January, 2012
“Where is Our Conscience”
Sr. M. Prudence Allen, RSM, PhD
of St John Vianney Theological Seminary,
Denver, Co.
Sr. Prudence examines the question of conscience. To read the full article click here.
“Language, Grace and Conversation”
Sr. M. Prudence Allen, RSM, PhD
of St John Vianney Theological Seminary,
Denver, Co.
Sr. Prudence examines language, grace and conversation. To see an outline, click here. To read the full lecture, click here.
January 2012: Facilitator of the Month
Margaret Purcell
Each week, Margaret Purcell makes the 45 minute drive from her home in Albany, New York to the neighboring town of Amsterdam to facilitate her Endow group. This beautiful area of upstate New York – northwest of the famed Catskill Mountains – can make for difficult driving in winter weather. But Margaret believes in Endow and is faithful to her present calling to evangelize. She actually doesn’t mind the drive as it gives her time to pray, meditate, and spiritually prepare for her study group.
Margaret, who was born in 1960, calls herself one of the “lost generation” – those Catholics whose religious knowledge was weak or non-existent and in adulthood are trying to make up for lost time. For patching the holes in her catechetical background, she is grateful to Endow.
Born a cradle Catholic, Margaret has worked in various capacities eventually receiving her master’s degree in health education. She has been employed in the insurance business and currently is in home health care. But her deepest passion lies in pondering the mysteries of faith and lingering among the theological greats and their abundant writings. A few years ago, that passion for learning led her to the Theology of the Body Institute where she was serendipitously assigned to share a room with Endow’s Executive Director, Terry Polakovic.
Hearing about Endow’s mission to educate women on their true worth and dignity directed Margaret’s focus. Once trained as a facilitator, Margaret wondered how to actually get a group started. “I found it difficult to take the first step”, says Margaret. “I remember sitting in my computer room and giving myself a pep talk.” At one point she felt a sense of peace come over her.
Today her original group is basically intact though some people have left as others joined. One new member Margaret calls their “resident theologian” and she has added a lot to the group, connecting dots and helping to expound on concepts. As others have discovered, there is a lot of wisdom that surfaces in an Endow group.
Her advice to would-be facilitators is to put your love for God into practice. “If you love Our Lord and want to make a difference, you can lead an Endow group. It’s not hard and there is a good support network. So much is done for you and most importantly, it’s done well!”
And you can’t argue with the results. Margaret says she is amazed at what Endow study can do to transform hearts that have encountered true Christian teaching. In particular, she is acutely aware of the sufferings of women who bear the wounds of abortion. She reflects that liberation from the bondage of sin is available to all who seek God’s mercy. Endow helps encourage women to appreciate that God’s mercy is available at all times to every person through the extraordinary grace of sacramental confession.
“I find there is a wonderful balance between Endow study materials and Catholic worship,” says Margaret who has found that the connections are plentiful. When she comes across interesting articles that support something the group has been studying, she sends her women e-mails with links to the internet sites. She has also invited a seminarian to guest speak to their group. “I like to add things to the mix.”
Married for twenty years to husband Roger, Margaret works as a non-medical care giver to seniors. As she is naturally “other-oriented”, Margaret finds this work suits her. “I’ve met some wonderful people through this work which is like ministry.” Many of her patients are Italian and Margaret laughs as she recalls some recent exchanges. Just like women everywhere, “…we talk about faith, family, and food!”
Her Endow group has forged some true friendships too, as women find themselves walking the path of faith beside others whose goals are the same. Next up for her group is Mother of the Redeemer. What could be more perfect for a group of life-long learners than a study of the one John Paul II calls “the most excellent example of the feminine genius”?
Thank you, Margaret, for following Mary’s lead and using your “genius” to lead others to Christ.
January 2012: Donor of the Month
Irene Landrau
“It feels so wonderful when I walk in!” Irene Landrau is talking about her Endow group and she will tell you she landed in a great one. At 26, this Catholic nursing student was open to finding a study group with other young adult women. She found one with Endow associate director and facilitator, Kate Sweeney. “Everyone is so fun and engaging,” she says, “it is where I get my spiritual nutrition.”
Their evening meetings are held biweekly and currently they are in the middle of Pope Benedict XVI’s God Is Love. “We take our time…we hope to finish by Lent.”
