Stephen K. Ray's Blog, page 83

“Should I attend my Niece’s “Gay Wedding” to a Transgender?”

Paul wrote,

Hi Steve,I attended your conference recently — thank you for being there and sharing your experiences with everyone.  Your beliefs and passion come through loud and clear and I admire that.I had a question I wanted to ask you.  You touched briefly on LBGQ and how our culture has not only accepted it but really promotes it- and how we need to stand out against it- and I totally agree.  One thing I struggle with — is I have some nieces and nephews who are living that lifestyle.  I have a niece who is marrying a transgender (a male who thinks he is a female now) and I wonder if I should attend the wedding.I am not sure how I let her know that I love her but disapprove of that lifestyle.  I feel attending I’m showing approval- which I don’t want others to know I approve of that.  I also struggle with family parties that I have- as I do want to see her- but don’t really want to see that relationship present- especially as my grandkids are starting to get older and would understand what that would mean.Any thoughts or guidance on how to handle these situations is much appreciated. Thanks!

I responded:Your instincts are correct in my opinion. You attending such an event would give your stamp of approval and that is something you shouldn’t do. Jesus said he came not to bring peace but a sword into divide family members. I think this is the kind of situation he is referring to.

Matthew 10:34–39  “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.  35  For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36  And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.  37  Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38  And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39  Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

I have found in some situations like this a good idea is to write a short and heartfelt letter explaining your love for your niece and also explaining why you cannot except that lifestyle. There’s always the love the sinner and hate the sin.It also seems like there is a difference between going to a wedding and going to a family gathering such as a picnic in the summer. I personally could not go to the wedding because that is making a big statement about my approval of the illicit relationship.However, going to a family picnic or Christmas dinner is another thing, it seems to me. You are not approving of that relationship by showing up at the family event. Especially, if you do write them a letter and make it clear what your stand is, then it will be known that your participating in a larger family gathering is not specifically a condoning or approving of the relationship and the illicit marriage. I hope that makes sense.You can explain in the letter how you have always loved her from birth and tried to be a good example and that you were and are always there for her if she ever needs you. However, you cannot put a stamp of approval on what you consider to be an unsound and immoral relationship contrary to God‘s law and the laws of nature.Statistics also show, that most of the time these relationships are very short-lived. If she really loves you then she will also understand you and your Catholic faith and love you and not hold it against you. Unless of course, her LGBT orientation is the motor fact did in fact motivate feeding factor in her life  and she only excepts people that except that position.God bless you Paul and may he give you the insight and the courage. We all stand before God in the end and will be held accountable for our decisions. If we condone and approve immorality or if we encourage others in their immorality it will not bode well for us.In the end I guess I’d rather have my niece say at the judgment, “Now I understand why uncle Paul didn’t come to my wedding.” Instead of having her say, “But God, even uncle Paul came to my wedding and accepted it so what’s the problem?”Here is an article that I wrote that may be of some assistance although it’s not specifically pertaining to the decision you have to make.Six Rules: https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/six-rules-for-dealing-with-non-catholic-family-and-friendsFinally, I would suggest you may discuss this with a trusted priest, not one with a rainbow flag around his shoulders but an honest-to-goodness orthodox Catholic priest.God bless you and may he honor your faithfulness to the gospel.

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Europe 7 Milan Italy, Duomo, “Last Supper” and more

Another gorgeous day for our guided tour of Milan — emphasizing the incredible Duomo Cathedral of Milan dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. Because of it’s Gothic style it seems to rise into the sky as light as a feather. It holds 40,000 people and boasts 135 spires!

It has 3,400 statues! It took almost six centuries to build. It is the largest church in Italy (not counting Saint Peter‘s in Vatican), 2nd largest in Europe and arguably the third largest church in the world.

One of the treasures of this church is in the grotto below with the eight-sided baptistery where St. Ambrose baptized St. Augustine the end of the fourth century. Just imagine the intellectual and spiritual fire power between those two Doctors of the Church!

