in space and time, in history and science.

So, below I have added two more adventures.

First, my hike through the Wadi Qelt from Jericho toward Jerusalem. It is the wilderness where Jesus was tempted by the Devil, the paths he walked between Jerusalem and Jericho, and the wilderness where early hermits lived in caves AND still do! You can imagine walking with Jesus through the wilderness.

Second, Janet and I went to Hebron to see the hometown of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It is also the place where Jesus was first made the king. We also  visited the Jewish settlement and prayed at the tombs of Jesse and Ruth. We then went into the Machpelah which is the tomb of the patriarchs  (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) and the matriarchs (Sarah, Rebecca and Leah).

This tomb is divided into two ends: one a Muslim mosque and the other a Jewish synagogue. Talk about tense! Today was celebrated as the birthday of Mohammed and we went into the mosque first (you'll find the video very interesting) and then into the synagogue.

Finally we went to the Oaks of Mamre where Abraham lived. Here he was visited by the Trinity (Genesis 18) before they sent down fire on Sodom. Here is an ancient oak tree claimed to be the oak that Abraham sat under. We got acorns from the great-great grandchildren oaks which are growing nearby today.

Jericho video below; Hebron video will be added below soon.

Join us for Exciting and thoroughly Catholic Pilgrimages in 2011 and beyond

We have a number of pilgrimages to the Holy Land BUT LOOK — we have others too!

Poland

In September we are going to Poland to follow the footprints of Pope John Paul II, Saint Faustina and St. Maximilian Kolbe among others. We will see this beautiful country, celebrate Mass in breathtaking churches, eat their delicious food, meet local Catholics and even visit Auschwitz.

Italy

In November join us in Italy to follow the footprints of the Fathers of the Church from MIlan, to Pavia (St. Augustine), to Ravenna, then to Assisi and finally Rome. This trip is sponsored by Dr. Scott Hahn's St. Paul Center and I will be joined by Dr. Matthew Bunson and Mike Aquilina. This will be an exciting trip through gorgeous Italy with its thousands of years of history, delicious food and wine.

Holy Land

We have a very small and intimate group going to the Holy Land in April during Lent to prepare for Easter. We have reduced pricing for this trip. Join this group with excellent weather, Fr. Rob Clemens from Phoenix and me as your guide.

Dr. Scott Hahn asked me to lead his group in May-June! This will be a remarkable trip with both of us teaching along the way and seminars in the evenings with Mike Aquilina teaching as well.

Ireland, Lourdes & Fatima, Catholic England, "Reformation" Germany and more

We have no shortage of pilgrimages. See them all at www.FootprintsOfGod.com. We are planning many more for 2012 and 2013 including trips to Ireland, a Marian trip to Lourdes and Fatima (and more), to Catholic England and even a trip to Germany and Rome to study Martin Luther, John Calvin and "Reformation" history — and the truth of the Catholic Faith.

Why travel to the Holy Land with us instead of the many other groups that are going? All pilgrimages are NOT created equal. View the video below to see why!

How Manly was Jesus? Climbing UP Mount Tabor (Transfiguration)

Just returned to Jerusalem after climbing straight up and back down Mount Tabor (Mountain of the Transfiguration). It took 1 1/4 hour up the torturous path on the SE and a bit less to scramble down the north side.

Read Luke 9:28-36 (hover your cursor over the reference) about Jesus climbing up with Peter, James and John for the Transfiguration. It is also where Deborah and Barak defeated the army of Hazor (Judges 4:1-24) and where Jesus commissioned his Apostles to take the Gospel to the world and to baptize (Matthew 28-16-20). Enjoy the video below. I will soon post my walk through Wadi Qelt from Jericho toward Jerusalem.

Tomorrow we visit Hebron and I run between the tomb of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) to the Oaks of Mamre where the Lord met Abraham at his tent in Genesis 18 before the destruction of Sodom.

Wednesday I plan to run the snake path to the top of Masada. Still deciding what to do Thursday before our group arrives on Friday.

More soon.

To see all the pictures, videos and map on EveryTrail click here here

Climbing Mount Tabor

Just returned to Jerusalem after climbing straight up Mount Tabor (Mountain of the Transfiguration). It took 1 1/4 hour up the torturous path on the SE and a bit less to scramble down the north side.

Read Luke 9 about Jesus climbing up with Peter, James and John for the Transfiguration.