Like many young people in the Denver area, Irene was influenced by Archbishop Charles Chaput, now archbishop of Philadelphia. Denverites affectionately remember his Sunday evening masses which were attended by throngs of worshippers, many of them young people. They were riveted by the homilies, each a mini-course in theology. Irene and her fiancé, Ryan, always tried to make the 6:30; it was a perfect start to a new week.
Following up worship with her Endow group, Irene is consciously attending to her on-going religious formation. “It’s so nice to have other people to talk to who value the Catholic faith as I do.” Irene says that her Endow lessons have helped to shed light on her professional obligations. She explains that in the medical field there are occasional treatments that are inappropriate for a woman of faith to assist with. In speaking with other Catholic medical professionals and studying the Church teachings in her group, she is learning her faith more deeply.
It is the faith she was raised in and Irene remembers that it was always important to her. She and her family were members at St. Mark’s in Westminster where Irene sang in the choir. Though she strayed and questioned for a few years in college, she returned more convinced than ever that the doctrine of the Church surely contains God’s self-revelation to man. “Without God, there is no meaning.” In 2003 she was part of a contingent that traveled to World Youth Day in Germany. She did not come back unchanged.
She echoes the sentiments of other Endow women who muse about how life might have been different if they had “done Endow” earlier. “I would have loved to have True Beauty Revealed [Endow’s high school program] when I was a teenager. It would have helped me choose those good friends you value in life.”
Irene is eager to make Endow possible for others and so she was happy to respond to the recent appeal when it showed up in her mailbox. She promptly made a donation and hopes that in the future she can become a regular monthly giver. She is right when she notes that every little bit helps. When something has enriched your life, you want to share that with others. Irene sums it up, “Endow is a beautiful message.”
January 2012: Book Review
Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith
by Fr. Robert Barron
Book Review by Eileen Love
As I write this, it is January, the month of fresh starts and predictable commitments to improvement. Here is a suggestion. If you don’t already know speaker, scholar, theologian, and author Fr. Robert Barron, get to know him. Do it this year. He is one of today’s premier evangelists, appearing on television, in print, and giving lectures all over the world. Many know him through his Word on Fire website and many more are coming to know of him through the critically acclaimed series “Catholicism”.
Catholicism, the book, encapsulates much of what is in the DVD series. But because you can hold it in your hand, it is like a companion you can sit with and revisit the things deep in your heart. His love – yes, love – and respect for the reader comes through. Of course Fr. Barron is not the first Catholic author to produce a work that is clearly a labor of love, but his is one that speaks to this generation in a particularly inspiring and relevant way. Not since Fulton Sheen has a man emerged with a clearer mission to modern day evangelization.
Through this commitment to the reader, the author is a friend in the truest sense. His aim is to help you become a better version of yourself by becoming a more passionate Christian. He writes of the loftiest things in language that is at once everyday familiar and otherworldly beautiful.
With every turn of the page it is Christmas morning again, one fabulous surprise after another. Fr. Barron takes the reader on a sort of pilgrimage through Catholicism’s key sites. But since he is transformed himself, the electricity of belief courses through his whole being and so his explanation of the faith is not some dusty museum tour, but rather an engaging and reflective exploration of the sacred truths. In the tradition of a “kneeling theologian” he is not just academically oriented but spiritually insightful.
In the book’s Introduction, Robert Barron says he would like to function
…as a mystagogue, conducting you ever deeper into the mystery of the Incarnation in the hopes that you might be transformed by its power…the truth of Catholicism is best appreciated from within the confines of the Church, just as the windows of a cathedral…shine in all their splendor when viewed from the inside. I want to take you deep into the cathedral of Catholicism, because I am convinced the experience will change and enhance your life. (Catholicism, pg. 5)
In that “cathedral” Fr. Barron will point out the significance of historical events, especially the mystery and miracle of the Incarnation. He will introduce you to some great saints, especially the Blessed Virgin Mary and expound on prayer and worship in the Christian life. Because he has the soul of a poet, all these truths will be communicated in a language that soars and swirls and sings its way into your heart.
This book is for people who think they are atheists but whose minds might just be open a crack as well as for Catholics whose engines have died and need a jumpstart back to life. Perhaps most of all, it is for committed Catholics who will appreciate the apologetics Fr. Barron offers in solidly crafted arguments that appeal to the intellect as well as the heart.
For Endow women who embrace that head and heart model of learning, Catholicism will be enjoyed for the encouragement it offers as well as for the help it gives in articulating well the truths of the faith. And reading Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith will do something else: it will get your new year off to the best possible start.