We celebrated Mass in the apse behind the high altar. Magnificent! A mail from the cross hovered above us. (Homily here)

Lunch on own and free time before the second big treat of the day. We were able to secure tickets to see Leonardo da Vinci‘s “The Last Supper“. These tickets are very difficult to obtain but our folks got to see the famous painting.

Continue tour of Milan to visit the Basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie, and my favorite, St. Ambrose church with his bones in the grotto below, passing by the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and “La Scala” Theater and Museum along the way.

Return to the hotel, blessing of all religious items andtime at leisure — then our final dinner together at Restaurant Sabatini. I gave a short recap and critique of the Passion Play.

Very early departure for the Malpensa Milan airport for flights home. The conclusion of a stupendous pilgrimage with 1000 compliments and nary one complaint!

be sure to watch our final video with comments and farewells.

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Interview with the Bear – “Peter, the Original Rocky” with Steve Ray

Bear Wozniak is quite a guy and a fun interviewer. I always love our 50 minutes together. Enjoy, with Bear from Hawaii.

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Europe 6 Milan & Gianna Molla

Depart for Mesero, Italy for lunch at the local restaurant Tenuta Brama Sole. It was certainly a unique location with a zoo as well as a fine restaurant with a who gourmet lunch.

Along the way Steve Ray shared his conversion story on both buses. The priests and Bishop Kelly told their vocation stories as well. The drive-through the alps is always stunning and it seems like every minute is a photo opportunity.

Gianna Emmanuela Molla me up with us and took us to her Saint mother’s tomb where she shared her story with us. Prayed at her tomb then drove to Magenta to celebrate Mass at St. Martin Basilica, their home parish. You can watch Fr. Fran’s excellent homily on the Assumption of Mary HERE

Continued to Milan and checked in to the very elegant Grand Visconti Palace.

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The Media wants you to think the sex scandal is a “Catholic Thing” – oh really, read this report on Protestant Denominations

GENERAL PROTESTANT REPORT

A withering report on sexual abuse and cover-up in the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S.

A viral video in which a woman confronts her pastor at an independent Christian church for sexually preying on her when she was a teen.

A TV documentary exposing sex abuse of children in Amish and Mennonite communities. You might call it #ChurchToo 2.0.

Survivors of sexual assault in church settings and their advocates have been calling on churches for years to admit the extent of abuse in their midst and to implement reforms. In 2017 that movement acquired the hashtag #ChurchToo, derived from the wider #MeToo movement, which called out sexual predators in many sectors of society.

In recent weeks #ChurchToo has seen an especially intense set of revelations across denominations and ministries, reaching vast audiences in headlines and on screen with a message that activists have long struggled to get across.

“For us it’s just confirmation of what we’ve been saying all these years,” said Jimmy Hinton, an advocate for abuse survivors and a Church of Christ minister in Somerset, Pennsylvania. “There is an absolute epidemic of abuse in the church, in religious spaces.”

Read the full story

SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION REPORT

America’s largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination is being roiled by a sexual abuse scandal that casts a harsh light on one of the most politically powerful religious groups in the country as well as renewing a focus on its racist past.

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a collection of loosely affiliated member churches, boasting just under 15 million members, and is dominated by white members, who are usually deeply socially conservative. The convention has often been a powerful tool for rightwing organizing in recent years, especially on issues around abortion.

But the SBC is now so mired in scandal that one recent former top official said it faced a “Southern Baptist apocalypse”. Southern Baptist leaders ‘stonewalled’ sex abuse victims, scathing report says

The issue at hand is the release by the SBC of a 205-page document naming hundreds of Baptist leaders and members accused or found guilty of sexual abuse of children. The list, which includes 700 entries on cases between 2000 and 2019, was released after a bombshell third-party investigation by Guidepost Solutions said the convention’s leaders in its executive committee failed the public and its community by mishandling sexual abuse cases and mistreating victims and survivors.

