Mother Of The Redeemer
Redemptoris Mater
Encyclical by Pope St. John Paul II
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Please Join Us For The Advent 2022 Podcast Study Series!
In this five week series, Simone Rizkallah, Director of Program Growth, is joined by Fr. Paul Check, currently the Executive Director of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Cross, WI to discuss John Paul II’s encyclical Mother of the Redeemer. The daily Advent encyclical readings can be downloaded and printed by clicking here.
The episodes will be released on both YouTube and on all podcasting platforms on the Sundays of Advent.
Ways To Participate
During Advent 2022, listen each week and read along following the daily Advent reading schedule. You can also purchase the Endow Study Guide for additional commentary and study either through print or digitally.
This podcast series can also be considered an accompaniment and training for hosts who wish to facilitate this study for their Endow Groups as well as provide a supplemental resource for Endow Group participants.
"The Mother of the Redeemer has a precise place in the plan of salvation..."
Pope St. John Paul II, Paragraph 1
Click Here To Read The Entire Document
*If you are having trouble accessing the Vatican website, click here.
Synopsis
In this 1987 encyclical, John Paul II reminds us that Mary is the greatest saint, and he explains why this is so. John Paul II calls her the “most excellent expression of the feminine genius.” Mary’s ‘yes’ to her role in God’s plan places her at the center of salvation history.
This study helps women understand and appreciate the place Mary holds in the Church.
As the patroness of Endow, she is the model for all Christian women to love and emulate. We have such a deep love and relationship with our Blessed Mother, you will see even our logo is resembled after her.
With the stars representing her crown, we are asking her, as the ultimate witness of the feminine genius, to overshadow our work and pray for the women close to our mission.
PODCAST RELEASE DATES AND READING SCHEDULE
Nov 27
Introduction: Paragraphs 1-6 from the Encyclical (Chapters 1 from the Endow Study Guide)
Dec 4
Mary in the Mystery of Christ: Paragraphs 7-24 from the Encyclical (Chapters 2-5 from the Endow Study Guide)
Dec 11
The Mother of God at the Center of the Pilgrim Church: Paragraphs 25-37 from the Encyclical (Chapter 6 from the Endow Study Guide)
Dec 18
Maternal Meditation: Paragraphs 38-50 from the Encyclical (Chapters 7-8 from the Endow Study Guide)
Dec 25
Conclusion: Paragraphs 51-52 from the Encyclical (Merry Christmas!)
The Endow Podcast Host
Simone Rizkallah
Director of Program Growth
Simone Rizkallah previously worked at St. Mary’s Catholic High School in Phoenix, Arizona as Theology Department Chair and Senior Theology Teacher. She is also an Institute of Catholic Theology Fellow based on the campus of St. Thomas the Apostle in Phoenix, Arizona.
Her graduate degree is in Theological Studies with an emphasis in Systematic Theology from Christendom College. Her undergraduate studies and professional background include marketing communications, media, radio, and theatre before discovering her passion for the Faith and the call to evangelize through teaching, speaking, and writing.
As the daughter of immigrants from the Armenian Diaspora in Cairo, Egypt, she is an Eastern-Rite Catholic and also an Episcopal appointee of the Eparchial Directors of Religious Education (ECED). The ECED is a catechetical committee of Eastern Catholic directors of religious education appointed by the USCCB’s Eastern Catholic Association of Bishops (ECA).
In her free time she enjoys teaching RCIA, speaking and writing. She has been published in ChurchPOP, Aleteia, Verily, CatholicU, and Ethika Politika and was featured as a Guest Contributor in the book Road Signs for Catholic Teens published by Our Sunday Visitor. She blogs at www.culturalgypsy.com
GET TO KNOW
Our Guest On The Endow Podcast
Fr. Paul Check
Fr. Paul N. Check was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Bridgeport, CT in 1997. He holds an STB from the Gregorian University and an STL from the University of the Holy Cross. Fr. Check has taught courses in fundamental moral theology, sexual and medical ethics, Christian anthropology, the Beatitudes, and the Parables.
For twelve years, he taught a two-week moral theology course annually to St. Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, and more recently, he has taught regularly for the Augustine Institute, and for FOCUS. He has given several retreats and days of recollection to diocesan clergy, religious, and seminarians.
Fr. Check earned a BA in history and political science from Rice University in 1981, after which he served as an officer in the US Marine Corps for nine years, and prior to entering seminary. He has been a parish priest and a high school chaplain. From 2008-2016, Fr Check was the Executive Director of Courage International, presenting to clergy in many dioceses the Church’s teaching on homosexuality and her pastoral response.
Fr. Check was then assigned as the Rector of the St John Fisher Seminary in the Diocese of Bridgeport for four years, during which time he also served as director of ongoing priestly formation. On August 15, 2020 and with the permission of his Bishop, he was appointed the Executive Director of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, WI, by His Eminence, Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, and Shrine’s Board of Directors.