Dr. Ed Peters on the situation

Up at 4 AM!! Following the footprints of Our Lord as he carried his cross through the streets of Jerusalem. Visit the place where he was crucified at Calvary, also called Golgotha. Join us for Mass inside the Tomb of Christ.

Then visit St. Ann’s, the birthplace of Our Lady, the Pools of Bethesda where Our Lord healed the crippled man at the Pools of Bethesda and then to pray at the Western Wall.

Click HERE for amazing 360 degree and from floor to ceiling photography. Move the picture around with your mouse to see everything.

Jesse Ray here: I found this article by Rabbi Sacks very educational and the section on “Morality and the Crisis” especially thought provoking. He explores how our current market economy was formed under the auspices of Judeo-Christian values, and he draws a compelling picture of why our current economic shake-up has a central spiritual dimension: http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/social_justice/sj0255.htm

Enjoy.

The Circumcision and Presentation of Jesus is not understood by most Christians but is very interesting. Join us on www.RelevantRadio.com to learn what it means for us.

From shopping to support the Christians, to touching the place where Jesus was born, from Mass in the cave where the shepherds heard the announcement from the angels to eating the Passover lamb and dancing in Samer’s Restaurant. Join us on this virtual day to Bethlehem.

See today’s video HERE

Check out our video thru Galilee, especially following Peter commissioned as Rock, shepherd and given the keys! Enjoy!

Readers have been asking for a few months if I knew of any developments in the strange case of Fr. John Corapi, and the truth is, I’m as clueless as they are. After an initial flurry of activity, updates to Father Corapi’s new website, theblacksheepdog.us, became few and far between, and sometime around the first of the year (as Patrick Madrid, I believe, was the first to notice) all of the content was removed from the site. In its place, a single white page remains, with just three lines of text:

Inquiries regarding TheBlackSheepDog.US can be made to:
450 Corporate Dr. Suite 107
Kalispell, MT 59901

Father Corapi’s/The Black Sheep Dog’s official accounts on Twitter and on Facebook have disappeared as well. And here we are, over three weeks after Patrick noted that Father Corapi had “vanishe[d] off the radar screen,” and there’s still no word to be found anywhere about what has happened.

Whole article HERE

“Dr. Scott Hahn: “No longer in stitches: Over a dozen staples come out tomorrow morning. But a slight complication too: an umbilical hernia that may require another surgery. In any case, your prayers are still very much appreciated…”

Jesse Ray here: There is a trendy video floating around youtube that tries to drive a wedge between Jesus and Religion. It is stroking the consciences of the weak minded as it attracts increasing millions of views and “likes”. If you have not seen it yet, don’t bother. It is catchy and artistically attractive, but is smells of falsehood as he tries to use the Bible to convince us that Jesus’ mission was to abolish religion.

For those who are have been looking for an appropriate Catholic response to the original video that aims at the empty arguments and knocks them down with style…here it is: Why I Love Jesus AND Religion.

I wrote this about two years ago while in Adana Turkey and thought it worthy to post again, especially since I am seeing it again — now in Israel.

Europe is full of magnificent churches—Gothic, Baroque and even modern. Their steeples and crosses still dominate much of the skyline. They stand as impressive monuments to the Christian faith that built the free world and brought beauty and justice out of a pagan, barbarian wilderness.

Today the churches in Europe are becoming museum pieces recalling the lost faith and  collapsing backbone of Europe. (Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral to left)

Paganism is on the rise – and along with it something just as alarming. The skyline will soon change, not only for Europe but for the whole Western World, including the United States. You will soon see new structures piercing the sky!

But before I tell you how your view of today’s horizon will change, let me tell you about what happened to Turkey. Then you will see that it can happen—and if we don’t move quickly, it will happen again.

Janet and I are now in Turkey with our Skyline Productions video crew working on our next documentary Apostolic Fathers for the Footprints of God series. We are driving/flying with our crew from one Christian site to another. This country is often called the Second Holy Land—why? Because it contains more Christian sites than anywhere other than Israel.

For a few examples: Antioch is where we were first called Christians, Tarsus was the home town of St. Paul, and Lystra the home city of St. Timothy.

But, Turkey is also home to the Seven Church of Revelation. The Blessed Virgin Mary lived here with the Apostle St. John. Selçuk still boasts the tomb of St. John (see picture to right). Istanbul (Constantinople) was once a proud patriarchate of the Catholic Church and home to Ecumenical Councils.

Actually, the first Seven Ecumenical Councils were held here, including Constantinople, Chalcedon, and Nicea—from which we got Nicene Creed recited each Sunday. And don’t forget the Council of Ephesus which defined Mary as the Theotokos, the Mother of God.

And if you remember your New Testament, you will recognize cities that were in today’s Turkey: Galatians, Ephesians and Colossians. Turkey is also the land of martyrs, Fathers and Doctors of the Church like Sts. Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp, Irenaeus, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory of Nazianzus, John Chrysostom, and Basil the Great to name just a few.

