Stephen K. Ray's Blog, page 499
January 13, 2011
Faith Database Now Available
Faith Database is an incredible resource for Catholics who want to have Bible Study and Catholic Research at their fingertips. What would St. Paul, St. Augustine, or St. Thomas Aquinas say with all this at their fingertips!
Faith Database is truly incredible and I use it every day. It gives me almost 2,000 Bibles, books, references, maps and more within a few clicks away on my laptop.
AND, it is extremely reasonably priced, especially with our introductory offer. Visit my Software site here to see Faith Database!
January 12, 2011
Individually Sealed Communion Kit
Isn't it great to be Protestant? (chuckle) You can now take Communion safely with these nice prepackaged crackers and grapejuice. Just pull off the hermetically sealed top and "commune." Yum!
I am so glad to be a Catholic!! (click in image for larger image)
Boycotting Planned Parenthood Sponsors WORKS!
Victory: Companies cease support of Planned Parenthood, dropped from boycott list
Doug Scott, president of Life Decisions International (LDI), said in an email recently that he generally expects two or three corporations will stop funding Planned Parenthood and will be dropped from his Planned Parenthood boycott list between each updating.
But the past few months have brought an unusually high number of corporations that have withdrawn their support for the abortion behemoth.
In fact, eleven companies were on the July 2010 list that have now ceased supporting Planned Parenthood.
Those corporations that have withdrawn support for Planned Parenthood include:
Cisco Systems, Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare, Enterprise, Forbes, Franchise Services, ING, Red Lion Hotels, Rolex, Toys 'R' Us, Kenneth Cole, and Trader Joe's.
This is the highest number of companies ever withdrawing support of Planned Parenthood between updates of the Boycott List.
You should write to thank and support them!
And remember, each time you raise your voice against the abortion giant, you may be influencing a corporation or a local community organization to stop funding this controversial, death-dealing organization.
The latest edition of the Boycott List can be ordered online from Life Decisions International.
Naming a Child
By Ed Peters:
The pope on children's names
No, the pope didn't "rail" against giving un-Christian names to babies, but he did point out, calmly and correctly, that names are important, and that the choice of a child's name should not be left to whim or fancy. There is, though—as is so often the case with news stories about the Church—a canonical aspect to this issue.
Read the about it here:
January 11, 2011
Exciting, Spiritual Pilgrimages in 2011 & beyond – Join us!!
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!
New Revision to Catholic Bible
All Bibles are revised and updated. That's why there is the King James and the NEW King James, the New American Standard and the New American Standard 1995 revision.
The Bishops are now releasing a revised New American Bible based on new studies, new development in the English language and more. I for one am happy about this. Here is the Zenit review:
Revised Bible Translation Coming Soon: Reflects Advances in Biblical Languages
WASHINGTON, D.C., JAN. 10, 2011 (Zenit.org).- A revised translation of the New American Bible, which aims to be more accurate, will be released March 9.
The U.S. Catholic Bishops' Conference announced the forthcoming publication of the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), which was approved last Sept. 30.
This revision, the most extensive in the past 20 years, reflects advances in linguistics of the biblical languages, new discoveries of ancient manuscripts, and changes in the English language.
The conference referenced Benedict XVI, who affirmed in "Verbum Domini" that "the inculturation of God's word is an integral part of the Church's mission in the world, and a decisive moment in this process is the diffusion of the Bible through the precious work of translation into different languages."
The press release noted that this new edition "has attempted to be more consistent in rendering Hebrew (or Greek) words and idioms, especially in technical contexts, such as regulations for sacrifices."
The Psalms were completely revised, and an effort was made to "provide a smooth, rhythmic translation for easy singing or recitation and to retain the concrete imagery of the Hebrew."
The bishops approved the NABRE for private use and study, though they noted that it was not be used for the Mass, which uses an earlier version of the New American Bible translation.
January 10, 2011
Catholic Answers Live – Questions I Answered
Today I was on Catholic Answers Live. The topic was "ARE YOU STILL SAVED?"
It was a rousing show with a lot of calls and heated (well, calmly heated) discussion. This topic is always bound to bring out the passion in people because it is such an important question and there are such divergent opinions on it.
The questions I answered are below. Here is the audio link. For other listening options, click here.
1 – When Protestants claim "once saved, always saved" are they confusing salvation and redemption?
2 – My Protestant family member says that the Catholic Church does not recognize her salvation because it forbids her to partake in communion.
3 – Many Protestants also believe you can lose your salvation. Can you explain the difference? How do Catholics maintain their salvation?
4 – What do you make of the Bible verses in Romans that says "Nothing can separate you from the love of God"?
5 – How does a Catholic believe they get to heaven?
6 – How can you say you are saved by your works when the Bible says we are saved by grace?
Our Mumbai India Schedule in January
Janet and I leave Tuesday for three weeks in India, two weeks leading a pilgrimage group through Egypt-Jordan, and then leading another group through Israel. We will be gone a total of seven weeks. Pray for us!
In India I will be speaking in Pune, Goa and Mumbai (also called Bombay). Below is our schedule for Mumbai.
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