Stephen K. Ray's Blog, page 84
August 13, 2022
Europe 4 Füssen to Zurich Switzerland
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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CDC Finally Catches Up with the Rest of Americans with Common Sense
CDC RETRACTS VAX POSITION The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its COVID-19 guidance Thursday, lifting its recommendations for mandatory quarantines for people exposed to the virus, screening for people with no symptoms, and testing for people after potential exposure.
“It also brings the recommendations for unvaccinated people in line with people who are fully vaccinated – an acknowledgment of the high levels of population immunity in the U.S., due to vaccination, past COVID-19 infections or both,” NPR reported.
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August 12, 2022
Steve’s Video Talks: “The Life of Mary – Real Girl & Woman of Mystery” Parts I and II
I had a wonderful time with the Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows in Beaverton Oregon where I spoke for two days at their Marian Retreat. When talking on Mary I am usually squeezed into a 1 hour timeframe. This conference was delightful since I could tell the story of Mary’s life for two hours.
We cover Mary from Old Testament prophecy, her birth and early life all the way to her enthronement as Queen of Heaven. We follow her life geographically through the Holy Land. You will have to fast forward through the intros and such until the actual talks begin. Enjoy!
PART I: Birth and Early Life through Visitation
PART II: Life in Nazareth and Wedding at Cana through to Assumption and Queen of Heaven
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Europe 3 Oberammergau Passion Play
Today is the day that all these people have been waiting for for over two years. Having been canceled in 2020, the Oberammergau Passion Play was rescheduled and those folks that signed up two years ago were now finally able to see the play live.
We left Munich Germany in the morning and drove to celebrate Mass at Ettal Abbey and a light lunch at Ristorante La Montanara in Oberammergau.
The Passion Play started at 2:30 and we broke for dinner. We returned to the play at 8:00 and it ended at 10:30 PM. Everything went amazingly smooth considering there were 5000 people crowding into the theater. We had excellent seats right up in the front. Afterwards we arrived at our hotel and everyone was in bed by midnight. Yes, a long but exciting day, a “bucket list” day for most of our folks!
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Europe 3 Oberammergau Passion Play
Today is the day that all these people have been waiting for for over two years. Having been canceled in 2020, the Oberammergau Passion Play was rescheduled and those folks that signed up two years ago were now finally able to see the play live.
We left Munich Germany in the morning and drove to celebrate Mass at Ettal Abbey and a light lunch at Ristorante La Montanara in Oberammergau.
The Passion Play started at 2:30 and we broke for dinner. We returned to the play at 8:00 and it ended at 10:30 PM. Everything went amazingly smooth considering there were 5000 people crowding into the theater. We had excellent seats right up in the front. Afterwards we arrived at our hotel and everyone was in bed by midnight. Yes, a long but exciting day, a “bucket list” day for most of our folks!
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August 11, 2022
Scriptural Rosary Booklets in English and Spanish
The Rosary is an ancient and marvelous prayer with many varieties and meditations. One of my favorites is the Scriptural Rosary.
Thanks to Tom Rizzo we have a delightful Scriptural Rosary for you to download in either English or Spanish. It begins with detailed information on how to pray the Rosary and specifically how to pray it with Scripture.
Share it with family and friends. The first is the English version and the second is the Spanish. Enjoy!
https://catholicconvert.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/A-Scriptural-Rosary-Revised-20220612-1.pdf
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Europe 2 Dachau and Munich Tours
Today was a sobering day with a visit to Dachau Concentration Camp just outside of Munich. It was called the “Priest Camp“ since it is where they sent the Catholic priests. What they did to them and the numbers that died here is staggering.
We bring our folks here even though it is a very dark moment in human history, but that’s exactly the reason we bring them here. We need to be reminded what happens when we turn our back on God and the Christian worldview and understanding of personhood.
Two short articles I read on the bus:
https://www.catholicity.com/commentar...
http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/...
The 20th century was supposedly the most enlightened of any and yet it was the most cruel and torturous of any century to date. If it can happen in sophisticated 20th century Germany, it could happen anywhere.
We then went downtown in Munich for free time for lunch at the Hofbrauhaus Biergarten and shopping. Then a delightful tour of downtown Munich including the glockenspiel which is really quite something to watch. Mass at the Holy Trinity Church, the only church in Munich not destroyed during World War II.
Then we had dinner at Paulaner Brauhaus. Tell me this doesn’t sound like a thoroughly German dinner:
Mixed salad with fresh herbs and bread chips, huge portion of crispy pork knuckle, potato dumpling, Bavarian cabbage and Dark mousse of chocolate with berries for dessert along with good German wine or beer!
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August 10, 2022
Europe 1 Arrivals in Munich
So we embark on our second pilgrimage through Europe with the emphasis on visiting the Oberammergau Passion Play. Most of our folks arrived this morning on Lufthansa Airline. We were there to greet them in the morning, board our beautiful buses and started the pilgrimage.
