Celebrate the richness and blessing of grandparents!

This week we celebrated the feast day of Sts. Joachim and Ann, beloved parents of Our Blessed Mother. Many of us travel during the summer to visit our parents or grandparents or to visit our children and grandchildren. What blessing and wisdom there is to be shared by our treasured grandparents. A CNA article reports that our Holy Father acknowledges grandparents “with appreciation for the religious, spiritual, human and social richness of grandparents.....(read more).”

Part of the "feminine genius" John Paul II teaches about includes the gift of maternity, but when he speaks of maternity he is not limiting the experience solely to a biological reality. At ENDOW, all motherhood is highly treasured and valued. Have you ever considered becoming a spiritual mother or grandmother? To learn more about this blessed calling please click here.

Let us run to hug our grandparents with hugs of arms and/or prayers! We thank God for the treasure of our grandparents. Sts. Joachim and Ann, pray for us!

Don't miss ENDOW's Terry Polakovic & Brigid Sweeney on "EWTN Live"...Wed, 7/28/10..8pm CDT

Please tune in to see ENDOW's amazing opportunity to share the ENDOW mission with more and more women! Terry Polakovic and Brigid Sweeney will be interviewed by EWTN's Fr. Mitch Pacwa on Wednesday (7/28/10) 8pm EDT. How about encouraging your friends who might like to learn a bit more about ENDOW and it's mission to tune in as well? This is a great opportunity to help more people learn about the important work ENDOW does in transforming our culture.

(Please forgive me for previously posting an incorrect time.....I hope some of you did get to see it...it was a terrific show!)

Viewing later: Encores will be run on Thursday, July 28th at 1am and 9am and Sunday, August 1st at 4pm. Also, following the taping, a copy of the show can be purchased here.

We are never alone! Our Holy Father speaks about praying the “Our Father...”

As we pray, we draw into closer and closer friendship with God. Today I saw this beautiful butterfly doing exactly what he was created to do. Trough prayer, we can ask for the grace to do what our Father has planned for our lives...“Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you...” (Is 43:4, RSV) Imagine! These are the true words of our Father in heaven to us.

The Lord’s Prayer “is the most perfect of prayers..” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2763). When we gather together in prayer at mass, in our ENDOW studies....in our families...even when we are by our selves, we are never alone when we pray the Our Father! An article from ZENIT reports Pope Benedict XVI’s instruction to the faithful on the Lord’s Prayer. Our Holy Father says “Every time we recite the Our Father our voice interweaves with the voice of the Church, because no one who prays is ever alone.” In saying this prayer we all know and love, “We are before the first words of sacred Scripture that we have known since childhood. They fix themselves in the memory, they form our lives, they accompany us until our last breaths. They reveal...”(read full article).

I encourage all women of ENDOW to spend time today praying the Our Lord's Prayer with focused attention. You might ask in prayer, “What will you have me do for you today, our loving Father?” Let us join into this blessed interweaving of voices by praying now “Our Father who art in heaven......."

SUFFERING converted to ministry....Fr. Paddy lived JOY in taking up his cross.....

Suffering is sometimes so hard to understand. Today we read about a Catholic priest who is thought by many to have been a living saint. The obituary in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for Fr. Patrick Rager of Pittsburgh, PA tells how Fr. Paddy “was an example of heroic virtue” to all who knew him. “He gave such a witness in his priestly ministry to what it means to take up one's cross and simply, quietly bear it. But he did it in a way that converted it into a ministry. He was a constant source of support, encouragement and spiritual strength for people all over, not only the United States, but different parts of the world......” (read more).

Fr. Paddy was “inspired to priesthood by his childhood pastor at St. Mary Magdalene..” Today, on this feast of St. Mary Magdalene, let us pray for her intercession that Fr. Paddy rest in peace and all may come to know more about the Christian meaning of suffering through his example. “Suffering is something which we will all experience in our lives. When we suffer in union with Christ, it can be a source of innumerable graces and blessings, a powerful means through which our lives are transformed and made holy. We saw this example of suffering lived deeply and authentically in the life of the author of this apostolic letter, our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II.........” This powerful apostolic letter is studied in the ENDOW class: Salvifici Doloris (On the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering).

Growth and CHANGES!

