Stephen K. Ray's Blog, page 497

"Call No Man Your Father" – (link fixed)

Why do Catholics call their priest "Father" when Jesus said, "Call no man your father." If you haven't heard this question yet, some day you certainly will.

We must understand what Jesus was saying and why he was saying it in order to understand his words.

I was asked this question again and here is my reply.

Talks in Vasai India

Today is Republic Day for India when they celebrate the day they got their constitution and became an independent republic. They should be very proud of what they've achieved.

Speaking at the Varia diocese north of Bombay and took a quick run before my talk this evening. Great time friendly people. Some are concerned that I'm running. They think something is wrong and say, "Mr. Why are you running. Do you need help?" others invited me to stop for "Chai" – which is Indian tea.

The talk was to 500 of the leaders of the churches in Vasai, many of them charismatic Catholics. What a great. See a picture below of the group.

Run thru Vasai India

Today is Republic Day for India when they celebrate the day they got their constitution and became an independent republic. They should be very proud of what they've achieved.

Speaking at the Varia diocese north of Bombay and took a quick run before my talk this evening. Great time friendly people. Some are concerned that I'm running. They think something is wrong and say, "Mr. Why are you running. Do you need help?" others invited me to stop for "Chai" – which is Indian tea.

The talk was to 500 of the leaders of the churches in Vasai, many of them charismatic Catholics. What a great. See a picture below of the group.

Click here for map, pictures and videos of Vasai India Run

River of Whiskey

A Baptist minister was completing a passionate sermon on temperance. With great emphasis he said, "If I had all the beer in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river."

With even greater emphasis he said, "And if I had all the wine in the world, I'd dump it into the river."

He concluded, shaking his fist in the air, "And if I had all the whiskey in the world, I'd take it down right now and pour it into the river."

Sermon complete, he sat down.

The song leader stood cautiously and announced with a smile, "For our closing song, turn to Hymn #365, "Shall We Gather at the River."

The Two Groups Today

Today's First Group. Picture taken with my iPhone 360 panoramic application. One and a half hours sharing the Catholic faith to an enthusiastic group in north Bombay.

The Second group was on Vasia India, north of Bombay. Here we had the leaders of the various Catholic groups. Over 1000 people filled the room. I hope to go back here some day. There were many charismatics and the spirit and enthusiasm and joy of the Faith was palpable.

I hope to have another video soon, but I am going 14 hours a day and making a video is hard to do when sleep is the priority :-)

Below: Me with Archbishop of Vasai India – Felis Anthony Machado and Bishop Agnelo of Bombay. The second picture is of me with all the young people "manning" the book table.

The First Group Today

today's First Group

Our Days and Ministry in Goa India

To see my last run through Goa India, click here http://bit.ly/dZ5H5e.

To see a short video summary of our days and ministry in Goa, here is a YouTube Video. I will add more info here, more pictures and thanks to specific people soon — after I get some sleep!

Fifteen Talks in Three Days – in 90+ degrees

Today I completed my talks in Goa India. Archbishop Philip Neri was there for all three days. I was speaking for five times a day for three days. They were 14 hour days. I love serving Jesus and his Church.

For the first two days I spoke to lay people and the group was way over 2,000 sitting in heat for the whole day!

Today (Monday) I spoke only to religious: priests, sisters and seminarians. There were over 500 in attendance. I spoke to them from 10 AM -5 PM. They were beautiful, devote, spiritual and enthusiastic bunch of Catholics – the spiritual leaders of the whole Archdiocese of Goa!

What a day! Tomorrow we head back to Bombay for 6 more days of talks, then on to Egypt and Jordan and Israel. Please pray for us!

(Picture below: the priests and religious and seminarians of Goa!)

Mark Connell's Story

Born Catholic, turned Catholic-basher, then back to Catholic. Enjoy!

Floating high above the Church of the Immaculate Conception, the symphony of bells calls the Catholics of Morris, Illinois, to worship on this February morning. Far below the bell tower, the nave slowly fills with people as I let my prayers ride upon the sound.

It is a miracle that my wife and I are here today. A short year ago, I had told my Protestant pastor that I was going to pray for the Catholic people during Lent, that they would come to know the Lord. Now, here I am in this church, eyes clouding with tears, heart filled with peace and wonder—a Catholic once again.

To read the rest of this story, published in THIS ROCK Magazine, click here.

If You Know a Filipino . . .

. . . please send them a copy of my Open Letter to Filipinos. You can send them the text or simply the link.

I wrote this letter while in Manila for a local parish bulletin but it has circled the globe many times and has appeared repeatedly in all the Philippine newspapers.

It was one of those blessed moments. If you are Filipino or know a Filipino, please make sure they read this letter.