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What is God’s Will for You?
What is God's will for your life? The Lord has told us some amazing things: He wills our happiness. He wills our salvation. He wills eternal life for us. He wills to bring us back to the Father's house. He wills to open the gates of paradise for us. He wills to help...
What I Saw Beyond the Clouds
Every summer, I teach an intensive course at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. During that time, I make a forty-minute drive into Detroit every day. I teach a three-hour class in the morning and a two-hour class in the afternoon. Sometimes, my prayer time is a little...
Live a Full Life
This article is abridged from id’s November Disciples’ Night. The original talk can be viewed here. By Sr. Lucia Christi, SV Jesus “came that they may have life and have it more abundantly” (Jn 10:10). He teaches us how to live life to the full: Receive the gift of...
Finding Hope in the New Year
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Happy New Year! Some of you may be wondering how I can speak of a happy new year when there is plenty to be unhappy about. And indeed, there is. But as Christians, we know that Jesus has already triumphed over all evil. Even though things...
Thank you, Pope Benedict XVI!
On June 3, 2006, the Pontifical Council for the Laity asked me to thank Pope Benedict XVI on behalf of all the movements in the Church. There were 400,000 people from all the ecclesial movements gathered in St. Peter’s Square to meet with the pope. My words to him are...
How to Evangelize Today
Over twenty years ago, as an undergraduate student at Michigan State University, I went on a spring break trip to Panama City Beach, Florida, to do beach evangelization. On each day of our “vacation,” we would approach strangers on the beach, tell them about Jesus,...
Rooting Our Identities in Christ
Dear Friends of Renewal Ministries, Ralph asked if I would share some insights the Lord is giving us that are profoundly influencing the young people we work with. I think some lessons from the annual summer camp we run for middle school boys could prove valuable for...
Nothing Without the Lord
A priest once told me, “Whatever you do, remember: Nothing without the Lord.” That phrase stuck with me: “Nothing without the Lord.” It’s helpful to remember that whether I’m waiting to get off an airplane, driving in my car, or just working, the Lord is always with...
The Light Shines in the Darkness: A Letter from Ralph Martin
Dear Challenged Disciples, The temperature of the battle is rising—and with this letter, I want to give you my best understanding of where we are in the war, as well as reasons to hope and how to help. The Masks are Off “The fog of religion has been lifted, the...
Spreading the Gospel in Zimbabwe
For more than twenty years, Renewal Ministries has supported the Emmaus Center, a Catholic community within Uganda that bears much fruit for the Lord. The following report outlines the Ugandan Emmaus Center’s recent outreach to another Emmaus Center in Zimbabwe. This...
Offer It Up
This interview is condensed from an episode of The Choices We Face in which Ralph Martin (RM) interviewed Fr. James Brent (FJB), OP, from the Dominican Friars Province of St. Joseph. It can be viewed here. Fr. James’ original video on suffering can be viewed here. RM:...
Spreading the Gospel in Mexico
In April 2022, Renewal Ministries resumed its annual high school mission trip to serve the poor who live and work in the garbage dump in Mexico City. It had been nearly three years since we last served there with a group of high schoolers, since the 2020 mission was...
Overcoming Injustice: Q&A with Pastor James Ward
The following article is condensed from two episodes of The Choices We Face, Overcoming Injustice: Part One and Part Two. Ralph Martin (RM) and Peter Herbeck (PH) interviewed Pastor James Ward (PJW), author of Zero Victim and pastor and founder of Insight Church near...
Are We Ready to Take a Stand?
These are difficult days, days in which our faith, hope, and love are being tested. But these are also days of great opportunity. We are being given the opportunity, whether small or great, to bear witness to the truth of our faith. The question is, are we ready to...
Spreading the Gospel in Romania
After a hiatus due to the pandemic, we organized four Youth Adventure Camps in the summer of 2021. It was a challenge to bring in the optimal number of participants. The parents were still reluctant to let their children come to camp because of the virus. And yet,...
Living as Catholics in Challenging Times
I'm not here to convince you that we are living in challenging times. You know we are living in challenging times. I am here hoping to shed a little light on some of the challenges and how we can keep our hearts at peace and our heads clear amid the conflict,...
Obedience: Heaven’s Love Language
The Church is a miracle, a living organism brought into existence on the day of Pentecost. By the power of the Holy Spirit united to Jesus Christ in his flesh, Jesus became one of us. He became a human being so that heaven and earth could be joined in a human being....
The World is in Danger: A Letter from Ralph Martin
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Just before the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima on May 13, I made a short video called The World is in Danger. I’d like to repeat what I said there and add a few additional comments, since the world really is in danger. . . . . . There's...
Some Tension is Beautiful
This article originally appeared in Pentecost Today Magazine, 2022, Issue 1. Most of us try to avoid tension. We generally don’t like holding two things at the same time, balancing multiple perspectives, or navigating conflicting ideas. We often think that simplifying...
Raising Next Generation, Spirit-Filled Leaders
The following post originally appeared in Renewal Ministries' June 2020 newsletter. Last October, the id team took a few days to pray, evaluate, celebrate, and seek the Lord’s will for our work in 2022. While we anticipated the time would be fruitful and refreshing...
Recent Posts
Live a Full LifeJanuary 14, 2023
Finding Hope in the New YearJanuary 5, 2023
Thank you, Pope Benedict XVI!January 2, 2023
How to Evangelize TodayNovember 19, 2022
Rooting Our Identities in ChristNovember 11, 2022
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