Hello everyone! There is a bit of change in the air here on The Front Porch. As many of you know, ENDOW’s Executive Director, Terry Polakovic, has been caring for this blog since it’s beginning along with a few other faithful contributors. Thanks to their efforts, The Front Porch has become an informative, wonderful and relaxing place to spend a moment or two. While Terry and the others will continue to contribute, I, Janet Teran, have been asked to regularly update the blog. I will be doing my best to keep an eye out for ideas and articles of interest which have to do with our mission at ENDOW. ENDOW is, as most of us know, a Catholic educational program that brings women together to discover their God-given dignity and to understand their role in humanizing and transforming society.

I am excited and am extremely grateful for this opportunity as I have a very deep love for ENDOW and all that the Holy Spirit is doing through this organization of faith filled people. I humbly ask for your prayers as I set out to keep you all comfortable and informed in this “gathering place” called “The Front Porch.” Please take a moment to check out the ENDOW website (Click Here)....there are so many new things happening as ENDOW continues to be blessed...such amazing growth and many new opportunities. During these lingering days of summer, I encourage you all to prayerfully consider joining an ENDOW class this fall or perhaps you will consider becoming a facilitator and starting a study! My family, friends and I have been blessed in more ways than I could ever count through my facilitation of ENDOW studies and through my association with ENDOW.........might this suggestion be THE ONE you have been waiting for? Please, go ahead....just say YES! To check out some classes which might be calling especially to you, please click here. I look forward to our time together here on The Front Porch........and Thank you! Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful!

Midsummer Already? Embrace every moment.....

Ginny Moyer, author of the award-winning book, Mary and Me: Catholic Women Reflect on the Mother of God, has written a fun, practical, and poignant column on mommyhood and faith. Ginny has offered to share her insights with we women of ENDOW. Here’s to enjoying these precious and playful days of summer! We hope you enjoy Ginny’s insights, inspirations and suggestions.

Moms in Midsummer:

Four Tips for Enjoying the Season

By Ginny Kubitz Moyer

Summer has been in full swing for a few weeks now, and if you’re like me, you’re savoring it. If you’re like me, though, you also get a shock every time you glance at a calendar and realize it’s July. Time is passing, a truth that is only magnified when you spy overly zealous retailers stacking school supplies on shelves. At moments like this, you just might start to wonder whether you’re making the most of your summer, emotionally and spiritually.

Fear not. Here in the mid-summer mark, I’m happy to offer a few ways that we moms can embrace the season, using it to strengthen our family ties and recharge our spiritual batteries.

1. Learn from your kids and how they play. Remember when you were a child, and those warm summer evenings seemed endless? Tap into that spirit by heading outside with your own kids. Draw with chalk, build a fort, blow bubbles, play soccer. Most of all, watch them as they play. They’ve got it down, that unselfconscious sense of the here and now, not worrying about tomorrow. When I see my son gleefully pedaling his trike down the warm sidewalk, I really understand Jesus’ words about how we need to become like little children to enter the kingdom of heaven. If we can emulate our kids’ innate ability to glory in the moment, we’re finding a little bit of heaven on earth. A warm summer day or evening is the perfect time to start.

2. Jump into a project that feels too daunting the rest of the year. I’m not talking a necessary evil, like cleaning the garage, but something that feeds your soul. A few years ago, I spent a summer writing my book Mary and Me. I’d park myself in front of the computer every morning and tap away at the keyboard until the midday sun broiled me from the skylight above. It was wonderful to have a summer in which to let the project build momentum, to live fully in the author skin for a while. Maybe your project involves starting a blog, learning how to cross-stitch, finding the perfect enchilada recipe, or reading the collected works of Jane Austen. Whatever it is, there’s plenty of summer left. Dive in.

3. Give your kids some one-on-one time. Growing up, my sister and I each went to summer camp. The weeks never overlapped, so whichever child stayed at home got to spend a day with Mom, totally dedicated to activities of our choice. My special day usually involved a trip to the doll store, some time at the library, perhaps an ice cream cone. The one-on-one time with my mom was precious, and it was exciting to be the one to plan our activities. Even though my boys are younger, I’m making it a priority to spend the occasional day or afternoon with each of them, individually. It’s a great way to build those relationships, and to create some pretty sweet summer memories in the process.

