My mission is to share the wisdom and experiences gained over a lifetime dedicated to faith, service, and personal growth. In my retirement, I will use this platform to offer reflections, insights, and stories from my 80 years of life, 54 years as a priest, and 13 years as a bishop. Through openness and humility, I aim to inspire, educate, and resonate with readers, seeking the Holy Spirit’s guidance in all that I write. May this endeavor bring glory to God and foster a sense of shared journey and mutual understanding among all who read.
Bishop Ray’s Blog
Finding Meaning in Each Day
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Growing up with Sports – It was a way of life!
Read more: Growing up with Sports – It was a way of life!Catholic Schools Night at Maimonides Park Like father, like son! My Dad loved sports – in particular, basketball and baseball. His life was defined by his love for his family and his love for playing, coaching, refereeing, umpiring, and teaching me and my brothers – a love for the game! It was instilled in us in various ways: Dad (Lou) and his brother (Pete) were excellent athletes, and they were blessed to be able to play as young people on various teams and made many friends – connected with sports – both on and off the field/court. When Dad refereed…
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Priests Who Influenced Me – Good Role Models!
Read more: Priests Who Influenced Me – Good Role Models!Some kids have role models who are sports figures or athletes. Some have role models among their family members, and a few, like me, have had both plus role models in the clergy. Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, the clergy played an important part in my life. I always felt inspired by them, safe with them, and a desire to do what they did: to bring people closer to God. The priests of my parish were giving of themselves, available to people, and always there when they were expected to be there and beyond. But then…
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Getting Back Up After Three Quick Deaths in the Family – It takes time!
Read more: Getting Back Up After Three Quick Deaths in the Family – It takes time!The death of a loved one is always difficult, whether it’s a sudden death or even if it’s after a prolonged illness. The price we pay for loving is grief and mourning after the loved one goes home to God. Within the span of 21 months, my mom, my dad, and my brother Tom entered eternal life. We were not expecting any of them to die, so their deaths left us stunned and filled with the normal set of questions that every family faces when several unexpected deaths occur in rapid succession. Mom (Vera) died on April 23, 1978, at…
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Going away to Albany – Time to Grow Up!
Read more: Going away to Albany – Time to Grow Up!Seminary of Our Lady of Angels, Albany, NY – an interdiocesan major seminary conducted by the Vincentian Fathers, established at Niagara Falls in 1856 and relocated in 1961 and closed in 1972 After finishing six years as a student of Cathedral Prep Seminary in Brooklyn, NY (traveling by train from Astoria, NY), I was awaiting the news in the summer of 1965 about where I would go for the Major Seminary. I thought, for sure, it would be the Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington, NY. I forgot that the Diocese of Brooklyn was sending candidates, at that time, to other…
Bishop Ray's Blog 