Stephen K. Ray's Blog, page 78

A Cruise that Will Change Your Marriage Forever

Get away with your spouse on a fun, relaxing, and rejuvenating cruise with inspiring speakers, daily Mass and endless memorable experiences! I’ll be speaking, along with several other renowned Catholic presenters, such as Chris Stefanick and Teresa Tomeo. Sign up today with my discount code “FOG” or “CRUISE8” for $100 off. I hope to see you there! Sign up here

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The Stones Cry Out: What Does Archaeology Say about the Reliability of the Bible and the Catholic Faith?

How do we know the sites related to Jesus are authentic? Didn’t the truth of these places get lost in the mist of history? Is the Bible really historically reliable?

Recently I did an interview with Tim Staples of Catholic Answers about the reliability of the Bible, the proof of archaeology and the authenticity of the sites.

The article is entitled The Stones Cry Out: How Archaeology Proves the Truth of the Bible.

Join us in the Holy Land!!

To see our upcoming pilgrimages to the Holy Land, visit www.FootprintsOfGod.com.

We have trips going to the Holy Land, Poland and a Cruise following St. Paul through the Mediterranean and more.

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Israel 9: Janet Ray’s Impassioned Challenge; Comments & Farewells

It’s always fun and encouraging to listen to the Pilgrim’s comments and thoughts on their recent days of walking in the footprints of our Lord and our Lady.

Towards the end of this video, my wife Janet gives an impassioned challenge to the pilgrims as they return home. It’s certainly worth listening to for everyone.

It was a great blessing to lead these folks through the land and great to be encouraged by their response.

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Baptist in a Protestant Bookstore – Interesting Conversation I once had

Dear Jerry:

I am writing a short letter to thank you for approaching me in the bookstore yesterday to talk, and to make a few comments on our earlier discussion.

As always it was fun talking with you Jerry. I always look forward to such times; they are a high point in my week. I am always intrigued that you claim not to be a “Protestant”, though within one minute of our greetings you were in the thralls of protesting.

Your method of protesting also reminds me awfully much of my many encounters with Jehovah’s Witnesses in which they can’t stick to one topic for more than a minute or two, but bounce all over the place as soon as they fail to make any inroads or their “questions” are adequately answered.

Talking with you for an hour makes me feel like a tired cottontail rabbit— darting through a maze of rabbit trails and never quite getting anywhere. You, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, have your pet verses and arguments and you bounce from one to the other in no apparent order.

It would be nice sometime just to sit down and exhaust one issue. But, that probably won’t happen until we meet in Glory someday. One thing though Jerry, talking with you sure makes me glad I found the Catholic Church. When I spend an hour with you I remember how sad the Fundamentalist tradition really is.

I used to say that Catholics followed tradition, but I believed the Bible. This was self-deception since no one comes to anything objectively without a background of experiences, preconceived ideas, filters, language barriers, biases, theological conceptions, and a proclivity to be influenced by others in various sociological situations.

People, including myself, would regard you as much more genuine Jerry— much more responsible—if you were willing to admit that you too are a product of religious tradition, and not pure, unadulterated, objective, Spirit-led truth.

In other words, why not just admit that you were influenced by Campus Crusade and their “tradition” before you came to a new “understanding” of John 3:16? Yet you try to imply that you, apart from any bias, tradition, influence, or help from others, read John 3:16 completely on your own and came up with the Fundamentalist doctrines. Come on; let’s be honest….

For the rest of my letter to the Baptist in the Bookstore, click here.

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Israel 8: Museum, Jordan River, Jericho, Camels and more

The last and the fun Day. We visited the Israel Museum to see the 2nd Temple Model of the city as it was in Jesus’s time. Then we go to the lowest place on the face of the earth, arriving at the Jordan River to renew our baptismal vows, and pray the 1st Luminous Mystery.

Jericho for lunch and shopping for Hebron glass before going to Qumran, floating in the Dead Sea and riding camels.

We keep the rooms for everyone so they can come back, have dinner, take a shower, pack and rest before leaving for the airport tonight.

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Power of the Rosaries from the Holy Land!! A Letter from a Mother Superior

A Mother Superior wrote to me about her experience in Sydney Australia with the Olive Wood Rosary I sent her which had touched all the holy sites.

Greetings in the Lord Jesus Steve and Janet!!! and welcome home from what looked like a thoroughly blessed pilgrimage to the Holy Land!! 

 I saw your wonderful videos of the entire pilgrimage and it truly felt like we were there! Thank you for sharing this experience – I felt like one of the pilgrims almost!!

I am writing to let you know about something I experienced a few months ago when I was still in Sydney. Let me tell you……

When I was in Sydney I had been working closely-spiritually speaking- alongside the exorcist of the Diocese, praying for him whenever he had an exorcism to perform, etc. There was one particular lady who was possessed by a few demons and she came to our Monastery for an exorcism. ( This poor lady suffered unspeakable horrors at the hands of her father and mother).

