News June 20, 2024 – Today would have been Ralph’s birthday

News from Good News Ministries:

• Today would have been Ralph’s birthday
• This week’s recommended video: Have you seen it yet?
• Plus great links to great content!

Today would have been Ralph’s birthday

Today would have been Ralph’s birthday if he were still alive. Everywhere I look there are reminders of who he was and how much I miss him. It’s depressing to experience his birthday without shopping for a special gift or planning a romantic dinner. But one thing that cheers me is how people have been celebrating his life through donations that will keep Good News Ministries going.

Until his passing, Ralph volunteered as GNM’s IT expert maintaining the server. And oh how I missed him last week when I had to oversee the migrating of GNM’s websites to a new server! My brain doesn’t understand that techy stuff. It was so stressful. It made me cry. I yelled at God: “It’s not fair! You shouldn’t have taken Ralph from me! This is too hard on me! Remember how many people around the world were praying for his healing? He should have had miracles! And I don’t mean the miracle of the perfect and complete healing called Death.”

Well, God knew I was just venting. I was definitely in the anger stage of grieving. Know what I mean?

Of course, Ralph is still with me in intangible but definite ways. We can be sure that he continues to support this ministry with his prayers.

Do you know how God prepared Ralph and me for Good News Ministries even before we got married?

We were high school sweethearts. We met in public speaking class in our senior year (1972-73). At that time Ralph was not going to church (he was raised Catholic but his family had stopped going to Mass) and I was Protestant. After we fell in love, I made it clear that I would only marry someone who shared my faith. So Ralph began to attend my church services with me. I gave him a Bible and he read it. His relationship with Christ came alive.

To my surprise, after we married I became Catholic because I fell in love with Jesus in the Eucharist, and Ralph “came home” to the Catholic Church.

God knew that two decades later he would commission us to found Good News Ministries. He guided us through a spiritual journey that eventually led to this very special mission.

In the early years of GNM, Ralph’s salary in the secular world enabled this ministry. He sacrificed his vacation time for GNM events. And our family sacrificed a second income so that I could keep pushing GNM’s growth.

After a few years of this, the ministry began to receive small donations and the Board of Directors discerned that I could receive $100 a week for my work. Fifteen years later, GNM became large enough and donor support became dependable enough to pay me a more reasonable salary and to hire our first assistant.

Today the ministry has grown so large that we cannot do it without a staff of six: myself as executive director, Graciela as assistant director, Kathy as office assistant, Lily as our social media manager, Brent as our server and website assistant, and hopefully soon a media director to increase our video production.

With Ralph gone, I really need your help. Everyone who honors his life and his 29 years of championing the mission of Good News Ministries comforts my heart and even puts a smile on my face. Today, in memory of his birthday, let’s thank God for who Ralph was and what he did to spread the Father’s love. Love offerings can me made at continuetogive.com/RalphModica.

And the next time you go to Mass, remember that the Eucharist unites us to all the saints in Heaven, including the ones who are still being purified in Purgatory. Say a prayer for Ralph’s soul and then tell him “Happy Birthday!” Let’s inundate him with birthday messages from all around the world. Tell him it was my idea. That will super-connect him to me, for sure!

And please — if you can — make a donation today that honors him. Go to continuetogive.com/RalphModica now.

Have you seen this video yet?
Ralph in 2011 tells his story

In this early video of “The Good News Show” Ralph described how God inspired us to start and to continue this ministry.

Watch the video @ gnm-media.org/terry-ralph-modica-founders-good-news-ministries.

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.

Good News WordBytes:

WANT MORE FAITH and HOPE in TROUBLED TIMES? WE’RE HERE for YOU! Choose from a variety of topics on our website of Catholic Faith-building articles. What do you need today?

Visit wordbytes.org.

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

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