4. Do an al fresco nighttime prayer. There’s something magical about an evening when you can sit outside without needing a sweater. During the summer, I often slip out to the backyard and spend a few quiet moments in the dark. Though I love my house, it’s also a place where dishes and laundry cry out for attention, where I think of all that remains undone. In the yard, though, I’m in a more peaceful space. It’s a great place to let the hum and buzz of the day recede. Try sitting out on the porch or taking a slow walk around the block. Review the day, and all its joys and challenges. Recognize the sweetness of the season. Invite God into the life you are living, right here, right now. There’s no more beautiful way to end a summer’s day.

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Ginny Kubitz Moyer is the author of Mary and Me: Catholic Women Reflect on the Mother of God, which received a 2009 Catholic Press Award. She’s also an English teacher, weekend gardener, sporadic exerciser, and proud mother of two young boys. To visit Ginny's blog for thoughts on Mary, faith, parenting, and the occasional ode to Jane Austen, click here.

Good Parents make good families..and sometimes even Saints!

July 10 was the feast of one of the Church's beatified married couples, Blesseds Louis Martin and Marie-Zélie Guerin Martin, the parents of St. Thérèse. We at ENDOW encourage all parents to pray to these two holy Blesseds who raised their child, St. Therese, to become a great Saint and Doctor of the Church with her “Little Way.” They are on their way to sainthood as well. Blessed be God! We parents know the great demand to raise our children in the faith and the call to encourage them to live as God intends, constantly attentive to the will of God and following His leading. When parents seek to know and obey God in their homes, there is a JOY of new life which pours forth from their family in the form of faith filled and loving children.

The article “Building a Family-Friendly Society” featured on ZENIT illustrates the central importance of good families in society....."Families founded on marriage offer society essential goods through the generation of new citizens and the increase of social virtues," he said. "Thus, they have a right to a just cultural, juridical and economic recognition.".....(See full article:click here). Blesseds Louis and Marie-Zelie Guerin Martin and St. Therese, please intercede for all families to be strengthened in love and be true witnesses to the importance of the family for society.

Love is in the air....Please give me eyes to SEE!

When we meet new people it is sometimes a bit scary as the expectations of ourselves and of others get so high. Is this person too good to be true? Am I not good enough? Coming to know ourselves as beloved (like St. John, The Beloved Disciple) in the eyes of God helps us live our true God-given dignity. In a Catholic News agency article titled “I’m not Good enough for you” by Anthony Buono, there are suggestions of how to let go of fear and live more fully in relationship. Some advice presented in the article for those who are looking for a spouse or for anyone looking for greater peace between loved ones: “For the pursuit of marriage, it is imperative that we never make the mistake of thinking that we are dating a saint, and we are too sinful, weak, or broken for that person. It is also imperative that we do not put that other person on too high of a pedestal, and remember that they, too, are a sinner. If you are ever dating someone who comes across as believing there is nothing wrong with them......" (to see full article, click here).

So very many women who participate in ENDOW classes have come to better understand this harmony in relationships that God intends for us. In knowing more fully that we are all beloved, “as is,” in the eyes of God, we soon experience a richer and more authentic harmony in all of our relationships. A couple of ENDOW classes to consider are Discover your Dignity I the journey of a woman’s life from birth through her late 40’s and Discover Your Dignity II the journey from mid-life to the end of life.

Our Holy Papa knows best! Be not afraid of Papal encyclicals!

Kevin Clarke, a theology teacher at St Joseph Academy in San Marcos, California has studied Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical "Caritas in Veritate" with his 12th grade morality class, exposing the students to the Pope’s teaching on authentic human development. A Zenit article reports: “In this interview with ZENIT, Clarke explains how the students exceeded his expectations in their ability to grasp the principles of the encyclical, and the importance "Caritas in Veritate" will have in their lives as they enter college and then into the professional world. Click here to read the full article. Interested in learning more about encyclicals? ENDOW’s Humanae Vitae and Redemptoris Mater studies are terrific ways to become familiar with encyclicals while diving into greater knowledge of Church teaching.

Holiness Never Goes Out of Style

The Holy Father has some good fashion advice for all of us ENDOW women: Holiness never goes out of style.

Catholic News Agency explains: "The Holy Father dedicated his Sunday homily to reflections on the life of St. Celestine as he visited the Italian city where the relics of the 13th century saint and Pope are kept. In a message filled with lessons on life, the Pope especially highlighted the importance of silence to finding God, the fact that faith is a gift and the lasting power of holiness." Click here for the full article.