Called to re-evangelize the world.....yes, YOU.....recieve the LIGHT of CHRIST!

Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, the 76-year old Capuchin friar who is the official preacher of the Papal Household, recently spoke of the call to re-evanglize our world which is experiencing these three obstacles of accepting the Christian message: atheistic scientism, secularism and relativism. Fr. Cantalamessa encourages us with the words of Jesus in the Gospel of John which say “Take courage: I have conquered the world." Read full CNA article here.

How do we bring the light of Christ to our world which needs true light? Let us ask in prayer as we ready ourselves to more fully receive Jesus into our hearts this Christmas. One way to equip ourselves is to facilitate and ENDOW study. Our late Pope John Paul II taught about this time of the New Evangelization. One of my favorite ENDOW studies (I must admit, I have loved them all!) is Lumen Gentium (Light of the Nations). Pope John Paul II encourages all the faithful to continue to grow in understanding of the Church with these words from a 1979 homily: "The Pope expects a noble and generous effort on your part to always know better your Church. The Second Vatican Council wanted to be a council about the Church. Take the documents of the Second Vatican Council, especially Lumen Gentium, and study them with loving attention."

Set out to BE the light of Christ we are called to be....read more here about ENDOW’s Lumen Gentium Study.

Christ be our light!

Come Lord Jesus!

ENDOW studies in action.......transforming lives and increasing love of Christ and of our Mother, the Church.......

These words speak for themselves...I gathered them from a recent letter from an ENDOW participant to Executive Director Terry Polakovic:

“I felt a strong urge to write this letter........I have just started my first Endow class, “Pope John Paul II’s Letter to Women.” Even though I have only finished the first chapter and Appendix 1, I had to express my wonderment at what I have read thus far...........Just reading these few pages.......have caused me to stand in much more appreciation of the Catholic Church than I ever have before..........Because of this study I have become aware of how the Church has fought and defended the rights and dignity of women throughout the world. For years I was ignorant of this, but my eyes have finally been opened, leading to a much greater appreciation of the Church that has been a part of me all my life.......I thank the Holy Spirit for guiding me to this class.......I am looking forward with great anticipation to continue on with this course, and I would encourage every woman to take the opportunity to attend the Endow classes.”

This is the story of ENDOW. Here is “Love the learning. Build the friendships. Live the Faith” in living action. Praise be to God for the apostolate of ENDOW which helps bring women into knowing the fullness of their dignity and their role in humanizing and transforming society into a culture of life. Thank God for this living example of yet another heart converted to deeper understanding through an ENDOW study...and this is only after the first chapter of her first study!

“Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.” Jn 7:38 Come Holy Spirit!

October is the month of The Holy Rosary......pray the “compendium of the Gospel” daily.....

We have received a most beautiful gift and tool which truly paves a way for holiness in the Holy Rosary. An Argentinean Bishop recently said that saying the rosary is “a repetitive rhythm of praise and supplication..... In Mary, we praise the gift of God, God himself who gives us Jesus Christ. And through her, we pray to be able to receive him now and at the doorstep to eternity.” (full CNA article here)

Our dear Pope John Paul II gave us a beautiful teaching in his Apostolic Letter “Rosarium Virginis Mariae” in which he refers to the rosary as a “compendium of the gospel.” He says “The Rosary is one of the traditional paths of Christian prayer directed to the contemplation of Christ's face. Pope Paul VI described it in these words: ‘As a Gospel prayer, centred on the mystery of the redemptive Incarnation, the Rosary is a prayer with a clearly Christological orientation. Its most characteristic element, in fact, the litany- like succession of Hail Marys, becomes in itself an unceasing praise of Christ, who is the ultimate object both of the Angel's announcement and of the greeting of the Mother of John the Baptist: 'Blessed is the fruit of your womb' (Lk 1:42). We would go further and say that the succession of Hail Marys constitutes the warp on which is woven the contemplation of the mysteries.......” (read full Apostolic Letter here).

Join the faithful this month in forming a habit of saying the rosary daily and therefore deepening your faith and understanding through the rhythmic succession of prayer and contemplation through the joys, sorrows, glory and public ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ with and through the eyes of Our Blessed Mother. Holy Mother of God, please pray for and with us during this month of the Holy Rosary!

What does “feminine genius” look like? Pope Benedict XVI speaks of Hildegard of Bingen...and of Mulieris Dignitatem.....