SBC leaders Rolland Slade and Willie McLaurin issued a statement saying the list “reminds us of the devastation and destruction brought about by sexual abuse. Our prayer is that the survivors of these heinous acts find hope and healing, and that churches will utilize this list proactively to protect and care for the most vulnerable among us.”

Read the full story

Also read about the Mormons HERE

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Europe 5 Zurich Switzerland All Day

After a lot of pretty early mornings everyone was delighted that we didn’t leave the hotel until 9:50 AM. Sleep in a bit and a leisurely morning and breakfast. Celebrated Mass at Liebfrauenkirke which means the “Church of our Lovely Lady”. This is probably Janet and my favorite church along this pilgrimage.

I gave a short short talk on the history of, and the meaning of the artwork in the church and all the symbolism from the Book of Revelation. I  drew everyone’s attention to the Apostles Creed in the rafters — placed so you can’t miss it! Jesus is presented as the Lamb, since in the Book of Revelation that is his most prominent title used — 30 times!

Here is Fr. Fran’s excellent homily on a very tough passage from the gospels..

Guided tour of the Old Town of Zürich. Ended with the Fraumunster Protestant Church containing the stunning and brightly-colored Chagall windows: 1) the Prophets window, 2) the  Jacob window, 3) the Christ window, 4) the Zion window, 5) the Moses & Law window. And set apart, the Rose window with the story of Genesis. I gave a short talk here to explain what they would see in sight.

Lunch in the many restaurants and cafés in downtown Zürich. Free afternoon before we headed to dinner at the Echo rRestaurant and back to the hotel for bed. Tomorrow we leave for Milan Italy.

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My 11-Minute Video Review and Critique of the Oberammergau Passion Play with a “Socialist Jesus”

After taking my group of 60 to view the Oberammergau Passion Play in the Bavaria region of Germany, I gave an 11-minute recorded critique at dinner.

I was very disappointed after seeing the Passion Play. Many go expecting a Catholic performance, but it is far from it. It has been Protestantized and now secularized with Jesus more a social justice warrior than a Son of the Father come to save mankind from their sin. As the director said, he had to update the 100-year-old script to fit a modern world, removing the religious and bringing the social issues to the front.

One of the more disappointing aspects was there was no appearance of the “resurrected Christ”. There was an announcement by an angel that he had been risen and Mary Magdalene does not see him but says I know my savior has risen. The director said ghe resurrection was a “mystery of faith.“ Very disappointing.

Very few viewers realize this because the play is all in German and hard to follow the book while watching the actual performance.

For my update after my second viewing in August, click here.

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My 11-Minute Video Critique of the Oberammergau Passion Play with a “Socialist Jesus”

After taking my group of 60 to view the Oberammergau Passion Play in the Bavaria region of Germany, I gave an 11-minute recorded critique at dinner.

I was very disappointed after seeing the Passion Play. Many go expecting a Catholic performance, but it is far from it. It has been Protestantized and now secularized with Jesus more a social justice warrior than a Son of the Father come to save mankind for their sin. As the director said, he had to update the 100-year-old script to fit a modern world, removing the religious and bringing the social issues to the front.

Very few viewers realize this because the play is all in German and hard to follow the book while watching the actual performance.

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Confessions of a Feminist Heretic, by Abigail Favale

EXCELLENT article. Read the whole story here.

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Europe 4 Füssen to Zurich

After the Passion Play, we stayed at two quaint and very German/Swiss village hotels in the countryside with a delightful German breakfast. One hotel was surprised by a fire alarm at 5:30 AM due to bacon cooking.

Oberammergau to Füssen to Zürich is the outline for today and beautiful views of the Alps and surrounding farmland and villages.

Mass in Fussen at St. Mang where we also ate lunch at various restaurants and cafes with a bit of exploring and shopping time. Photo opportunity for Neuschawanstein (“Disney Castle”) and Hohenschwangau.

Continued on to Zürich. Check-in to the Novotel City West Hotel for dinner and early to bed.

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