After raising seven children with her husband, Mary Linge decided to fulfill a childhood dream: to become a Catholic school teacher. At 50 years old, Mary embarked on her associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees. “I got it all,” she says, and began teaching in 1998.
Becoming a teacher was a continuation of a life deeply rooted in formation and helping others discover the richness of the Catholic faith. Today, Mary leads a thriving hybrid Endow study group based out of Commack, New York, and credits the Holy Spirit for guiding nearly every step of the journey.
Growing Through Faith
Mary’s Catholic faith was nurtured from childhood in a family where prayer, parish life, and Catholic education were simply a way of life.
“Church was just what we did. It was not just Sunday. My parents were involved with the nuns in the school. We all went to the Catholic school in the parish,” she explains.
When the COVID lockdowns arrived in 2020, Mary discovered Endow through online studies on the Endow podcast. She began as a solitary listener but soon felt the pang for deeper community.
“Finding Endow was a wonderful, wonderful thing online. I did study after study, but when Endow was over, I said, ‘I’ve got to see people,'” she said.
Encouraged by friends, Mary launched a small Endow group from her living room in 2021. Thanks to a hybrid combination of in-person gatherings and Zoom participation, the group quickly grew into a vibrant community that reached far beyond Commack to Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and other locations.
“Our first planning meeting was with four women in my living room. Somebody offered her Zoom account, and that’s how we started,” she said. “It’s still going strong.”
Today, the group regularly welcomes up to 17 women, with some gathering locally in a living room and others participating virtually from around the country. For Mary, however, the real treasure is the relationships.
“The material is gold, but the reflection time is gold to all these women’s lives,” she explains. “It’s fascinating to see how other people see the Lord, or how the Virgin Mary is working in their lives.”
Reaching Others
From the beginning of her Endow journey, the Holy Spirit has been nudging Mary to reach out to others, wherever they may be located. She regularly reaches out to women she hasn’t seen in a while, inviting them back and keeping them informed about upcoming studies.
“I have never been in such a peaceful ministry because the Holy Spirit literally is in charge.”
Over the years, Mary’s group has worked through a wide range of Endow studies, including St. Thomas Aquinas, the women Doctors of the Church, Lumen Gentium, Humanae Vitae, and most recently, Letter to Artists. Several participants have even gone on to start groups of their own, including one woman who launched a middle school group for her daughter.
“The intention really wasn’t to make them disciples or evangelists in their world. It really wasn’t. But that’s what happened,” Mary said.
Among all the studies, Humanae Vitae holds special significance for Mary because of the impact it had on her marriage and later, the women in her group. Early in her marriage, Mary and her husband studied the document section by section, seeking to understand its deeper teachings. They found it to be beautiful.
“This was the study I most wanted and prayed for the Endow group to want,” she said. “They loved it. To me, that was the Holy Spirit’s total gift to me. People understood it, and they were telling their daughters and daughters-in-law. If I never participated in another study, that was the one.”
A Community of Prayer
Mary has also seen Endow become a true prayer community, supporting one another through life’s joys and sorrows. One particularly moving experience came when her family faced the anticipated loss of a grandchild.
“The girls were all praying for the delivery of the baby. The baby lived four hours. Afterward, they bought a memorial brick in our church. They all felt like they were part of this baby. It’s a true prayer community of women,” she said.
As a host, donor and Feminine Genius Circle member, Mary believes Endow meets a critical need in the Church today: helping women understand their dignity and encounter the truth of their faith.
“This is a ministry for our time, right now. We need to keep evangelizing, letting women know they are treasured by God and the Church, no matter what they might hear,” she said.
For women considering joining or leading an Endow group, Mary’s advice is simple: “That nudge you feel is the Holy Spirit,” she said. “Say yes to the Holy Spirit.”
It’s a “yes” that can continue to bear fruit. “I think the Holy Spirit’s still flying over Commack.”
About Endow
At Endow, we turn Catholic writings into meaningful conversations. For women who are intellectually curious about faith and spiritually hungry for connection, visit endowgroups.org.
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