Stephen K. Ray's Blog, page 60

Me Getting into Line! Funny!

You may have seen this already but it’s funny every time I watch it.

My wife said this is definitely ME! I have to agree, but a bit of jocularity is a good thing, as it laughing at myself.

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Day 5, Part 1: Day Full of Fun and Biblical Adventures for the Young Folks

This journal and video are just the adventures we had during the day. It does not include the dinner and dancing in Bethlehem at night. That video will be uploaded soon.

The young folks loved the Tabash Olivewood shop and bought a lot of olive wood products and other Christian-made items for themselves and their friends back home. Our next stop, was the Church of Nativity where our Lord was born. We did not go down to the Grotto below because the line was over three hours long, but we learned about the church and its history and prayed the Mystery of the Nativity.

Then we went to Shepherds Field for Mass in the cave where the angels announced the good news of Christ’s birth 2000 years ago. Some of the young men have taken it up to be our choir. Of the many trips we’ve been to this cave we have never had a finer choir and singing. It was the first time for all of them to have Mass in a big underground cave.

We had lunch, a picnic lunch of Shawarma, sandwiches on the promenade, with the most spectacular panoramic view of Jerusalem. I gave a short history of salvation and pointed out all the key places in Christ life right before the rise. Then we all went to the City of David and stepped back 3000 years in history. Guides took us down under the Old City of David through Hezekiah’s Tunnel in the pitch dark for 1/2 a mile in places with water past their knees. I am sure this will be one of their favorite adventures along the whole trip.

Then to our favorite Grotto Restaurant for a whole lamb, like the Passover Meal and a mountain of Palestinian rice. The young Christian Dabka dancers came in and put on a performance for us in traditional garb before inviting all the students to come up and dance with them. It was a blast! Lots of dancing. But you’ll have to watch video number two to see that.

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Day 4 Nazareth to Haifa (Mount Carmel) to Bethlehem

Our hotel is so close to the Annunciation Church, where the angel Gabriel gave the announcement to Mary, that we walked to Mass this morning to celebrated the liturgy. A group of the young created an impromptu choir ad sang beautifully at Mass.

We boarded the bus and headed to Haifa where we visited Elijah‘s Cave on the top of Mount Carmel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

A set of cable cars took us down the mountain and provided an incredible view of the Mediterranean Sea. After splashing in the water for a bit we put our shoes back on an went to lunch.  From there, we headed towards our Bethlemen hotel, stopping at the Elah Valley, where David found the smooth stones and killed Goliath. The students and some of the faculty ran up the side of hill where the Israelites encamped during battle with the philistines.

A fun day was had by all! We arrived at our St. Joseph Hotel in Bethlehem, had dinner and settled in for the coming days of adventure in Jerusalem.

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St. Ignatius Steps on Luther; Mary Throws Luther out of Heaven

Two great Jesuit churches stand near each other in Rome. One is the Church of St. Ignatius and the other the Church of Gesu (Jesus). Both are imposing and majestic and reflect the glory of the Jesuits in their heyday.
The one to the left is called the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola. In Italian it is Chiesa di Sant’Ignazio di Loyola a Campo Marzio. It was built in the 17th century, back when the Jesuits knew who they were and what their commission and charism was (though there are still a few like that today, e.g., Fr. Joseph Fessio and Fr. Mitch Pacwa and the deceased Fr. John Hardon).

In the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola there is a huge statue of St. Ignatius standing tall looking up to heaven. In his hand is a book with the words “To the greater glory of God.  Constitution of the Society of Jesus” *
Beneath him is Martin Luther with a closed Bible. St. Ignatius has his foot on Luther’s neck and Luther is biting the back of his own hand.
Click IMG_3603 for a short video clip.

This would probably not go over very well today. In fact the sign under the statue only says “A Statue of St. Ignatius of Loyola” but fails to explain the original purpose and meaning of the statue and who is under St. Ignatius’ foot.
I bought their booklet explaining all the statues and art in the church and it fails to show this statue or to explain it.

It is fully recognized that we are in a new era today, and do not attack today’s Protestants for the schism caused by Luther and we refer to them as our “separated brethren.” However, the things taught by Protestants that are contrary to the teaching of the Church are still heresies and their separation from the Catholic Church and the Roman Pontiff is still an unfortunate schism.

But we still need to realize that when the “Reformation” took place the rebels were heretics and caused a schism in the Church and the saints and theologians did not hesitate to say so. We need to quit being politically correct and overly ecumenically sensitive and start calling heresy heresy and schism schism when they raise their ugly heads up in our current time.

Mary casting Luther and Huss from heaven

In the Church of Gesus is another of my favorite statues. It is called The Triumph of Faith over Heresy and was designed during the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation. Heresy was not considered a naughty word back in the day when battles were fought for the truth of the Catholic faith. It is a word that should maybe be resurrected in our time.

