For you this week:
- Reflection for Saturday: God’s version of the Great Reset is happening!
- Inside the Ministry: How can we best help you in a world of crazy evil?
- Download the Rosary for World Peace
- New Footsteps to Heaven podcast: Stressed Out? Make a Treasure Box of Blessings
- More: You won’t want to miss these opportunities for faith growth
This week’s Trivia Challenge: Which Gospel was written by a doctor?
(Check your answer at the end of this newsletter.)
Saturday March 26, 2022
Hosea 6:1-6
Psalm 51: 3-4, 18-21
Luke 18:9-14
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032622.cfm
Podcast:
bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/2022-03-26
Saints Calendar:
gnm.org/saints-find/saints-calendar
Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us, but he will heal us. He has struck us, but he will bind our wounds. (From Saturday’s first reading)
Reflection for Saturday:
God’s version of the Great Reset is happening!
Kathleen wrote, “We are in grave danger. People need to wake up!!!”
I replied, “So much is at stake. But God is still in charge. He is working a plan.”
“His people (us) ARE the plan!” she said. “Our voice needs to become louder somehow.”
“Or else disaster will be the loudest voice,” I said.
“And that too will bring a result!” she replied.
Kathleen was talking about the world we live in now. And why it’s getting worse. As everyone knows who’s been paying attention to what the mainstream media is avoiding, what the social media giants are censoring, and what the Blessed Mother of Jesus has been warning about for decades, the war between Russia and Ukraine is only the latest evil (and potentially now the scariest). And we’ve learned the hard way that, in this too, there’s more to the whats and whys than what we know at the moment. More and more people are waking up to the fact that we cannot trust the most-obvious narrative.
Astute, Spirit-filled Christians are recognizing that Evil is kicking harder and controlling more areas of our societies, politics, and sometimes even our churches than we’ve ever seen before. AND that the true followers of Christ will, of course, be victorious in this spiritual world war. Of course, Christ is bigger and stronger than Evil (infinitely!) and he is working a plan for our good, not disaster (Jeremiah 29:11). But how bad must it get before Satan’s slaves cry out to God to be rescued?
As we wait for God’s own version of the Great Reset to turn things around, most of us are feeling worn down. But in the midst of dealing with today’s insane (we never thought this would happen) hardships, we’re getting stronger. We’re turning to God more. We’re leaning harder on Jesus. We’re putting more work into identifying and purging ourselves from sin. We’re discovering what really matters, and we’re more disturbed by the same things that disturb our Divine Father.
We need to keep our eyes on Jesus! Let him fill you with his Holy Spirit more than ever before. And let him bring you closer to the Father than you ever knew possible.
Inside the Ministry:
How can we best help you in a world of crazy evil?
At Good News Ministries, we’ve spent a lot of time prayerfully discerning how God wants us to minister to you and the other GNM members as we go through this most unusual time together. As a result, we’ve doubled down on providing faith-builders. We’re focusing on lifting people’s spirits and their trust in God.
As Graciela, GNM’s Assistant Director, says: “We all need Good News!”
With that in mind, we’ve been working (with the wonderful help of volunteer Karen Mayhew — thank you!) on making all of our WordBytes articles and our prayer resources available for download (for free, as usual). It’s time-consuming work because we have around 450 articles and prayers. If anyone else wants to volunteer for this project, please let me know; you can make a huge difference in the struggles and hardships of others! (This project requires working with MS Word and/or WordPress.)
We want people to have PDF copies that they can print and read if the worst happens. Imagine if the Good News Ministries websites were to become unavailable due to a blackout of electricity or the internet. Hopefully this is over-preparing, but we want you to have the Good News whenever you need it most.
Meanwhile, our websites have deteriorated and malfunctioned due to 10-year-old code. Our new web developer, Robert Holland, is putting in a lot of hours to remedy this so that we can continue to help you well. Think about this: When Satan’s slaves finally come running to Christ for help, will the Good News Ministries websites be ready to fill them with the True Faith that sets prisoners free? The answer needs to be YES!
By the way, we’re pouring several thousand dollars into this — just to get our sites functioning well again. Of course, there’s more that could be done if donor support will cover it. The hearts of the hurting and the souls of the newly saved are worth every penny. Click this link if you want to participate in this cause: gnm.org/donate.