How blessed we are to have such beautiful Church teachings! This week, Our Holy Father spoke about the role of women in the life of the Church. He referred to John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter “Mulieris Dignitatem” (On the Dignity and Vocation of Women). Our Holy Father expressed his thanksgiving for all the manifestations of the feminine ‘genius’ which have appeared in the course of history, focusing on one saintly woman in particular: Hildegard of Bingen. Hildegard was a mystic who was the recipient of many visions and supernatural gifts. Hildegard is put forth as an example of those who used great discernment and who rightfully respected Church authority to guide them in using what they received from God.

The Catholic News Agency reports “‘Benedict XVI also recalled her mystic visions which she first shared with people in confidence, including her spiritual director, a fellow sister and St. Bernard of Clairvaux. ‘As always happens in the lives of the true mystics,’ said the Pope, ‘Hildegard also wished to submit herself to the authority of wise people to discern the origin of her visions.’........’This,’ taught the Pope, ‘is the seal of an authentic experience of the Holy Spirit, source of every charism: the person (who is the) repository of supernatural gifts never boasts, does not flaunt them and, especially, shows total obedience to the ecclesiastical authorities.......

Every gift distributed by the Holy Spirit, in fact, is destined for the edification of the Church, and the Church, through its pastors, recognizes their authenticity.’” (read the CNA article here).

It is the time of year when many ENDOW studies are beginning for the fall semester. Studying the beautiful Apostolic Letter mentioned, Mulieris Dignitatem, is sure to be a great blessing in the lives of many women. This Letter sheds light upon the beauty of our God given feminine genius. How are we called to use our God given feminine gifts in humanizing our culture? Come find out in an ENDOW study of this Apostolic Letter written by John Paul II in the Marian Year of 1988. This document is written in the form of a meditation. In a meditation, we ponder the truths of the faith and the role faith plays in our own lives. In Mulieris Dignitatem, John Paul II meditates on the anthropology of man and woman, God's intention for their relationship, and the result of original sin. He also explores the relationship that Jesus had with women and the reason for the all-male priesthood. Please click here for more information about an ENDOW study of Mulieris Dignitatem.

We are called to build a civilization of love.......The Pope asks for Our Blessed Mother’s intercession......

In the past two weeks the Church as celebrated two feasts of our Blessed Mother. The Assumption and the Queenship of Mary. Who better do we have as an example of perfect obedience to God’s will than our Mother Mary? Pope Benedict had this to say as reported in a recent article from the Catholic News Agency: “The ‘sovereignty of Mary’ is ‘completely relative to that of Christ,’ who was exalted by the Father above every creature, the Pope explained. ‘(B)y the design of grace, the Immaculate Mother was fully associated with the mystery of the Son … (She) shared with the Son not only the human aspects of this mystery, but, through the work of the Holy Spirit in her, also the profound intention, the divine will, in a way that all her existence, poor and humble, was elevated, transformed, glorified, passing through the 'narrow gate' that is Jesus himself.’ ‘Yes,’ said the Pope, ‘Mary was the first to pass through the open 'way' of Christ to enter into the Kingdom of God, a way accessible to all men.....’” ..read more.

Our Blessed Mother intercedes for us and helps us, God’s beloved children, pass through the narrow gate, the “open ‘way’ of Christ.” Find out about a terrific way to become more familiar with the role for Our Blessed Mother in God’s plan for his Kingdom by participating in ENDOW's study titled “Redemptoris Mater (Mary, Mother of the Redeemer)" click here for more information. This encyclical was written by Pope John Paul II in 1987. In this study, we come to see how Our Blessed Mother is surely a model for all of us today. Presently, Our Blessed Mother is active in loving us right into heaven. In this encyclical, Pope John Paul II says “‘She cooperated, as the Second Vatican Council teaches, with a maternal love. Here we perceive the real value of the words spoken by Jesus to his Mother at the hour of the Cross: ‘Woman, behold your son’ and to the disciple: ‘Behold your mother’ (Jn. 19:26-27). They are words which determine Mary's place in the life of Christ's disciples and they express-as I have already said-the new motherhood of the Mother of the Redeemer: a spiritual motherhood, born from the heart of the Paschal Mystery of the Redeemer of the world. It is a motherhood in the order of grace, for it implores the gift of the Spirit, who raises up the new children of God, redeems through the sacrifice of Christ that Spirit whom Mary too, together with the Church, received on the day of Pentecost.”

Let us pray today for Our Mother to intercede that we each come to know exactly how to help build a civilization of love and to do our parts in transforming society. On this day, the feast day of the faithful Apostle and martyr St. Bartholomew, let us also ask his intercession in bringing all of God's children into unity of mind and heart in building a culture of love.