I will be posting a video and link soon

Tomorrow we visit Hebron and I run between the tomb of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) to the Oaks of Mamre where the Lord met Abraham at his tent in Genesis 18 before the destruction of Sodom.

Wednesday I plan to run the snake path to the top of Masada. Still deciding what to do Thursday before our group arrives on Friday.

More soon.

Hiking thru the Holy Land

Hiked thru the mini-Grand Canyon of Wadi Qelt from Jericho toward Jerusalem visiting St. George's Monastery built it the cliff. Video soon.

Tomorrow I hike up Mount Tabor (Mount of the Transfiguration). More soon.

Evangelicals Dropping Out

A friend named Lenny wrote:

I find this article interesting because what has filled many Evangelical Churches are people  who were previously Catholic.   And when I have run into these people they would tell me  they "used to be Catholic" and would want to tell me their story.

The number of people attending church services have been down in the Catholic Church and especially in the main line denominational Protestant Churches.   And this took place at a time when Evangelical Churches were growing.

Now it appears that numbers of people attending Evangelical Churches are going down at the rate of one  million a year.  I have also talked to people who said they "used to be Evangelicals" and now it appears there will be more ex-Evangelicals in the world.

http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/sep/21/americans-leaving-churches-in-droves/

Many of these Evangelical drop outs are coming back to the Catholic Church! I spoke with many of them last weekend at my conference!

Who is that Fat Man?

I saw this picture of me a few years ago and was shocked. I almost didn't recognize myself.

I know that people who see our Footprints of God video series ans surprised when they see me in person. They say something like, "You are thinner in real life. The video makes you look heavier."

Surprise, it is not the video. I lost 30 pounds! I love the motto, "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels."

I am determined to stay with it. It has been over two years so I hope I'm over the hump. So much more energy, stamina. Lots of other positive things as well like normal blood pressure, low cholesterol and no longer borderline diabetic.

For more of our lifestyle change, visit here.

Aramaic, the Language of Jesus & Mary

The language of Jesus is still spoken in Maloula Syria. Below is an interesting video if you are interested in the language spoken in Nazareth every day in the cave where the Holy Family lived. It is the language of Jesus.

You can also hear it spoken by my friend Efrem Nissan from Bethlehem here.

For Matthew 16 "You are Peter and on this rock I will build My Church" spoken and written in Aramaic, click here — listen for the two uses of the word rock "Kepha".

Going with Mary to Visit Elizabeth

Today I ran from Jerusalem to Ein Kerem where Mary visited Elizabeth 2,000 years ago. It was cold, foggy and rainy and I imagined it might have been so for Mary as well.

I visited and documented the birthplace of John the Baptist and the Church of the Visitation as well as fun things along the way.

I suspect I went very close to the same route she took. She certainly went through Jerusalem to worship at the Temple on the way. Enjoy.

Holy Father – is he Holy?

Since we were supposed to be at Mount Sinai today (until the unrest caused our trip to Egypt to be postponed until Feb 7, 2012), I thought this was significant.

A young man stood up at my conference in the Philippines a while ago and parroted (yelled out) the Fundamentalist mantra: "The Pope is a sinner like everyone else; why do you call him 'HOLY Father'?"

I leaned into the microphone and said to the young man in front of 2,000 people, "You should really read your Bible more carefully and do your homework before you stand up and embarrass yourself in front of 2,000 people." I then explained why we call the Pope our Holy Father.

There are several meanings for the word "holy" and that is what the young man did not understand. If holy simply means without sin, it is hard to see why "things" are called holy. For example, the HOLY OF HOLIES is a place. Is it called holy because it has not sinned?

And what about HOLY GROUND? God told Moses to remove his sandals — he was standing on HOLY GROUND. I guess that means that this dirt had not sinned but the dirt in the next gully had sinnned. HUH?

The word HOLY in Hebrew is kodesh and means apartness, holiness, sacredness, consecration, separateness. Holiness can mean without sin. It can also means dedicated or set apart for God.

So, is the Pope holy in the sense of being completely sinless? Of course not. But the Pope is set apart for God in a special way as the HOLY Father, the Vicar of Christ, the Bishop of Rome and the Successor of Peter.

Bottom line, he is the HOLY FATHER and this fits perfectly with the Bible.

So much for a dumb challenge at a conference.

PS Remember that even WE who are called holy. Paul considered all of us saints (literally "holy ones" with a small "s").  He writes,

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother. To the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints (literally: "holy ones") who are in the whole of Achaia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 1:1-2).