When you see the sculpture today no one comments on what it means, nor will you find a placard explaining its meaning. Here is a paragraph from the former Sacred-Destinations website:

To the right of the altar sits Pietro Le Gros’ sculpture entitled The Triumph of Faith over Heresy.  This sculpture depicts Mary casting Martin Luther and his precursor, Jan Huss, out of heaven.  An attendant angel (lower left) rips their translations of the Bible and their writings to shreds.  The militant nature of the Jesuits and their mission to spread the faith and reassert the power of the church is clear in this dramatic work.  A companion sculpture entitled The Triumph of Faith over Idolatry” by Jean-Baptiste Theodon further cements the message of the Jesuits.

* http://www.stpetersbasilica.info/Stat...

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Inheritance Day 3: Another Great Day with the AMU College Students in Galilee – They’re Thriving Here!

One thing is for sure, give young people a chance to understand the beauty of the gospel and to see the land where it took place, and they will thrive! We love watching these young people interacting with these sites, the accounts in the Bible and the time of fellowship and prayer and Mass together.

Today we started at Tabgha which is where Jesus multiplied the loaves and fish to feed almost 20,000 people. We emphasized the fact that this was a real miracle and not just a bunch of selfish people who learned how to share.

I then gave my talk at the next site called the Primacy of Peter, which is also on the shores of Galilee and the place where Jesus cooked breakfast for his disciples — loaves and fish in the morning. He was always feeding people over here. He was a great provider, healer and teacher, which is why crowds always followed him around.

We then saw the 2000 year old ancient “Jesus Boat” before going out on the sea on a real boat. The kids loved it that I had to constrain them from jumping in to swim.

We then ate St. Peters Fish at Pilgerhaus. A new experience for some of them with a big fish dropped on their plate, head and all. Just like the disciples and Jesus ate!

Then we had Mass of Capernaum, where Jesus spoke the words “Eat My Flesh and drink My Blood.“ I gave my popular talk there entitled “Defending the Eucharist.“

Back to Nazareth for a bit of free time again and another delicious meal.

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Day 2: Students Up Mount of Transfiguration, Mass at Beatitudes, Syrian Boder, Caesarea Philippi and more

What a wonderful thing to wake up and look out the window and see the Basilica of the Annunciation, and then to go down and see all of the smiling, excited and enthusiastic students ready to go! This is gonna be fun!

After a great breakfast we headed to the Mount of Transfiguration where I gave my talks on the biblical and Catholic importance of the site. We prayed the mystery of the Transfiguration there as well.

Then to Beatitudes for Mass looking out over the sea of Galilee. From there to the Syrian border, where we stopped and looked into Syria and talked about the situation here in the Middle East from a Catholic perspective.

Then on to the Golan Heights, where we had a simple lunch with the Drew‘s  before going to Caesarea Philippi.

At Caesarea Philippi, I gave my talk “Peter, the rock, the keys and the chair.” We see the backdrop to Jesus’ announcement to Peter, and why he came up here to make that announcement. Then back to the hotel for some free time in Nazareth for the kids to wander around. Excellent dinner and to bed early.

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A bus full of young people arrive in Israel, very excited!

Video of Day 1 Arrival  — below…

Building off what Janet and I have been doing for 20 years with our Footprints of God movies and pilgrimages, our son Jesse Ray has now begun a new endeavor to reach college-aged students for Jesus and his Church.

This new endeavor is Inheritance Pilgrimages which will be bringing busloads of young Catholic college students to the Holy Land to immerse them in the Bible and and their inheritance as Catholics.

My son Jesse Ray and grandson Josh

Since we’re losing about 9 out of 10 students as they go through college, it’s time we do something to plug the dike and help our kids stay Catholic.

We want to profoundly thank Ave Maria University in Florida for partnering with my son Jesse on this first pilot program pilgrimage. They have been remarkable with their assistance and are implementing this as part of their ministry to reach these young people for Jesus Christ. We are proud to begin doing yearly pilgrimages with them for their students at Ave Maria university.

Stay tuned for our July and December pilgrimages with Christ the King parish in Ann Arbor and many other students. We are planning one or two a year with Ave Maria U.

Students with Fr. James ready to fly!

Today was arrival day! The students and chaperones came in with my son Jesse, three of my grand children, Fr. James Conlon — one of our favorite pilgrimage chaplains AND a bunch of enthusiasm.

The 45 students came in from Miami through Istanbul on Turkish Air and we picked them up at the Tel Aviv Airport.

We drove up to our hotel in Nazareth so they could get dinner and a good night’s sleep — ready to start this fast-paced and fun pilgrimage adventure tomorrow.

