August 21, 2021

For you this week:

• Reflection for Saturday: Why God exalts us although we don’t deserve it
  
• Inside the Ministry: Pope Saint Pius X
• Footsteps to Heaven podcast: Intercessory prayer that really works
  

Saturday August 21, 2021
Memorial of Pope Saint Pius X

Ruth 2:1-3, 8-11; 4:13-17
Psalm 128:1-5
Matthew 23:1-12
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/082121.cfm
Podcast:
bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/2021-08-21

Saints Calendar:
gnm.org/saints-find/saints-calendar

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (From Saturday’s Gospel reading)

Reflection for Saturday:
Why God exalts us although we don’t deserve it

Do you ever wonder why God exalts us although we don’t deserve it?

My dad had a favorite memory about my childhood, which he often retold. It was the day I became old enough to notice the man who was preaching up front in church. I stood up on the pew, pointed and exclaimed, “That’s my daddy!”

My dad was the pastor of a Protestant congregation. He beamed with pride at his little girl’s pronouncement, even though I had interrupted his sermon.

Unknowingly, I had preached my own sermon that day with those three simple words. As Abba-Father’s children, we have good reason to exclaim every single day, “That’s my Daddy!” (Excerpted from Day 3 of The Father’s Heart: tothefathersheart.com/chapters/day-3-the-name-of-abba-like-no-other-name.)

When we exalt our Divine Daddy, he exalts us.

“True faith helps us see ourselves the way God sees us — to exalt with him when he exalts over us, and to gladly change when he shows us what needs to change.” (This is one of my Faith Boosters: wordbytes.org/faith-boosters.)

For many of us, it’s difficult to see ourselves as exalted by God. We know we are far from perfect, we are not holy “enough”. But God wants us to know that when we gladly desire to change from unholy ways to his ways, we are humbling ourselves. And he praises us for it. This is why God exalts us although we don’t deserve it: he loves us. 

However, if we think of ourselves as deserving to be punished even after we repent and receive God’s forgiveness in the Sacrament of Confession, we’ve forgotten what Jesus accomplished on the Cross. This train of thought is actually from the Devil. Satan is the Accuser, not God. Satan wants us to feel so bad about ourselves that we believe God can’t or won’t be gentle with us. Satan does not want us realize that God is, in truth, a loving Father who bends down into our sinful messes to pick us up and cradle us gently next to his heart.

Our Father’s heart goes out to everyone who genuinely wants to be lifted from sin. When he sees his child reaching up to him to be pulled out of her messes, of course he bends down to pick her up!

Then we can tell others with delight: “That’s my Daddy!”

Inside the Ministry: Pope Saint Pius X

This Saturday is the Memorial of Pope Saint Pius X, my newest patron saint. I’m excited about this because it feels like another confirmation of our new friendship.

He is known as the “Pope of the Eucharist” because he encouraged frequent Communion for adults and he lowered the age of First Communion.

From 1905 to 1910, he issued a series of decrees and clarifications emphasizing that no one in the state of grace should be prevented from approaching the “holy table”, that it is not necessary to go to Confession over venial sins before receiving Communion if the person is sincere about the Penitential Rite during Mass, and that children should be encouraged to receive frequently, even daily, after First Communion.

The same day that my new book My Soul Shall Be Healed (gnm.org/terry-modica-author/my-soul-shall-be-healed) came out in print, Pope Saint Pius X showed up. I didn’t ask for him, but there he was!

I feel certain that the Lord gave Saint Pius X to me as a prayer partner because of the topic of my book. Many Catholics need clarification once again, but not because of the heresy that Saint Pius X dealt with (i.e., that even repentant people were not holy enough to receive the Eucharist). Now the culture in the Church has been infected by the opposite heresy: that it’s okay for unrepentant sinners to receive the Eucharist.

My book makes clear what the truth really is, using the words of Pope Saint John Paul II. It makes clear what happens in the miracle of transubstantiation. If it’s true that 60% of Catholics (as one recent poll reported) do not believe that the Eucharist is truly and fully Jesus Christ in body and in spirit, my book is extremely important. And the timing of this book is perfect as parishes face diminished attendance at Masses due to people not returning after the pandemic’s lockdowns.

Who do you know who could benefit from reading this book? Consider hosting a study group in your home if not at your church. People are telling me that it’s easy to get people interested in it. Karen Mayhew says, “I love your new book on the Eucharist. I talked to a few family members and they are interested in doing a study group. I ordered 8 books with high hopes. We will start in early September.”

Although my study guide is easy for individuals to use, it was designed for parish groups. If your priest is interested in considering it for your parish, I’ll send him a free copy. Or better yet, you can buy it for him and place it in his hands when you start the conversation.

We can make this book available in Spanish, too, if at least one parish pre-orders 100 copies.

Intercessory prayer that really works (podcast)

What if while driving down the road you say a prayer for every person that you see along the way. Surely they all need your prayers. Would you intercede for others more often and more readily if you saw your prayers get answered?

In this episode, I reveal that the real stumbling block is not a lack of fruits but a lack of understanding how intercessory prayer works. By clearing up misconceptions, you can discover greater faith to become a more effective intercessor.

Listen to this podcast @ gnm.org/footsteps33.

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.

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!

Keep your eyes on Jesus!
And when you have to look at others, see them through his eyes.