To cut a long story short, when I was talking with her in our Guest House I wondered if the demons were still within, and so I took out the Holy Land Rosary you gave me last year with other goodies and knowing the spiritual graces that come with it (according to the Raccolta) and I gently placed the rosary on her lap. What happened next surprised me. ….after a short while she suddenly jerked her leg wincing with pain. 

This lady had many rosaries and medals on her- but none from the Holy Land……and so when she saw me place the rosary on her leg – where she is attacked by the demons who stop her from walking properly- she did not think anything of it and continued to talk to me…..then she jerked her leg in pain and she cried- ” Wow that’s some rosary! I can feel the demon trying to push it off my leg! Literally!!”

Amazed I took my rosary back and put it into my pocket….and thanked the Good Lord for granting me such a precious and powerful gift!  So thank you, Steve and Janet!!! Even the demons know how powerful it is! I have since used it for others who had similar demonic possessions and I can assure you – it is the most powerful in the supernatural realm!!!!

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Israel 7: Mass at Gethsemane, Mt. of Olives, Upper Room and more

Today was spent in Jerusalem. We started the day with Mass at Gethsemane which is always a very moving Mass for folks at the very place where Jesus sweat drops of blood. Then to the top of the Mount of Olives where Jesus taught the disciples to pray, and from which he ascended into heaven.

Mount Zion was next with the Upper Room (4 sacraments) and St. Peter in Gallicantu. Dormition Church is closed for renovation. My talk on the history of salvation topped off a great day. Enjoy!

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Eloquent Letter of Thanks for Holy Land Pilgrimage

Steve and Janet,

We would like to thank you and Janet for a once in a lifetime experience in the Holy Land. From day one, this journey has been the work of God.  Our last minute addition to the trip was no accident and truly the work of God. The trip itself was well organized and it shows that both of you put a lot of time and effort into making it a memorable and unforgettable experience for all the pilgrims. The food selection was delicious. 

Amer did a fantastic job of the historical background of each of the sites we visited. He gives us a perspective we could never find in a guidebook. He was a true treasure on our pilgrimage. Also David’s navigating us safely through the streets to all the destinations so very impressive.   We know it is a challenging task getting us around in each city.

Special thanks to Janet for bringing up the rear, ensuring no-one gets left behind, pointing out washrooms and keeping Steve honest.  I will always treasure our moments in the Church of the Nativity!

It is amazing how everyone bonded as a group and people we didn’t know a couple of weeks ago, have become good friends.  The Ann Arbor folks made us feel welcomed even though we were from Chicago. It was a great honor and I greatly appreciate you for inviting me to share our testimony with the group. We know it touched many souls. It definitely has encouraged us.

We greatly appreciate you allowing our former pastor to assist in the celebration of Mass. It was his suggestion that we join your group on this pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Thanks again for your great work to help keep Christians in the Holy Land. We saw how they live out the Gospel each and every day under tremendous pressure.

Finally, we would like to thank Corporate Travel and their team for making the arrangements. They did a great job on such short notice.

God bless you and your ministry in service to our Lord. All of you are in our prayers. Someday we hope and pray to see you and Janet again on another pilgrimage.

Have a blessed Lent and a Happy Easter!

Alex and Audrey

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Horrendous Contitutional Amendment in Michigan! Vote “NO!”

An urgent letter from Archbishop Vigneron of Detroit—

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

We are less than two months from the November 8 election, during which voters in Michigan will decide on an issue of paramount importance to protecting the inherent, God-given dignity of all people.

Abortion advocates under “Reproductive Freedom For All” seek to amend the state constitution to allow unregulated abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy. This effort, primarily funded by out-of-state dollars, is spearheaded by Planned Parenthood and the ACLU. It will appear on the ballot as Proposal 3.

The implications of this proposal are vast and extreme. If passed, the proposal’s vague wording would result in the elimination of dozens of Michigan laws relating to abortion, including: laws prohibiting partial-birth abortion and taxpayer-funded abortion; laws requiring parental consent and informed consent for abortion; laws protecting the conscience rights of persons who refuse to participate in abortion, and more. The proposal would prohibit lawsuits from being brought against any individual for performing an abortion, even when complications result from the procedure.

Proposal 3 is not about protecting existing rights, but rather about revoking the right to life for an untold number of human beings.

For the rest of the letter, and what you can do, click here.

BE SURE TO VOTE NO ON NOVEMBER 8!

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PRO-LIFE VOLUNTEER SHOT
An 84-year-old pro-life volunteer was shot in the back last week while going door-to-door to raise awareness about Proposal 3, a pro-abortion ballot measure in Michigan. The woman, who remains anonymous, was reportedly shot in the back-shoulder area while leaving a residence after a heated conversation. The identity and motive of the shooter are unknown. The victim is recovering well from the gunshot wound. READ

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Israel 6: Highlight! Holy Sepulchre (and Western Wall)

The highlight of a pilgrimage is the Holy Sepulchre, Calvary and the tomb. We started at 4:30 in the morning with the Via Dolorosa to avoid the crowds and have a spectacular time with our Lord in this most intimate setting.

After a couple hours of free time we went to the western wall, and then the rest of the day was free. Enjoy!

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