To learn more about this new program, visit www.inheritancepilgrimage.com.

Each day I will be posting YouTube videos of the day. Hope you can join us virtually each day. The day of arrival is already below. Enjoy!!

 

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Jews & the Existence of God: From Jerusalem

As I sit looking out over the Old City of Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock where Abraham offered up Isaac, I have a few thoughts I would like to share about the people here and the existence of God.

Though a small fraction of the world’s population, and though they’ve had no land of their own for 2,000 years, the Jews continue to exert a vastly disproportionate influence on the world. Abraham believed and obeyed God so God blessed him. Isaac was the son of that blessing. God said to Abraham, “Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him” (Gen 17:19).

God made promises to Abraham, to Isaac and to Isaac’s son Jacob, and to their ancestors after them, and it seems the blessings are still in effect. I don’t know that I could possibly articulate the details, but it certainly seems so to the observant eye. And in my mind, having spent so much time in this land, the Jews’ continued existence and blessing here and around the world, is a huge argument for the existence of God. What an amazing thing that a people persecuted and scattered around the world would still exist and have such influence today even without the benefits of their own land for 2,000 years. God existence can certainly be seen in their existence.

The other son of Abraham, Ishmael by the servant Hagar, has also flourished. God also blessed Ishmael: “As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will establish with Isaac” (Gen 17:20-21). The sons of Sarah and the sons of Hagar, both from the loins of Abraham, were both blessed and became great peoples — the Jews and the Arabs. And these brothers still struggle on the same land 3,800 years later.

But you will search in vain for Ammorites, Jebusites or Hittites. The blessing of YHWH never resided with them.

We have just arrived again on the holy ground of our fathers in the faith — the land where God Himself walked in sandaled feet. God walking in sandaled feet, how can that be?

Ah yes, here in Jerusalem where the Great Scandal took place, the ultimate fulfilment of the promises to Abraham: God became man through the line of Abraham. But how can the invisible, omnipotent, infinite God become man? And worse yet, how can God who took on flesh be executed like a common criminal? How could such a thing be?

This is great foolishness to most people, especially the Jews and the Muslims. But I relate profoundly with the remaining .08% of the people in Israel (or as they call it “Palestine”) who still embrace the Great Scandal of the Incarnation and the Cross. I come to encourage and support them as my brothers and sisters in Christ. The Christians in the Holy Land — once many, now few — are mostly Palestinians. They are doubly blessed: by the blessing of God through the promise to Abraham regarding Ishmael, and by the blessing of God through the ultimate Son of Promise, Jesus Christ.

But I also can’t help but see the special blessing that resides upon the children of Israel through the first son of promise — Isaac. This land is fraught with tension and competing religions and cultures yet both of God’s blessings remain.

I will join the Jews in the celebration of JHWH, but I will also rejoice with the Christians in His Son Jesus Christ, God Incarnation. And I will pray for Jew and Arab alike that as children of Abraham they will all come to believe in the One promised to Abraham — his seed — Jesus Christ (Gal 3:16).

I will also wonder at the marvel of God’s promises that are irrevocable. God exists and you can see it here in the streets of the Holy City of Jerusalem.

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Pilgrimage Ends with Fun and Heartfelt Comments, Laughs & Farewells!

At the end of a pilgrimage people love to share what they thought of the trip. It’s always fun with some humorous comments and heartfelt thanks.

Janet gives her extended final exhortation, which resulted in an eruption of applause!

You’ll also see Fr. Alfonso enjoying his new toy, the espergilium, way too much It has been a humorous thing throughout the trip.

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Steve’s Short Story “The Last Nightmare” Might Scare the Hell Out of You!

The Last Nightmare
A Short and Terrifying Story by Steve Ray

Everything went blank for a moment, but that moment seemed like eternity. He felt a motion, not with wind and breeze, but a motion none the less. He was traveling, moving, floating, transcending-he wasn’t really sure. The sudden blackness gave him time to regain his thoughts, just enough time to recapture the last moments.

Though his first thoughts were garbled and dreamlike, they slowly began taking shape, like a tree seen through a thick fog, slowly it all came back to him out of the swirling, traveling, blank void. Utter confusion was giving way to bits of clarity.

They had rushed him to the hospital. He remembered the sirens and the cold hands of the paramedics. Cold hands all over his body, probing and poking. Yes, there had been screams, he remembered now—and the sound of sobbing.

Then the horrendous sound resurfaced, a sound that could be felt. It was a sound that had subsumed his whole being, wrapping itself around him, ripping through him. Then the sound of crunching metal, broken glass, and twisted carnage. What must have lasted only seconds seemed to him a long and troubling nightmare—then the dark, foggy void.

For the rest of the 12-page terrifying story, click here .

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