Mass at Capernaum is always a great way to start the day. The readings are from the Gospel of St. John chapter 6 “ Eat My Flesh and Drink My Blood.” Fr. Dan’s excellent homily here. I give my talk There entitled “Defending the Eucharist.”
From there we get on a boat and voyage out to the center of the sea of Galilee for talks, singing and reflection (not just on the water Our guide Amer gives a great talk (allegory) about the two seas in Israel watch/hear his talk here.
Then to one of our favorite lunch restaurants and eat Saint Peters fish. Good experience for everyone
Then I tell my conversion story on the drive south to Jerusalem. But first we stop at the Visitation and I give my talk about defending the Catholic church’s teaching on Mary. We finally arrive at the majestic Notre Dame Hotel in Jerusalem for dinner and bed.
Read the following paragraph and see if you can find the name of sixteen books of the Bible that are hidden in the text:
I once made a remark about the hidden books of the Bible. It was a lulu, kept people looking so hard for facts and for other it was a revelation. Some were in a jam, especially since the names of the books were not capitalized, but the truth finally struck home to numbers of readers. To others, it was a real job. We want it to be a most fascinating few moments for you. YES, THERE WILL BE SOME REALLY EASY ONES TO SPOT. Others may require judges to help them. I will quickly admit it usually takes a minister to find one of them, and there will be loud lamentations when it is found. One little lady says she brews a cup of tea, so she can concentrate better. See how well you can compete. Relax now for there are really sixteen names of books of the Bible in this story.
Mass and prayer at Mount of Beatitudes. Homily at Beatitudes here.
North to Banias (Caesarea Philippi) where Jesus appointed Peter as Royal Steward of his kingdom (Matt16). Druze lunch and driving through the Golan Heights. Drive near Syrian border with profound explanation of situation in Middle East by Amer.
Back to Sea of Galilee to visit Multiplication of Loaves and the Church of Primacy for Steve’s talk on St. John 21. Free time and then fabulous dinner at Magdelena.
Dear Jerry: I had no intention of writing you again this soon but after having dinner with your brother the other day and picking up a copy of a booklet you gave him entitled Studies In Contrasts: The Doctrine of Salvation (by Herb Vander Lugt and published by the Radio Bible Class, Grand Rapids, MI.), […]
We have 2 priests, 8 deacons and 1 Catholic Radio Personality – Teresa Tomeo! What a line up for this amazing pilgrimage. This was our first full day and what a blessed day it was. Three Rosary Mysteries prayed on site today. We started with Mass on top of Mount Tabor – the Mountain of Transfiguration. You […]
Some have asked me how to access my talks and radio shows. First, you can search YouTube with “Steve Ray” and there are scores of them for free. We also have a webpage with links to hundreds of past talks, radio interviews, etc. Hope you find them helpful to build and support your Faith in […]
Since I was with the Jordan group crossing over from the other side, I was not able to get a lot of videos and pictures from the group coming in fresh to Israel. But all of them arrived safely and in good shape and had a quick dinner and a Mass and are now sound […]
Today we visited the queen of the pilgrimage sites in Jordan and the 5th and final one. We drove down from the mountains of Amman and Madaba to the lowest place on the face of the earth which is the Jordan Valley. It is 1,250 feet below sea level. We arrived at the Jordan River […]
Written by Msgr. Charles Pope and posted October 12, 2016 on Community in Mission Cultures and civilizations go through cycles. Over time, many civilizations and cultures have risen and then fallen. We who live in painful times like these do well to recall these truths. Cultures and civilizations come and go; only the Church (though […]
Pictures can never portray the beauty and magnificence of the World Heritage Site and one of the Wonders of the World—PETRA! It is also a biblical city, not because it’s mentioned in the Bible, but because of its historical significance related possibly to several people and events in the Bible including Moses and St. Paul. […]
Pastor Bob Preaches The Word (or does he?) By Steve Ray Josh left Sunday services full of excitement, anxious to discuss Pastor Bob’s sermon with his sister Jennifer who had recently converted to the Catholic Church. The pastor had explained how salvation was by “faith alone” and not by rituals and works. He was anxious […]
A fantastic 2nd day. We started out at Mount Nebo where the children of Israel looked over into the Promised Land for the first time in over 440 years. It was here that Moses was denied entrance and died. What a wonderful Mass here celebrating St. Moses. Homily here We visited a mosaic factory and […]
What is greater than God More evil than the devil The poor have it The rich need it And if you eat it, you’ll die? When asked this riddle, 80% of kindergarten students got the answer, compared to 17% of Stanford University seniors.
After a good nights sleep everybody is fresh and ready to go. We start by heading north for an hour and a half up into the mountains of Jordan. At this point we’re only a short drive across the border to the sea of Galilee and then Israel. We start at one of the five […]
(A letter Steve wrote to an Evangelical friend asking for an explanation of the Crucifix) Dear Protestant Friend: You display a bare cross in your homes; we display the cross and the crucifix. What is the difference and why? The cross is an upright post with a crossbeam in the shape of a “T”. A […]
Everyone arrived safely and in good spirits with no glitches at the beautiful and modern Queen Alia Airport in Amman Jordan. We are excited to show these excited pilgrims our favorite biblical and Catholic sites in this amazing country. In 2000 Pope St. John Paul II designated five sites as pilgrimage sites. We will visit […]
Our guide Amer gives a great talk (allegory) about the two seas in Israel watch/hear his talk here.
