Yesterday while surfing the internet and watching the BBC here in Antakya, we saw the news of the senseless slaughter at Virginia Tech. Some people don’t believe in original sin and its effects, but this kind of senseless wickedness should help clear up such foolishness. Sin is real and it has horrible effects, which is why Jesus had to die such a horrible death — to demonstrate the utter hiddeousness of sin.
This senseless slaughter is all the more disturbing for me because of my kids. Cindy and and her husband Ben are both professors and my daughter Charlotte is an exceptional design student at university. After they leave in the morning full of enthusiasm and desire to teach and learn, I can’t imagine a phone call saying, “Mr. Ray, we are sorry to inform you . . . .”
People often ask us if we are afraid to travel in Israel and Turkey. Are you kidding? I feel very safe here. I am wondering if I feel safe coming back to the USA!
May God have mercy on us all, especially those slaughtered and their families. St. Ignatius, pray for us. St. Clement and Polycarp, pray for us.
Today we finish us in Antioch and head to Adana for a flight tomorrow to Izmir which is the biblical city of Smyrna – visited by Ignatius and the diocese of St. John followed by Bishop Polycarp.
We will witness a wonderful event – a Turkish man, only the second, who is being ordained a Catholic priest. Turkey is 99% Muslim so this is a moment of rejoicing for the only 60,000 Christians in the whole country. We will hope to catch this event on video.