Heart of Grace

Episode 6: The Grace of Femininity- A Bride of Christ w/ Sr Bernadette Toohey (MGL)

Discussed in this episode: The introduction of my special guest, Sr Bernadette Toohey from the Missionaries of God's Love (MGL) in the Disciples of Jesus Community.  https://www.mglsisters.org/ Sr Berna was born and raised in Adelaide and has a real heart for the rural community in Port Pirie.  Berna's faith was cultivated growing up through involvement in her local youth group but she had a powerful conversion experience at World Youth Day which sparked her faith journey.  The MGLS have a heart of evangelisation within the context of people's different states of life, to bring God's love to all corners of the world.  The Grace of Femininity: A Bride of Christ The Model for femininity is Our Lady as the New Eve through her receptivity and her "yes".  The vocation of femininity is motherhood. This can be lived out in all states of life singleness, married life & consecrated women. Mother Mary's qualities of joy, obedience, faithfulness and fortitude.  Growing in the virtues of joy, obedience, faithfulness and receptivity through Mary's fiat "yes" to conceiving God within her womb. The bedrock of femininity is receptivity through prayer! Holiness in our daily lives looks like "what is God asking of me in this situation?" Surrendering our hearts How to attune our hearts to listening better to the Holy Spirit. Developing a capacity to hear the promptings through: Prayer life Ignatian Discernment- the examen Stillness & Silence In moving with the Holy Spirit, our senses become more closely attuned to listening whereas moving against the Holy Spirit blunts our senses to His promptings. Identity as a human struggle within femininity. Our identity is founded in Christ, drawn into the perfect unity with the Blessed Trinity in Heaven. We are called to presently dwell on this earth within this state of relationship, even in its imperfections.  Attachments to the things of the world are empty and passing. We do not need to please the world but rather we need to seek to please the Lord! To redirect our relationship and nurture a strong sense of relationship with Jesus. Knowing our identity is in Jesus our home is in heaven!  Living femininity within our daily lives. Innate gifts which we have been given in our feminine genius (Pope John Paul II) Celebrating the unique qualities of women: Sensitivity Receptivity A heart of service Joy Creativity To learn how to rejoice in both the similarities and differences in giftings of women in our day-to-day lives! Vocational Discernment for women who are not yet in a permanent vocational state through: Prayer Relationship with God Enjoying the present through gratitude An open and honest heart Spiritual Direction Experiencing the reality of the vocation  Celebrating the daily blessings to create a heart of praise and thanksgiving. In pursuing the grace of femininity, I pray that we become the women that we have been created to embrace!

Episode 5- part 2: A Creative Heart w/ Catherine (artist & creator @pentopraise)

Discussed in this episode: continued from part 1... The artist, image of God the Creator "1. None can sense more deeply than you artists, ingenious creators of beauty that you are, something of the pathos with which God at the dawn of creation looked upon the work of his hands." (Saint Pope John Paul 11, 1999) A direct link to Genesis. The process of how God created all creatures from the heavens to the earth in five days and on the sixth day, the most ingenious of His creation, He created Man. “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Gn 1:31) Profoundly, the creator recognises that His creation is very good. As creators, recognising that our creations are also very good because His nature is within us. Just as on the seventh day, God rested. The importance of reflecting on the piece of creation, flaws & all, acknowledging God's handiwork whilst recognising that indeed it is very good. A beautiful creation can never be bad. The transcendentals The transcendentals of that which is good, true & beautiful. Expressing of oneself through our bodies which is ordered for a higher purpose, reflects back to the creator His goodness, truth and beauty. Through His beauty, He reveals His truth and His goodness. Two-fold nature to creativity A two-fold nature to creativity; it is divine and it makes the divine accessible! Spiritually, God directs the heart to soften & open and through that process reveals His love. God's divine nature is revealed throughout the art piece, making the divine accessible. Learning from The Father to Create like a child Creativity is mirroring Him, taking that nature from the Father as His children. Learning to create as He creates. The special vocation of the artist To keep taking what I create and offering it to God whilst exercising those gifts and talents. In multidisciplinary mediums, expanding beyond is good for the craft. The artistic vocation in the service of beauty Creating anything that is beautiful. The flow-on effect of building capacity for the benefit of the Church. The artist and the common good Whatever you create, whatever beauty is seen in it, it is always meant to be shared and never withheld. Sharing is outward receptivity. Good artwork causes you to reflect upon your purpose which leads back to the source. The Individual as a whole Developing as individuals whilst working for others to develop something of beauty, aesthetic. A gift which wells up within oneself and overflows to the world. God reveals to you, who you truly are. Integrates those different parts of you into one, whole fully functioning creative individual. Application- growing in the delight of creativity -A Supportive Community -People's unconditional positive regard in your abilities -Spending more intentional time developing a relationship with God (Book- 'Into the Deep: Diving into the life of Courageous Faith' by Lauren Gaskill) -An Integrated Creator: which feeds the spiritual, emotional, psychological and physical needs -Listening to Praise & Worship (Recommended Songs-'Homeward' and 'Faith is' by Benjamin Hastings) We hope that this podcast filled your heart with grace! God Bless & Let God do the rest!