So, when I look out over the horizon from my hotel room window, do I see the beautiful churches that once marked the skyline of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey)?

Nope. Sorry. I see something else.

From my window just now, I counted no less than nineteen minarets! What are minarets? They are the tall slender towers above an Islamic mosque from which the muezzin calls the faithful to prayer (Notice two pictures from my hotel window–one wide shot with no less than five minarets; the second at the bottom of this blog showing a large mosque across the river. There is only one Catholic Church within a hundred miles of where I am now).

What happened to the churches? Let’s go to Istanbul together and I will show you! I have frequently visited the Hagia Sophia—the Church of Holy Wisdom. It was the glory of Christendom and for over a thousand years it had the largest dome — until St. Peter’s was built in Rome. Many people thought the dome stayed up by a direct miracle of God. How else could something so expansive stay up without crashing down?

But when the Muslims conquered Contantinople they defaced the church, painted over the golden icons of our Blessed Mother and turned the spectacular church into a mosque. The crosses came down and the minarets went up.

Today the Hagia Sophia is a museum! (picture of modern Hagia Sophia to left)

It has been predicted that within fifty years Europe’s skyline will change. It will become a Muslim empire. Steeples will come down and minarets will go up. No longer will you hear bells – you will hear muezzin wailing from the balconies of slender minarets.

And America? We are losing our faith too, and our backbone. Will we be far behind Europe? I don’t think so. Islam has 1 billion followers, many of who will stop at nothing short of world domination. They won’t call it that, of course. They will say the world is now as Allah willed it.

And like the Hagia Sophia—your church, and the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC and St. Patrick’s in New York will still pierce the skyline, but no longer as steeples. They will sport the latest in minarets. And our grandchildren’s’ children will wonder why we caved in so easily—why we lost our faith and our backbone.

Oh, so you don’t believe it can happen to us? Neither did the Byzantine Empire, the powerhouse of Christianity in the East! But, the East fell to Islam and the West may fall as well. Maybe not by military might, but by religious indifference, population control, and secularism. Islam can overtake us by persistence, population growth, and religious fervor.

What was once part of a powerful Christian Empire is now 99% Muslim. Out of a population of about 75 million, there are only 60,000 Christians (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestants, etc.). The past screams to us but will we listen.

Prepare to see the new skyline; prepare to be awakened at 4 AM with the wail of the muezzin.

Far-fetched? Read this article about Holland.

St. Ignatius, pray for us. Sts. Polycarp, Irenaeus and John Chysostom, pray for us!

Join us on Day 2 of our pilgrimage to Mount of Transfiguration (Mt. Tabor), Renewal of Wedding Vows in Cana and Mass at the Grotto of Annunciation in Nazareth. I’ve added nice pictures to help appreciate and understand what it was all about.

It was a good first day. The pilgrims all arrived in good shape at the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. We jumped on our comfortable bus and headed to Galilee. Amer and I updated, shared, informed and welcomed all the great folks on the bus ride. What a great group of authentic Catholics ready to experience the life of Christ and the sacraments as we travel the land of Jesus and Mary, the Apostles and prophets, kings and martyrs.

We arrived in Tiberias for Mass, a wonderful dinner at Ron Beach Hotel and everyone is now in bed sleeping soundly to prepare for a busy day tomorrow. We will visit Mount Tabor (Mount of Transfiguration, renew marriage vows at Cana of Galilee, and Mass at the Grotto of the Annunciation in Nazareth. Enjoy the video of today’s arrival.

Check out my running trip with a map, pictures and video on EveryTrail.com: Fishermen and Galilee Shoreline.

Picture 1: Looking across Galilee to the Golan Heights, visited by Jesus; Picture 2) Hills (mountains by Israel’s standards) along the Sea of Galilee. Jesus went up to mountains to pray. Was this one of them? 3) Fisherman coming in after a night of fishing like the apostles; Picture 4) Me running along a walkway along the Sea.

Professor Rose at Amsterdam Airport (with Janet and I)

Good stories originate and are told in airports. Today 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.”

An 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!”

My conversion story will probably sound like every other convert story. You hear the phrase from a lot of converts to the Catholic Church, “I read myself into the Catholic Church.” Read what? Well, it was a shocker when I found out. Some guys who are known by Catholics as the “Church Fathers”, you have probably heard about them… If you haven’t heard about them already, I must warn that these fellows are dangerous for Protestants. Not that they are bad or anything, but because of the long line of succession that leads you all the way to the place some, if not most protestants, will say is the ‘Church of Popes’. Yeah, you guessed it… the Catholic Church.

God must be angry!

Well, just to get it out there… I wasn’t opposed to the Catholic Church. I was never taught to be. My formation in my early years was focused on memorizing scripture verses, and morality. In my early years of schooling, I went to a Christian school for 4 years. But, I knew something was missing, but I didn’t know what. The day would start off with a worship service. It was pretty much some man or woman would get up, wearing a nice suit or tie, or a nice dress. Then he or she would read from scripture and then we would leave.

