News October 31, 2024

News from Good News Ministries:

• When hardships steal your time, focus on Jesus
• From WordBytes: What you didn’t know about Purgatory
• Plus great links to other great content!

When hardships steal your time, focus on Jesus

Hurricane Milton smacked into the Tampa Bay area with quite a punch. The last time a hurricane hit here so hard was 102 years ago. It brought with it a couple of tornadoes that ripped through my property — praise God they didn’t touch my house. They did knock down trees. I lost 17 beautiful trees.

My house got 10 inches of bacteria-filled floodwaters after a dam upstream was opened to release pressure. Due to my living quarters being the second floor, which was undamaged, the expensive flood insurance is not coming to my aid. Now I’m waiting to find out what my homeowners insurance will cover. Meanwhile, a crew has begun cleaning out and sanitizing what flooded (there’s a LOT of my late husband Ralph’s tools and paperwork and equipment there). Needless to say, this is all very stressful, but Jesus is with me.

Meanwhile, Karen, who is a GNM board member and one of our most active volunteers, lost her house and all her possessions a week before Milton, in Hurricane Helene. She and her husband and mother have been living in a hotel. And her brother passed away. She told me:

“After my brother’s funeral, my right shoulder flared up in horrific pain. I have pulled and torn muscles in that area from all the work I did to clear out the house and make ready for the contractors and to move not once but twice. Of course there’s very little they can do for torn muscles so I have been offering it up and praying about it. Early on I felt that the good Lord was telling me it was from my cross. And I know he wants to help me…. Today, I am going to Confession, Adoration, and Mass to begin again. I know I need to do these things again. It’s time for me to stop focusing on all the work and put the focus back on Jesus.”

I, too, have been kept away from daily Mass. And Karen has the right attitude. I, too, need to put aside the hurricane recovery work long enough each day to spend more time focusing on Jesus.

I have not had time to do my GNM work. During this recovery period, you won’t hear much from me except what was pre-programmed, which Graciela keeps running so well. If I have an hour for GNM, I am choosing instead to give that time to Jesus by going to Mass.

Good News WordBytes:
What you didn’t know about Purgatory

The Afterlife: What does the Catholic Church teach? Did Jesus talk about Purgatory? Does God’s mercy help those in Purgatory? Is there any joy in Purgatory? Can our loved ones who are in Purgatory pray for us? How long does purification take? Can we avoid Purgatory? Where is Purgatory in the Bible?

All Souls Day (November 2) is a special day that the Church has given us to remind us about how important it is to offer prayers for those who have died in the arms of Jesus but have not yet reached the full glory of heaven. Transitioning from earthly life to full union with God in heaven is usually not instantaneous. We call this transition “purgatory”.

If you know someone who’s confused about the Doctrine of Purgatory, visit wordbytes.org/faqs/purgatory.

Good News Prayer Room:

Use our collection of Catholic prayers designed with your needs in mind. They will give you hope and a stronger connection to God’s love and support. What do you need prayers for today?

Visit gnm.org/prayers.

Post your prayer requests @ gnm.org/post-a-prayer.

Explore our Catholic Video Library for Faith Growth

Give yourself a personal retreat day; watch videos from our library of faith-builders:

• Footsteps to Heaven
• Guest Spots
• Terry & Ralph’s Good News for Today
• Quick Faith-builders with Terry Modica
• God’s Amazing Word for Miracles
• God’s Radical Love for Marriage
• Come Holy Spirit!
• Praying with Power
• How to Pray in the Power of the Holy Spirit
• Go Deeper into Holy Mass
• Take, Eat, Drink: Understanding the Catholic Mass
• How to Turn Your Crosses Into Resurrections
• The Apostolate of the Laity in the Church Crisis
• Personal Testimonies
• Prayer Meditations
• Meditations without Words

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

Find this and past issues at gnm.org/newsletter. Please share what will minister to others.