Then we off-loaded the luggage at the hotel hotel and walked to the biergarten for lunch.
We visited one of Janet my favorite art museums — the Alte Pinakothek Museum in Munich especially to see works by Düer, Rubens and Rembrandt. Rembrandt’s paintings on the life of Christ are stunning and I gave a short introduction standing in front of these masterpieces.
We celebrated Mass at St. Benno Church which is a beautiful ornately decorated church. I gave a short talk on St. Beno to introduce this local saint and shows that even though the Church is in trouble every century she survives. It is being built by Jesus Christ after all.
Checked into our elegant Eurostars Grand Central, dinner and to bed.
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August 9, 2022
Should the Vatican Sell its Treasures…
… to feed the poor?
Geez, I used to say that myself in my former life as a Protestant – when I was an anti-Catholic. Actually, if you added up all wealth and property of the Protestant churches and organizations it would FAR exceed that of the Vatican or all the individual dioceses around the world! Since it is often Protestants who make this challenge, do they ever suggest Protestants should sell all their land, buildings, pastors’ fancy cars and the mega-church $ millions?
Most people don’t realize that most of the Catholic Church’s “wealth” is in property, hospitals, schools, social services and churches. We are the largest health care provider in the world. To learn more about this, watch the fantastic video put out by www.CatholicsComeHome.com here. Click on “Epic Commercial.” This video make me PROUD to be a Catholic!
But, should the Catholic Church sell everything to feed the poor? No, first it shouldn’t and second it can’t. To find out why, read this article from Zenit (provided below). It was written several years ago but it is the same cogent argument and needs to be repeated often.
Pope Cannot Exchange Vatican Treasure for Food: Cardinal Explains Complications of Facebook ProposalBy Jesús Colina
The president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum … commented on the online petition titled “Exchange the Vatican’s Treasures for Food for Africa. Do You Want to Sign a Petition?”
The cardinal noted that, apart from the ideological aspect of the proposal, the Pope cannot consider it because he is prevented from doing so by international law…
Alberto Juesas Escudero of Spain launched the initiative, which now has more than 40,000 supporters. Escudero claims “it is a shameful to see the Vatican’s riches and then watch the news.” He explained that what motivated him to issue this invitation was that he believes the Vatican “does not admit its errors. […] It does not preach by example. Jesus was born in a cave and lived in poverty.”
The youth concluded: “The Vatican is a disgrace! The Catholic religion is a disgrace!”
In answer to ZENIT’s questions, Cardinal Cordes explained that he has heard similar proposals for the past 40 years, and that before it was even much more frequent.
When John Paul II called him to Rome to work in the Curia, he observed that “the climate against the Vatican was very strong.” He explained, “I had looked into [the status of the Vatican’s holdings] and found out that the Church cannot do what it wants with the works of art that are in the Vatican.”
“Going once, going twice…sold! How much for this Pieta?Duty of the Church
In reality, he said, the Church “has the duty to conserve the works of art in the name of the Italian state.” He affirmed, “It cannot sell them.”
The prelate recalled an incident in the 1970s when a benefactor made a donation to renovate the Collegio Teutonico inside the Vatican, and the residence director wanted to give this person a small statue — of a meager value compared to the others in the Vatican Museums — as a gesture of gratitude.
The German benefactor had a lot of problems with the Italian state, as he was accused of taking goods that Italy was charged with safeguarding. “In every country there are a lot of measures for the defense of works of art, because the state has a duty to maintain them,” Cardinal Cordes added, noting that the Holy See treasures are also part of Italian cultural history.
The Cor Unum president underlined the work of the Catholic Church in health services and education in various regions in Africa. “When they come to meet the Pope, the African presidents recognize this,” he said.
Without the Church, he affirmed, a huge part of those afflicted with AIDS would be abandoned, because the Church, with its network of hospitals, is the organization that cares for the largest number of people affected by the virus.
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August 8, 2022
Europe 1 Arriving in Munich Germany
So we embark on our second pilgrimage through Europe with the emphasis on visiting the Oberammergau Passion Play. Most of our folks arrived this morning on Lufthansa Airline. We were there to greet them in the morning, board our beautiful buses and started the pilgrimage.
Then we off-loaded the luggage at the hotel hotel and walked to the biergarten for lunch.
We visited one of Janet my favorite art museums — the Alte Pinakothek Museum in Munich especially to see works by Düer, Rubens and Rembrandt. Rembrandt’s paintings on the life of Christ are stunning and I gave a short introduction standing in front of these masterpieces.
We celebrated Mass at St. Benno Church which is a beautiful ornately decorated church. I gave a short talk on St. Beno to introduce this local saint and shows that even though the Church is in trouble every century she survives. It is being built by Jesus Christ after all.
Checked into our elegant Eurostars Grand Central, dinner and to bed.
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