I remember after being told something by my teacher that really made me think, “Are we worshiping God, or the weather?” She told us (the class), “You can tell how God is feeling by the weather outside. If it’s a sunshine blue day outside, God is happy. If it’s raining, God is crying. If it’s thundering and lightning, God is mad.” Now, you have to understand how this sounds to an intelligent kid. I may have been small, but I am not stupid. …

For the rest of Sandra’s story, click HERE.

My non-Christian brother found two paintings at an art show and asked me, “What in the world are these? They seem to have pagan elements. What do they have to do with Jesus and Mary?”

Here is my explanation. If you readers have anything to add, please post it in the Comments below. Thanks.

Thanks. Beautiful images. Full of biblical representation. They are devotional images to remind Catholics of the sorrows of Jesus and Mary and the resultant purification, joy and new life that come from them.

Sacred Heart of Jesus

Sacred Heart of Jesus:
Hearts represent love and life. Jesus’ heart beats with the fire of love (at the top of the heart) which was demonstrated at the cross. The fire also represents the purifying fire of God by which he purifies men. It exudes the transformative power of divine love.The crown of thorns brought suffering which was endured for the love of man to redeem him — to bear man’s pain in his own heart. The cut in the heart is that made by the lance that was thrust through his heart when he was on the cross.

The blood dripping represents the new life secured through his death (life came through dead). The result is the heart of man (below surrounded by flowers) is given new life. The flowers represent a garden of delights, new life, freshness. The Garden of Eden which brought about death by sin is now replaced by the Garden of Heaven which brings new life because of holiness.

Adam and Eve experienced death at the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden; The New Adam (Jesus) brings about life at the Tree of Death (the cross) in another garden. This cross is at the top of the heart. Heaven is represented by the clouds and the blazing sun or heavenly light from God behind the hearts.

Immaculate Heart of Mary

Immaculate Heart of Mary:
This one is similar to the Sacred Heart. The roses surrounding Mary’s heart represent her sinlessness and purity, sweetness and new life. The seven swords piercing the top of the heart represents the “Seven Sorrows of Mary,” (“Mater Dolorosa”). The first of her sorrows was the Prophecy

of Simeon that a sword would pierce her soul because of her son’s death Luke 2:35), 2) their flight into Egypt, 3) the loss of Jesus in the Temple; 4) the fourth sorrow is Mary watching Jesus carry the cross, 5) the crucifixion imagining a mother watching her son die this way; 6)  receiving his limp, cold body after the crucifixion, 7) the body of her son buried in the tomb.

When Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple as a baby the prophet Simeon said that the life and death of Jesus would be like a sword that would pierce her soul (Luke 2:35). The lower heart, the one of Mary surrounded by roses, shows a cut in it which is symbolic of her sorrows.  But her sorrows have brought us new life and pure hearts represented by the garden of roses below.

The Mystic Rose:
The mystic rose, symbolizes Mary’s mystical participation in the Holy Trinity as Heaven’s Rose or Mystical Rose. In medieval times the mystic rose symbol was drawn with four petals on a stain glass background or on a multi-colored background like a popular quilt pattern which is still stitched today.

Conclusion:
It is a very popular and insightful devotion to Jesus and his mother — the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Every aspect is taken from the Bible and nicely illustrated in the pictures you sent.  You have a nice few items there :-)

It was one of my favorite topics: “Through the Lens of Typology.” We started by saying many people will say, “That has to be as boring as watching water boil.”

I countered, “No, it is exciting and rich. It is the Bible coming alive! Seeing it as the Apostles and Jesus did.” I then gave insights as to what it is and many examples. Calls flooded in and we had a great time! To listen click here; to download click here.

St. Augustine said, “The Old Testament is the New concealed; the New Testament is the Old revealed!” And the treasure hunt was on!

I promised to give the link to my article on being “born again by water and Spirit”(water baptism) and how it is all explained beautiful through typology. Here is the link.

Questions I Answered:
1) Does the fact that the Quran and the Book of Mormon do not contain typology from the Old Testament prove that they are not true?
2) In Ezekiel 16 Jerusalem is likened to a baby raised and married who eventually becomes a harlot. How does this represent Mary as the New Jerusalem in typology?
3) Is it reasonable for a person reading Old Testament stories to apply them to their lives today?
4) In Judges 11:29-39 we have the story of Jephthah who offers his daughter as a sacrifice; how should we understand that today?
5) How many generations between Levi and Moses – seems like a lot?
6) Does Leviticus 23 have anything to do with the Mass?
7) In a recent homily we were told that the Wise Men visiting baby Jesus was a myth and was created by the writer to fulfill the prophecy in Jeremiah. Does the Church really teach that?
8) Why did God demand so many animal sacrifices in the Old Testament?