Renewal Ministries

Weekly Inspiration: Pierced By Sin

Elizabeth Rzepka — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 11:00:58 +0000

In recent weeks, the daily Mass readings were from 2 Samuel and for several days we heard stories of King David. As the scriptures about David, Bathsheba, Uriah, and Nathan were proclaimed, I found myself responding with unexpected emotion. My heart was deeply grieved by the gravity of David’s sins to the point where I was holding back tears. The same overwhelming emotion struck me daily as the story progressed. I’ve never had an experience quite like this before that prompted a desire to weep at the scope and magnitude of sin. But sorrow for sin is a grace!

Compunction is a deep, grace-filled sorrow for sin that pierces the heart leading to repentance and healing. The word is derived from the Latin for “to prick hard” and is a grace that flows from love of God. This deep sorrow is rooted in a profound awareness that it is sin that keeps us from God’s incredible love. It elicits an ache over the distance sin puts between us and the One we love, because we want nothing more than to have all barriers between Him and us removed.

As we continue our Lenten journey, I encourage you to pray for the grace of compunction. May love for God so consume you that your soul is pierced by an aching desire to never have sin separate you from the One who loves you more than you can imagine.

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Slovakia

Renewal Ministries — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 15:24:28 +0000

Slovakia

Renewal Ministries has conducted missions to the middle-European country of Slovakia for more than fifteen years. Our initial efforts concentrated primarily on the cities of Bratislava and Presov, with the presentation of large Catholic rallies and evangelization and discipleship schools. In recent years, our outreach has been extended to all quarters of the country with smaller rallies, five-day parish missions in towns and villages, sharing in school and university settings and in homes for the elderly, doing youth ministry, and conducting evenings of renewal and inner-healing events.

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“My fondest memories are from the opportunities we had to pray with people and to see their faith and hope, their expectation and trust. I saw the Lord’s grace work in their honesty, their poverty, and their openness, which allowed them to receive the gift of tears and of peace. The inspirational teachings were so eagerly received at the FIRE Rally. Their joy was evident and contagious.”

// Carol Ann Fox | Slovakia Mission Team Member

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Weekly Inspiration: Zeal and Contemplation

Katey Norman — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 19:42:34 +0000

Every year, I begin January with a renewed focus and direction on where the Lord is leading. Historically, I will discern a word or Scripture and then the Lord will direct me to a saint to be a friend on the journey. This year, I was excited about the verse Christ put on my heart from John 2:17 and Psalm 69:9: “…zeal for Your house will consume me.” As an extrovert overjoyed at an outwardly passionate reading, I looked forward to whatever bold and loud saint the Lord would lead me to. Would it be St Francis of Assisi this year? Perhaps St. John the Baptist? Maybe the fierce St. Joan of Arc for 2026?

I was quite surprised that over the course of the first week of January God made it abundantly clear that the saint He wanted me to grow with was St. Charbel—a powerhouse in the Maronite rite and a man I knew absolutely nothing about.

As I started to read about this Lebanese saint, I quickly came to realize that his life on earth was very still and quiet. He lived out a monastic vocation, and no written wisdom was ever procured from him. I began to question if I misheard the Lord—could a saint so hidden be a match for a zeal that consumes?

Of course. Because the Lord’s giants teach us about the need for every type of saint. Beyond that, the Lord has begun teaching me through this marriage of zeal and contemplation that each feeds into the other. My natural disposition to be excited about zeal will never reach its full potential if I am not surrendered to the beauty of contemplation as well.

I continue to learn that while the Lord is incredibly steadfast in his love for me, He also surprises me with new ways to draw closer to Him. These invitations have helped me to let go of the pride that can creep into a seemingly well-curated and aesthetic prayer life. In exchange, He renews his promise to me that life with Him is an incredible adventure and one that He always makes new.

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Weekly Inspiration: The Doorway to Life

Chris Baker — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 19:29:43 +0000

There’s a story in the Old Testament about the prophet Elijah and the widow of Zarephath. A Gentile widow lives in a land undergoing a drought. She and her only son have just enough flour and oil left for one last meal before facing starvation. At the town gate, she encounters Elijah, who asks her for water and a loaf of bread—everything she has left—in exchange for a promise: “…the jar of flour will not be emptied, and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.”

She obeys the command of the Lord and receives the fulfillment of the promise. Her flour and oil never run out. It is her obedience to the word of the Lord, despite a thousand reasons to be fearful, that makes this a beautiful story of God’s promise and provision when preceded by obedience.

