Stephen K. Ray's Blog, page 80

Holy Land Arrivals 9-21-22

These daily videos of our pilgrimages are for everyone, but primarily they are for our pilgrims and their family and friends back home.

Many people are afraid to come to Israel, but after family and friends see their travelers on the first day or their fears and worries evaporate. It also helps him enjoy and relate to all that their family and friends are doing.

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It is always great and very satisfying to have all the pilgrims step off the plane and board our beautiful, brand-new Mercedes bus. No lost luggage, no problems and clear blue skies.

We took off north to our favorite Ron Beach Hotel on the Sea of Galilee. Delicious spread for dinner and a nighttime Mass on the shore of Galilee looking out over the area where Jesus ministered for three years.

Good night we’ll see you in the morning!

The post Holy Land Arrivals 9-21-22 appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Holy Land Arrivals 9-21-22

These daily videos of our pilgrimages are for everyone, but primarily they are for our pilgrims and their family and friends back home.

Many people are afraid to come to Israel, but after family and friends see their travelers on the first day or their fears and worries evaporate. It also helps him enjoy and relate to all that their family and friends are doing.

***************

It is always great and very satisfying to have all the pilgrims step off the plane and board our beautiful, brand-new Mercedes bus. No lost luggage, no problems and clear blue skies.

We took off north to our favorite Ron Beach Hotel on the Sea of Galilee. Delicious spread for dinner and a nighttime Mass on the shore of Galilee looking out over the area where Jesus ministered for three years.

Good night we’ll see you in the morning!

 

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Clever! World’s View of Marriage vs. Catholic View of Marriage

First, read from the top down. Then, read from the bottom up…

By Jennifer Flanders

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Steve’s Rosary Walk thru Jerusalem

Janet and I arrived in Jerusalem a few days before our sold-out group to settle in, make sure everything is in order and to get acclimated.

Today we took a Rosary walk through Jerusalem hitting seven or eight rosary sites along with four sacrament sites and many of the Stations of the Cross sites.

I hope you enjoy the video! We will also be posting videos every day of our pilgrimage starting on Wednesday.

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Queen Elizabeth II – how Christian? Comments from a friend in Wales

Steve and Janet:

All of us here in Great Britain (and the world) have had a week of being told how good a Christian the Queen was. 

But you be the judge. She claims to be the head of the Church of England, and her signature is on the abortion bills in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand — the same with same-sex marriage too!

Next year we will have the coronation of King Charles who is a New Ager who is now being represented as a Christian though married to a divorced woman and crowned by an Archbishop who refused to call gay sex, a sin. 

Charles said he would not have the title of “Defender of the Faith, but rather, “Defender of Faith.” Very different indeed.

Don’t let the pageantry fool you. You weren’t so foolish in 1776.

Your Catholic friend from Wales, Great Britain

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Lovely Jewish Music from Biblical Times

Since we are back in Jerusalem again, starting today, we are immersed in Jewish culture. We’re standing in Jerusalem, and transported back in our imagination over the centuries of God’s people in this land and the music that inspired them. It still touches me deeply.

I LOVE the sound of the shofar (ram’s horn) used in Jewish life and worship. This is a beautiful Jewish prayer and the shofar is in the first 1.5 minutes of the video. The “shofar” trumpet or ram’s horn is mentioned over 130 times in the Bible. Moving Jewish prayer worth listening too – putting you back into biblical times

If you want to hear music from Abraham’s time see the video below. You can also hear it on my documentary Abraham, Father of Faith & Works.

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Interesting Discussion with Jewish Professor at Amsterdam Airport

Professor Rose at Amsterdam Airport (with Janet and I)

Good stories originate and are told in airports. Awhile ago at a layover in Amsterdam, between Detroit and Tel Aviv Janet was thirsty. The only vending machine took Euros. I had only dollars and shekels. She said, “But I am so thirsty.”

A dignified Jewish man sitting nearby said, “I think I have some Euros I can give you. We traded dollars and got Janet a drink. He was so kind and friendly we talked for a while. We told him we were Catholics on our way to guide a group of pilgrims.

Pope Pius XIII who defended Jews and saved 800,000

He immediately lit into two stories. He is a retired sociologist professor from Massachusetts and went to Israel about fifteen years ago. Sadly he was very influenced by the scandalous book “Hitler’s Pope” which accuses Pope Pius XII of doing nothing for the Jews during WWII. Of course Janet and I jumped right into the defense of the Church. It is a common misconception, especially among many Jews. Unfortunate. Pope Pius XII never collaborated with Hitler and worked underground to save over 800,000 Jews. The head Rabbi of Rome, Rabbi Zolli was so impressed he converted to Catholicism.

Abbey of Dormition on Mt. Zion where Mary fell asleep in Christ

The professor told us a story of his visit to Israel years ago. While on Mount Zion at the cenotaph tomb of King David and the Abbey of the Dormition of Mary. The group was Jewish and the guide was saying, “This is the site of David’s Tomb.” At Mary’s Dormition he said, “This is where the Catholic’s have a tradition that Mary fell asleep and went to heaven from here. Who knows.”

Later that day Professor Rose saw the same guide with a group of Catholics and a priest in his collar. Out of curiosity he followed the guide again. This time the guide said, “Nobody knows where David was buried but this is where the Jews have a tradition.” At the Dormition of Mary the guide said, “This is where Mary fell asleep before she was assumed into heaven.”

