Dr. Ray Guarendi

Dr. Ray Guarendi:

Psychologist, father, softball superstar

and very handsome man

Dr. Ray during broadcast at WILB Studios

Dr. Ray was born heathen, baptized Catholic, and raised in a loving Italian-Catholic home. His parents made sure the Church was a full portion of his childhood: the Bible, Mass, Eucharist, Confession, 12 years of religious education. The roots of his Catholic faith put down and spread. As a young teenager – perhaps as many young Catholics boys that age then – Dr. Ray thought about the priesthood.

With more teen years and more life come distractions and allure of the world. Dr. Ray remained Catholic throughout college and his early professional years, but he reserved certain aspects of “Catholic” to his own definition of the word.

Ever so slowly, Dr. Ray drifted into his own brand of Catholicism, finally culminating in his leaving the Church during his 30s for a non Catholic denomination. He left with no hostility toward Catholicism, just a more or less “I want to worship Christ where I determine it’s most appealing.”

Two parallel evolutions occurred during Dr. Ray’s experience with Evangelical Christianity. One, he met many Christians who truly loved the Lord, and who pushed him to become more intense in his search for God. This and the roots of his Catholic faith nurtured Dr. Ray’s growing passion for learning about and following Christ.

Dr. Ray’s other Christian evolution occurred as a distressing struggle. With so many (literally thousands) of Christian denominations and independent churches teaching what it meant to believe in Christ, he became more confused and

Pilate’s question to Jesus “What is Truth?” began to gnaw at Dr. Ray

unsettled. Pilate’s question to Jesus “What is Truth?” began to gnaw at Dr. Ray. The increasing desire to follow Christ on Christ’s terms began to clash with increasing confusion, even despair, over being unable to know “What did Christ really teach?” Not just the “basics”, not just what can we “agree” on, no just the “majors”, but what He came to give us in its fullness.

Gradually, Dr. Ray started looking back at the Church he left, asking “What do you have to say about Christ?” What is your history, your Bible knowledge, your morality, your understanding of the Lord?”

The journey back to the Catholic Church took some years, as Dr. Ray read, explored, and digested Catholic teaching with much the same intensity he learned Evangelical Christianity. In the end (though that will never come until they day we are with the Lord), three powerful realities brought Dr. Ray back to the Catholic Church.

History. The early Christians’ beliefs and practices were Catholic in their form and their roots. So many of the teachings that the Church have been accused of “adding on” to the early faith were there in the beginning of Christianity. The Bible as it is understood by the Church today is so very consistent with how the earliest Christians understood the Bible.

Morality. If Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, then so are his moral teachings. For 2000 years the Church as proclaimed to the world consistent Christian Truth about the most basic matters of human existence: sexuality,

Despite relentless forces, the Church remains unbowed

marriage, sanctity of life from the womb. Despite relentless forces, the Church remains unbowed in proclaiming the historic morality of the Christian faith. To paraphrase Archbishop Fulton Sheen: If one had to choose from the many religions to decide which one was given by Christ and one knows nothing about any of them, then the Catholic Church must stand out. For she is to this day the most hated by all the world for what she stands for, as Christ predicted his Church would be.

Eucharist. The testimony of the Bible and the overwhelming unanimity of the early Church is that Christ left his people his very self in the appearance of bread and wine. If this is not true, then it is at the very least, an eccentric addition to true Christianity. But, if it is true, it is s a miracle and gift of infinite value. No one who left us writing from the first 1000 years of the Church doubted it was true as they linked it to the very trustworthiness of Christ himself.

Many Christians—Catholic and Protestant—helped Dr. Ray more back to Christ after his long drift away. His hope is to be forever grateful to God for opening his eyes.

Visit Dr. Guarendi's web site at www.drray.com.