But there is a second half to her story. Later in the same chapter, her son falls ill and dies. The jar of flour and jug of oil are still full, but now her heart is empty. Her grief erupts in anger and accusation, yet when Elijah says, “Give me your son,” she obeys again and entrusts her dead son to him. Elijah cries out to the Lord, and the Lord restores the boy’s life. Elijah returns him saying, “See, your son is alive.” The widow declares, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth” (1 Kings 17:24).

Like most of us, even after a profound encounter with the Lord’s mercy, healing, or even a miracle, we still find it hard to trust Him when faced with suffering that surpasses our past experiences. This is the rhythm of the spiritual life. God often asks for our “last loaf” or our “greatest treasure”—not to impoverish us, but to reveal Himself as faithful. Obedience to God’s Word does not remove hardship. It reveals who God truly is within it. When we surrender our pain in obedience rather than resist it in fear, our pain becomes a place of encounter. The Word of the Lord is truth. And when we obey that Word — even when it costs us everything — we discover that obedience is not loss, but the doorway to life.

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‘The Choices We Face’ Launches 2026 Season

Renewal Ministries Staff — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 12:00:53 +0000

This month, EWTN will begin airing the forty-second season of The Choices We Face. This highly acclaimed program is the longest-running Catholic television show in history! Each week, hosts Ralph Martin, Peter Herbeck, and Pete Burak explore important topics concerning the faith. This season’s interviews engage viewers with discussions on a wide-range of topics important to the life of a disciple of Christ.

Caroline Dirkes · Evangelistic Fire
Caroline Gambale-Dirkes shares her testimony and how the Lord invited her into ministry and evangelization.

Fr. Donald Haggerty · The Hour of Testing
Fr. Donald Haggerty discusses his recent book The Hour of Testing and the ways the Church needs to be vigilant and proactive in engaging the battle.

Sr. Louis Marie Zogg · Encountering Love
Sr. Louis Marie Zogg, O.P., shares her story about discovering the Lord’s love and her vocation in an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist.

Dr. Kristin Krieger · Clothe Yourself in Humility
Dr. Kristen Krieger shares her story of becoming Catholic and how the Lord inspired her to serve on Mexico mission trips as a medical doctor.

Dr. Peter Newburn · A Missionary Life
Dr. Peter Newburn, Renewal Ministries Country Coordinator and Divine Renovation coach, shares about bringing the Gospel to the Church in Africa.

Jake Khym · Pursuing Freedom and Wholeness
Jake Khym shares his story of encountering the healing love of Jesus and how it has led him to minister to priests and Church leaders.

Annie Baldante · Will You Choose Jesus?
Annie Baldante, Ralph’s granddaughter, talks about the Lord inviting her to choose Him, developing a prayer life, and serving in middle school ministry.

Dr. Jacob Imam · Saints, Scholars, and Builders
Dr. Jacob Imam shares about being raised in a Muslim home, discovering the truth of Catholicism, and being led to start a new college in Steubenville, OH.

Fr. Ed Fride · Lord, Renew Your Wonders
Fr. Ed Fride shares his conversion and vocation story, as well as the amazing fruit coming from the charismatic parish he serves.

Pete Burak · A Man on Purpose
Pete Burak talks about his new book, A Man on Purpose, which offers ten principles he learned from his father for becoming a man of God.

Miriam Wright · Knowing the King
Miriam shares her journey of surrender to the King of Kings, and how each step brought her deeper into freedom, transformation, and mission.

Rachel Herbeck · Boldly Proclaiming the Gospel
Rachel shares her passion for God’s Word, the transformative power it proclaims, and how she invites young people into discipleship.

Bishop Hying · Return to the Upper Room
Bishop Donald Hying shares his personal journey of faith, priesthood, and episcopacy and offers insights into how we can build an evangelizing culture.

Patti Mansfield · The Priesthood
Patti Mansfield offers a teaching on the priesthood as the love of the heart of Jesus. She highlights a threefold purity that the faithful long for in their shepherds: purity of heart, of doctrine, and of the moral life.

Janelle Gergen · Dual Motherhood
Janelle Gergen shares about the joyful and sorrowful mysteries of her life and how they prepared her for a life of service to the Church.

Fathers Zach and Drew Mabee · Brothers in Christ
Fr. Zach Mabee and Fr. Drew Mabee share about their family life growing up, their conversion to Catholicism, and answering the call to priesthood.

Other Highlights . . .
This season also features Ralph, Peter, and Pete discussing talks given by Deacon Larry Oney, Katey Norman, Bishop Scott McCaig, Fr. Rastislav Dluhý, and Debbie Herbeck.

Access All Episodes
Recent episodes of The Choices We Face are available on EWTN but also can be viewed at our website or our YouTube channel.

This article originally appeared in the Renewal Ministries March 2026 newsletter. Subscribe here!

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