Download the Rosary for World Peace
Good News Ministries is uniting with Pope Francis and our bishops and the whole Church around the world in praying the Rosary for an end to the war in Russia and Ukraine. In this unity — and as an on-going prayer for world peace — we are providing our Rosary for World Peace as a downloadable PDF, and we hope you will distribute it widely.
Download it right now from gnm.org/prayers/pray-the-rosary/for-world-peace.
Stressed Out? Make a Treasure Box of Blessings (new podcast)
Karin wrote, “This faith booster is exactly what I needed to hear today. It has been a tough year thus far.” It’s a common cry.
And so I pulled out one of the videos from my Faith Muscles Boot Camp to share with everyone. Repackaged as our 94th Footsteps to Heaven episode, I show you how to make a Treasure Box of Blessings as a cure for feeling stressed out.
Do you feel this way? The writer of Psalm 77 laments, “I pray to God and yet I still feel troubled. I keep watching: My eyes are watchful for the Lord to do something, to bring an end to this misery, to answer my prayers, to intervene. And I am troubled and cannot speak.”
The next verse is key. This is the cure. This is the antidote for all this misery that the Psalmist just described: “I consider the days of old; the years long past I remember.” We need to remember the past times when the Lord has come to our rescue. That’s what the Treasure Box of Blessings is all about. I’ll explain how to make one and show you what’s in my box.
Listen to this podcast @ gnm.org/footsteps94.
Or watch the video @ gnm-media.org/make-a-treasure-box-of-blessings. Or if you prefer to read it, download the transcript at this link.
The Faith Muscles Boot Camp is available on the Udemy educational platform @ udemy.com/course/faith-muscles-boot-camp/learn/lecture/30769368#overview.
Sign up for early access to podcasts. New episodes of the podcast show Footsteps to Heaven are published before this newsletter goes out. You can be notified as soon as new ones are published! Subscribe at gnm-media.org for the podcast videos or at footstepstoheaven.com for the audio-only version.
You won’t want to miss these opportunities for faith growth
See what’s available in our email ministry:
+ GOOD NEWS REFLECTIONS @ gogoodnews.net/good-news-reflections
+ DAILY BLESSINGS (Saint quotes) @ elists.gogoodnews.net/dada/mail.cgi/list/blessings
+ HEROES OF THE FAITH @ elists.gogoodnews.net/dada/mail.cgi/list/saints
+ CONSECRATION TO ST. JOSEPH (begins April 23) @ elists.gogoodnews.net/dada/mail.cgi/list/stjoseph
And in our Telegram text-messaging ministry:
+ THIS INSIDER’S VIEW NEWSLETTER @ t.me/good_news_ministries
+ DAILY GOOD NEWS REFLECTIONS @ t.me/goodnewsreflections
+ EARLY delivery of GOOD NEWS REFLECTIONS @ t.me/goodnewsearlyreflections
+ DAILY BLESSINGS (Saint quotes) @ t.me/saintquotes
+ DAILY PRAYERS WITH THE SAINTS @ t.me/DailyPrayersWithSaints
+ FAITH BOOSTERS (WordBytes articles) @ t.me/FaithBoosters
+ PRAYER MOMENTS @ t.me/prayermoments
+ INTERCESSORY PRAYER GROUP @ t.me/joinchat/Oi-csVE7Dklv7ggGP2XxuQ
+ QUESTIONS OF FAITH (Q&A group) @ t.me/joinchat/BzuxrQ1o4l40ZDJh
+ FOOTSTEPS TO HEAVEN (podcast show) @ t.me/footsteps_to_heaven
Answer to this week’s Trivia Challenge:
Which Gospel was written by a doctor?
Answer: Luke
God bless you!
Every morning, I lift up in prayer everyone who helps Good News Ministries in any way (donors, volunteers, prayer supporters, etc.) and all the prayer requests posted on our site. What can I cover in prayer for you? Post your prayer request.
How else can the team and I serve you today? Visit our homepage.
Thank you for reading this newsletter.
Your servant in Christ,
Terry Modica, Executive Director
Good News Ministries
gnm.org
Let’s connect in GNM’s community: See you there!
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