It is time to REFLECT.........women of ENDOW, reflect!

What a beautiful and SPARKLY SEASON we are enjoying....

.....candles...light....shiny things reflecting and sparkling LIGHT during the darkest days of the year......Look around....SEE.....be alert......watch! So many beautiful and SHINY reminders of reflecting....what does “reflect” mean? Reflect on the meaning of reflection.....

“to give back or exhibit as an image, likeness...” Are we preparing to best and fully REFLECT being created in God’s image and likeness? Called to reflect........called to BE the LIGHT of CHRIST to all.......take inspiration from all the shiny things of the season....silver balls.....sparkly snow....Christmas lights........make a “glance” to God.......reflect and GIVE THANKS........ask him to BE reflected in us......as the moon so beautifully reflects the sun....May we be shiny reflections of God’s love....let us make manifest JOY this week! Let us reflect on our call to reflect and SHINE and to be God’s light to those around us! SPARKLES........and bouncing light.......dancing.....JOYOUS.......enjoy each REFLECTION! .....I thank God for the many reflections of God’s light and love in the women of ENDOW! What a sparkly group of hearts set on fire!

LET US REFLECT!

Reflection: The Catholic Church, and Those who Love Her, Are Best Understood in Christ Crucified

God has given his children an indescribable and indispensable treasure in the fullness of truth that is contained in the Catholic Church alone. When a man, woman or child finds this truth and adheres to it, there is a wonderful, radiant security that rests in their heart.

DENVER, CO (Catholic Online) - When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified True God and True Man, cruelly fixing his sacred Humanity upon a Roman Cross. As they looked upon the Crucified Son, the rulers "sneered" at Jesus and said, "He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Messiah of God." The soldiers, too, "jeered" at him, calling out, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself." (see Lk. 23:33-38).

It appears that the soldiers who mocked Jesus did not understand who he truly is. We could say that they failed to distinguish or recognize reality as it is; for it is reality that the Man they nailed to the cross was-is-the Son of God. In their misunderstanding, they jeered at him. "If you are who you say you are," said they, "save yourself." The soldiers had in mind that the Messiah of God should act differently than he indeed willed to act; they could not understand why he would not use his power in a way that they imagined it ought be used.

We see this same type of jeering and mocking continue on this very day in the way the Catholic Church, which Christ himself founded a short time before he hung on the cross, is persecuted. There are those today, in effect, who exclaim of the Church: "If you are who you say you are, then act as I imagine you would." But what type of Church is it that they imagine God would install in the midst of the world? One inhabited by sinless men completely removed from a fallen humankind who inhabit a fallen world? One that is not truly Mother Church but, rather, a distant and unknown stepmother?

It is unnecessary to go into detail concerning the scandals of abuse which periodically surface within the Church. Suffice it to say that every devout Catholic who sees the Church correctly and in the light of reality as it is, is saddened and disappointed and even angered at these tragic, sinful events. Yet precisely because these Catholics recognize the Catholic Church for what she is, they remain ever-faithfully in love with her; obedient to her words of truth, thirsting for her sacraments of life-especially the highest of all sacraments: the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ in Eucharist.

Read the rest of this article at catholic.org, the site of first publication.

40 days, 40 reflections

Ash Wednesday, February 16, 2010
By Terry Polakovic

As we begin our 2010 Lenten season, I am reminded of another time, the Lent of 1987. That was the Lent my mother died. However, it is not her death that floods my memory. It is the fact that in spite of the immense pain connected with losing our mother, my 17-year old sister refused to break her Lenten fast. She simply would not do it, no matter how hard I tried to convince her that God would understand. She felt that God deserved better than that. Even though I was 33 at the time, I felt entitled to break the fast, and had no problem doing so. To my way of thinking, my mother’s death was Lent enough. Thankfully, the years have taught me that it is not about the fast; it is about the humility. In other words, it is not about me.

Today, I welcome every Ash Wednesday. I have come to appreciate that Lent is that special time of year when we are encouraged to meditate solely on the depth of God’s infinite love for us. And when I think of God’s special love for me, I think of that scared young woman who was insistent on breaking her Lenten fast and compare her to the woman I have become and still hope to be. I recall all of the times He has loved me in spite of myself, and how His grace has directed the different paths I have taken over these past twenty three years, since the death of my mother. Meditating on His love reminds me that even in my loneliest moments, I have never been alone.

This year, I have invited 40 friends of ENDOW to share their own Lenten reflections. Each day during Lent, we will post a different reflection, with the hope that it will somehow inspire each of you to think of God in a new, more beautiful way.