Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Today's Feast: Saint Mark the Evangelist

http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/Mark.htm

Today's Readings:
1 Peter 5:5b-14
Ps 89:2-3, 6-7, 16-17
Mark 16:15-20

http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/042508.shtml

Going into the whole world with the Good News

Today's Gospel passage contains the reason why my ministry is named "Good News Ministries." Jesus said: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Good News." In 1995, when Ralph (my husband of 31 years) and I were commissioned to start this Catholic evangelization service in our local community, we had no idea we would be reaching out to "the whole world" via the Internet.

The Feast of St. Mark is a good opportunity to share with you more about what the Lord has been doing in our ministry. May our example inspire you in whatever the Holy Spirit is calling you to do for spreading the Gospel of salvation.

Today's first reading shows why I have always felt an urgency to keep this ministry going. Everywhere, people are suffering and struggling in daily battles against Satan and trials and other sufferings. I want to be God's proclaimer of the Good News about his gifts of victory over evil, healing from woundedness, encouragement in holiness, and restoration from weariness.

Like you, Ralph and I have had frequent need to resist the devil, and when we've turned to the Holy Spirit for help, we've grown stronger in the faith.

Each time, God restored us, confirmed us, and used the hardships to make us more compassionate, more humble, and more able to do his work well. When one door got slammed shut in our faces, God opened a new door and blessed us as we walked into unexpected opportunities. This is how we grew an Internet ministry that includes these daily Good News Reflections and thousands of pages on four websites (gnm.org, wordbytes.org, gogoodnews.net, and the newest one, designed especially for churches seeking materials for distribution: catholicdr.com).

And we've shared the Good News in other ways that we could not have foreseen or planned.

After the sinful behavior of our chaplain caused us to lose our local reputation, God raised us out of the dirt by sending our team across country to provide a one-week diocesan Pastoral Institute on Catholic Evangelization. He even sent me as far away as Malawi in Central Africa to teach two courses for a week in a seminary.

Satan prowls around like a roaring lion, trying to interfere, especially when God is about to do something awesome. Christians in ministry are tempted most when the devil wants us to stop what we're doing. If you're being harassed by unusual problems that keep popping up, praise the Lord! God is about to take you to the next level of service and growth.

If you're suffering and are willing to turn it into a ministry for others who are likewise suffering, praise God like in today's responsorial Psalm! You are already victorious; you will be a powerful and effective instrument for God's kingdom.