Recently Pope Leo caused some controversy in responding to the German Bishops' decision to institute in a formal way the blessing of same sex and irregular unions. Many praised Pope Leo’s quick response to the effect that the Vatican doesn’t agree and that the Germans have been “spoken to”. But others registered puzzlement about what his views on sexual sins really are. While casual comments in an airplane interview can’t be fairly used to determine what anyone’s views are in a considered way, many others, besides the Pope have made statements to the effect that “sexual sins aren’t the worst sins; there are others far worse.” In this video Ralph deals with this question with an answer based on scripture and tradition. While it is certainly the case that sexual sins aren’t the worse sins, it is still very important to pay careful attention to what the Lord does say about the seriousness of sexual sins so we can make appropriate decisions.

Articles and resources in this episode:

• Ralph's new book: The Coming Judgment
• Article by Dr. Monica Miller: Sex and the Unity of the Catholic Church
• Article by Dr. Helen Alvare: Sex and Catholic Social Teaching
• Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo Besungu's letter for SECAM: No blessing for homosexual couples in all Churches in Africa
• 2024 Letter of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on Fiducia Supplicans
• EWTN Article: Vatican publishes 2024 letter prohibiting formal blessings for homosexual couples in Germany

Justice Richard Bernstein was born blind, but that didn’t stop him from becoming a marathon runner, disability rights advocate, and Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. In this week’s video, Ralph shares stories from a local event where Bernstein spoke about perseverance, suffering, and faith—raising the big question: Why do bad things happen to good people? Ralph reflects on Bernstein’s life, his campaign slogan “Life is unfair, but judges shouldn’t be,” and the perfectly just Judge we have in Jesus.

There are really only two roads we can walk in this life: one that leads to eternal life or one that leads to eternal destruction. This fundamental biblical message is depicted in one of St. Faustina’s visions, describing these very different paths: a broad and pleasurable one leading to hell, and a narrow, painful one leading to paradise. As we prepare for the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday this weekend, Ralph reflects on St. Faustina’s vision and the scriptural teaching of Jesus to help each of us to receive God’s mercy, recommit to the path of Jesus, and turn away from the path that leads to the abyss of hell.

Today we celebrate the Annunciation, the unfathomable grace of Jesus coming in the flesh. And yet when we look at the scriptures, we see something strange happened when people encountered Jesus during his earthly ministry. The One who came to heal us, love us, and give us eternal life is hated and rejected. In this video, Ralph explores what the scriptures tell us about why this is the case. May it not be so with us!

Catholic devotion to Divine Mercy is bearing wonderful fruit in the Church today, but it is also susceptible to being “hijacked,” diverted from its intended purpose. There’s a popular perception that goes something like this, “God is so merciful that very few, if any, will be lost.” This is actually a distortion of the true meaning of mercy because it engenders an attitude of presumption and indifference that seriously undermines the Christian life. This video proposes an antidote to this false perception: true knowledge of what Jesus revealed to St. Faustina, not only about his great mercy, but also the necessity to respond to the offer of mercy with faith, repentance, and obedience in order for it to have its proper effect.

This week, Ralph looks at the "big picture" of the pro-life movement and the central decision at the root of choosing life, choosing for ETERNAL life.

John 3:16 is a very well-known verse that offers a short summary of the Gospel. This week, Ralph comments on this famous verse and the verses surrounding it to expand our understanding of its meaning beyond just what is popularly considered, and of course, it is all about salvation!

The team at Renewal Ministries has an announcement for you about Right Now with Ralph Martin!

To check out our weekly interview program The Choices We Face, featuring Ralph Martin, Peter Herbeck, and Pete Burak, and their guests visit https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/renewal-ministries-the-choices-we-face/id512306177.

For our weekday program Burning Hearts hosted by Rachel Herbeck in which Rachel helps listeners hearts to be set on fire with zeal for God’s Word visit https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/burning-hearts-with-rachel-herbeck/id1786439466.

For our weekday program Fire on the Earth hosted by Peter Herbeck in which Peter helps listeners respond personally to what the Holy Spirit is saying in our time through inspiring teachings, interviews, and testimonies, visit https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fire-on-the-earth-with-peter-herbeck/id295512989.

Follow or subscribe at the links above or wherever you get your podcasts!

Join our email list to hear about Renewal Ministries events, receive our monthly newsletter, weekly written inspirations by our staff, or our weekly update featuring a digest of that week's video messages from our team: renewalministries.net/email.

Follow us on social media for even more daily encouragement and inspiration!

1. Instagram: instagram.com/renewalministries
2. Facebook: facebook.com/CatholicRenewalMinistries
3. YouTube: YouTube.com/@renewalministries

In this short video Ralph shares how impacted he was by the simple but encouraging word conveyed by a Christian hymn. He thinks you will be encouraged too!

Peter Herbeck joins Ralph on the podcast this week to discuss what it means to live in the power of the Holy Spirit & under the lordship of Jesus.

In this episode: A New Pentecost by Ralph Martin.