Episode 4- part 1: A Creative Heart w/ Catherine (artist & creator @pentopraise)

Discussed in this episode: The introduction of my special guest, Catherine (@pentopraise), a talented artist in the Catholic sphere. A background to Catherine  Catherine has a Bachelor's in Teaching specialising in visual art. She has volunteered on Youth Mission Team Australia. The topic of today's discussion: A Creative Heart The Definition of Creativity: the root word is cre-are which means 'to make or to bring forth' Saint Pope John Paul 11 Letter to Artists 1999: "To all who are passionately dedicated to the search for new 'epiphanies' of beauty so that through their creative work as artists they may offer these as gifts to the world." Epiphanies of beauty striking the heart A gift to the world Foundation to the core: "everyone is creative"! Expressing creativity in a different way It can be developed or learned The distortion of this creativity: is control People trying to re-create themselves Rooted in the transcendentals: that which is good, true & beautiful “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31) God as the first creator Painting his picture across creation within 7 days We are the product of his creation and we are engineered to create Imprinted into our very being: created with a physical body which experiences pain and pleasure alike, a brain encompassing an intellect, emotions to process the environment in which we exist, a spiritual soul in which grace floods and a moral compass to determine right from wrong -Exploration of Catherine's journey through creativity-

Episode 2: Finding Grace in Mental Health

Discussed in this episode: *trigger warning- brief discussion of mental health The introduction of special guests: my brother a beloved lifeguard of the Adelaide pools; John Paul and Binil, a qualified social worker & professional studio producer. The mission of Heart of Grace Podcast to inspire a heart posture of grace. This phenomenon called Grace: encompassing supernatural/sanctifying grace and actual grace.  Catechism of the Catholic Church definition of grace: 2000 "Sanctifying grace is an habitual gift, a stable and supernatural disposition that perfects the soul itself to enable it to live with God, to act by his love. Habitual grace, the permanent disposition to live and act in keeping with God's call, is distinguished from actual graces which refer to God's interventions, whether at the beginning of conversion or in the course of the work of sanctification." Having a heart of grace means a heart posture that is receptive to grace. The Virgin Mary as the image of receptivity in her perfect "yes" at the Annunciation. Grace as a blessing freely bestowed and accepted. Our purpose to know, love and serve God & be happy with Him forever in heaven.  If you don't firstly know God, you can't love him and serve Him which has caused an identity crisis and a lack of purpose on a mass scale.  The identity crisis in society has led to an epidemic of mental health.  Finding grace in mental health with a heart posture of grace which draws upon suffering as the edification of yourself and others' salvation. The interconnectedness of mind, body & soul in physical and spiritual sickness. Finding grace in the confessional and seeking guidance & healing through spiritual direction. Finding grace in non-spiritual interests and hobbies which are uplifting of the unique gifts that the Lord has lovingly entrusted to each person.  Disclaimer: please seek appropriate professional help (counsellors, psychologists) if you or someone you know is suffering with a mental illness.  BetterHelp is an online portal that provides direct-to-consumer access to mental health services. The online counseling and therapy services are provided through web-based interaction as well as phone and text communication. They are a wonderful organisation who also offer therapists with a christian/catholic worldview which underpins their counselling/therapy.  Please see their website for more details: https://www.betterhelp.com/ For assistance in a mental health emergency, contact the mental health triage service on 13 14 65 available 24/7.

Episode 1: A Heart of Grace

Discussed in the episode: The podcast came about after being stripped of friends, relationships, finances, job and uni and all that was left was trust in God  My friends Jego & Binil generously contributing to podcast equipment & editing  Inspired by the fallout of catholic youth in their 20s  Heart of Grace podcast aimed at catholic youth hoping to inspire a heart posture of grace  Guest speakers featured including friends, family, professionals and religious  Topics focused on faith-based content integrating psychology with theology of the body  God Bless & let God do the rest catchphrase which surrenders the ugly and beautiful alike to God