Our friend confronted the guide asking, “Why did you tell two different stories to those two different groups?” “Ah,” said the guide, “it’s a job and you say what you have to say.” In other words: lie, truth, make something up—who is the wiser for it. It is a job and I try to make people happy and get my tip.

This infuriates me but I see it every day too in Israel. The Jewish guides are unbelieving skeptics and don’t believe what they tell the Christians. Jewish and Christian groups get very different stories.

JW’s handing out their magazine

He told us another funny story this time (not sad like the one above). Jehovahs Witnesses came to his door and his nine year old daughter was there. The ladies handed him their magazine. He said, “We are not interested— we are Jewish.”

They left their Watchtower Magazine on the doorstep and the girl asked, “Why did you throw it away dad?” He said, “Because it is not true and it’s from a fringe group of people with crazy religious beliefs.” The girl was very interested and asked a lot of questions.

He finally ended up saying, “We don’t agree with them. They are JW’s. I threw away their magazine because we don’t believe it. We are Jewish.”

A few weeks later they went to Israel and due to lack of funds had to stay in the seedier part of Tel Aviv. It was the “Red Light District.” When they were going to their hotel a hooker approached him with her advertisement. The innocent young daughter intervened and stepped up to the hooker and said, “No thanks. We are Jewish!”

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If America were the Titanic, we’ve hit an iceberg and we’re taking on water quickly

My parents lived long lives. Cars were just starting to roll through their small towns and many things considered normal and prideful today, were unthinkable back then.

My dad died ten years ago at 94 and my mother died on Mothers’s day this year at 100. They had been married for 73 years.

When they told me they no longer liked their country, I was a bit surprised since there were never more patriotic folks. My dad flew the American flag every day until he died and we never missed a 4th of July parade.

But they explained that it was what America was becoming that they didn’t like. They loved America as it was founded with her high ideals and morals, her freedom and free market  economy which had raised millions out of poverty to live in the most prosperous land in all of history. It was why people are still trying to come here. We don’t have to build walls to keep people IN. We have the opposite problem.

My mother said, “When we got married if anyone would have asked, ‘Would you ever consider getting an abortion?’ my question would have been, ‘What is an abortion?’ Abortion was unthinkable!” And what about the whole homosexual movement of which we were to have pride? Pride? It was always considered depraved conduct and called sodomy. How can two men getting “married” be equal to what your father and I did when we married 73 years ago to start a family?”

And it has become progressively worse in every way since parents went to their eternal reward. Even the leadership of our Church is going woke along with the universities, the media, corporations, and among ignorant Americans who have graduated from schools that have re-written history and deplored religion. I fear for my grandkids (19 living and counting). What kind of world will they live in? ”

Our whacky governor in Michigan has announced she will “fight like hell” to enshrine abortion up to the moment of birth into our state constitution. Our bishop responded, “We will fight like heaven to oppose it and promote life.” He is promoting a campaign of prayer and involvement. There are still powers for good arising to resist the rupture and stop the water from filling the ship.

But can it turn around? Once the Titanic hits the iceberg is it possible to recover and go back to safety? One must always have hope. But I am realistic and doubt it can be turned. Once great societies have begun to fall they are seldom redeemed. But we can have hope.

We all hoped the Iron Curtain would fall but what realistic person ever thought it would happen in our lifetime? But it did fall. However, I now see the same Marxist ideology being proposed and inculcated into America.

Hope, yes? But….

https://catholicconvert.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/video.mp4

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Why Do We Call St. Ignatius of Antioch and others APOSTOLIC FATHERS?

Today is the feast day of one of my all-time favorite heroes. HE made me Catholic.

[For my 90-minute adventure documentary on Ignatius of Antioch along with four other Apostolic Fathers, get Apostolic Fathers, Handing on the Faith. For more info see below.]

There are Apostolic Fathers and Fathers of the Church. What is the difference? Fathers of the Church are those bishops, priests, and theologians of the first eight centuries who taught and wrote and who helped define the doctrine of the Catholic Church.

Apostolic Fathers fit into that category but they have a subcategory of their own – the KNEW the Apostles. They did not have New Testaments under their arms but they did have the voice of the Apostles ringing in their ears. They learned personally from the Apostles.

Look at this chart below to see how close they are to the time of Jesus Christ and the Apostles. These are the guys who made me Catholic. If you haven’t read their writings, you should. (I don’t know who made the chart but would love to give him credit if I find out.)

Here is a chart I made for our documentary Apostolic Fathers: Handing on the Faith.

Download a Free copy of the  Apostolic Fathers Timeline

 

This amazing Timeline drives home the point of how close these men were to Jesus and the Apostles. It demonstrates how Catholic the first Christians really were!

 

 The Apostolic Fathers faced Emperors, heretics and lions but these heroes of the Catholic faith never lost courage. Chains, prisons and blood-soaked arenas did not stop the early Christians from witnessing for Christ and handing on the Apostolic Tradition.

Strap on your sandals and step back in time to discover the “Apostolic Fathers, Handing on the Faith”

Comprehensive 28-Page Study Guide
Behind the Scenes: The Making of  Apostolic Fathers, Handing on the Faith
Bloopers and Outtakes
Conversation with Steve Ray and Fr. Benedict Groeschel
English and Spanish subtitles
Feature running time: 90 minutes, extras 30 minutes

Buy it HERE

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If you live in Michigan, Vote NO on all 3 ballot proposals this November

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