CONTENT TRIGGER WARNING: This episode talks about serious mental health issues and discusses suicidality and self-harm. If you or someone you know are experiencing mental health concerns, please seek professional support as this podcast is not a substitute for addressing immediate mental health concerns. Resources provided below.

We are finally back in the saddle after several months’ long hiatus! It’s been a year since we’ve started this podcast and we wanted to kick off this season with an episode talking about our mental health and faith. Our guest speaker is our friend, Monica Giang, wife of a former guest on this podcast, John Giang. She is a mental health advocate and she has a strong following on social media. We define mental health and trauma and its impact on our faith life. We discuss why mental health issues are not the work of the devil and we talk about our own struggles in our own mental health journey. We also talk about how parents can become more aware of mental health concerns so we can better show up for our children and we also discuss how parishes can be more trauma informed in all aspects of parish life.

You can find Monica on Instagram @healgrowloveyourself.

Resources:
Ask your employer about an Employee Assistance Program that offers free or low cost therapeutic services - don’t wait until a major life event to happen before seeking professional help.
Ask your primary physician or care provider for a referral to mental health services.

Suicide hotlines: 1-800-273-talk (8255)
Suicidepreventionlifeline.org
Iasp.info

Lastly, practice self-care regularly! We share our self-care practices, what are yours? Share with us on social media!

Today, we interview Suzette Malong, a family friend, who immigrated to the United States from the Philippines. We talk about the challenges that she faced when she immigrated to the US and talk about how her faith played a role during those difficult times. We also examine some significant differences about how faith is expressed in various cultures. If you or someone you know immigrated, it would be interesting to engage them in conversation about some of these questions:

• How has your culture influenced your faith life?
• What were your expectations or held beliefs about living in the United States?
• What was it like living here initially?
• What role did your Catholic faith play during this stage of your life?
• Have you looked at immigration as a trauma and why do you think immigrants may not perceive it as a trauma?
• What are some notable differences in how you experience faith and church life in the United States compared to back home?
• What are the differences of how you practice your faith in the United States compared to back home?
• What are some ways you’ve held onto your faith and culture?
• How would you like to see the church address immigration and support immigrant families in the parish?

We are huge Oakland Athletics fans and we decided to watch the movie Angels in the Outfield to hype us up for the start of the baseball season (COVID-19 edition). We talk about how baseball and faith intersect and describe themes in the movie that are related to believing in God. Let’s Go Oakland! 

We interview a 5/6 year old Catholic, John Giang, who recently converted and was baptized in the faith about what biases and stereotypes are held about Catholics and what biases continue to exist within the church. John tells us his conversion story from his favorite Catholic saints, inspirational music, prayer, vocation, and how he forms his Catholic identity.  We talk about the model minority myth and how it shows up in the Catholic Church and why people get so wrapped up about having to be “perfect”. 

We interview a 5/6 year old Catholic, John Giang, who recently converted and was baptized in the faith about what biases and stereotypes are held about Catholics and what biases continue to exist within the church. John tells us his conversion story from his favorite Catholic saints, inspirational music, prayer, vocation, and how he forms his Catholic identity.  We talk about the model minority myth and how it shows up in the Catholic Church and why people get so wrapped up about having to be “perfect”. 

It’s been a minute, but we are glad to be back in action! This week’s episode talks about what implicit biases are and *some* of the ways it shows up in our church and in our families. In this episode, we ask:

1. What are implicit biases?
2. Have you been able to speak up against injustice?
3. What are the implicit biases that you still carry?
4. What’s the difference between anti-racist and non-racist?
5. How can we heal the racial divide?
   1. Pray!
   2. Ask questions when you don’t understand. Instead of being defensive, ask ourselves “Why?” And “Where is this coming from?”
   3. Educate each other, inform others when something is racist out of love and understanding.
   4. Fasting and praying for an end to racial injustice

Resources:

Books for adults
How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

Books for kids
Antiracist Baby Picture Book by Ibram X. Kendi
The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil Rights Activist by Cynthia Levinson
I Am Enough by Grace Byers

Podcasts
Code Switch
Ask Fr. Josh
1619

Movies
13th
Selma
Just Mercy

Ted Talk
The Urgency of Intersectionality by Kimberlé Crenshaw

Join us in our discussion of faith and gardening with Stephanie Luna! In this episode, we discuss Luna’s faith journey with her time with the Franciscans and now, with Maryknoll. We talk about quarantine life, how we can foster our relationship with God through gardening, prayer, and connecting with our faith community. 
We also discuss tips for connecting with God during quarantine:

• Go on a retreat, either virtually or physically distance yourself from your normal activities.
• Create normalcy in your schedules and intentionally make time for prayer, hobbies, and activities.
• Find time for regular prayer during the day
• Disconnect to connect (with God!) and focus on the present moment.
• Reflect on how you can continue to minister to others while still maintaining social distancing guidelines.
• Find ways to connect with your faith community
• Consider looking into hobbies or activities that promote the idea of nurturing and fostering growth

You can find Luna on Instagram as @harvest_luna and follow her work with Maryknoll as @maryknoll.ya

We are celebrating Father’s Day by interviewing my own father, Fred De Leon. Join us for a special conversation about how my father grew in his Catholic faith.

• If you’re an immigrant, or come from an immigrant family, and if there is a safe space to talk about it, ask your father or father figures what their faith journey was like.
• Reflect on and pray about God’s fatherly love for us.
• Reflect and pray about how St. Joseph’s presence was like in Jesus’ life as a father figure.
• If you didn’t have a positive father figure, what steps will you take to ensure that that cycle does not perpetuate?
• Give thanks to fathers and people who fill in father roles in your life.

Today’s guests are our 3 children! We talk about what our prayer life looks like as a family and we ask each other questions to reflect on:

• What is your favorite memory of your family praying?
• When are some significant times in your life when your family has come together to pray?
• How do we pray as a family?
• How do you teach your kids about having a personal relationship with God? How do you know where to look for God?

We also provide you with some tips to deepen prayer life with your family

• Find some sort of routine and create time and space for prayer
• Pray before meals together
• Thank God for the beauty of creation 
• Use household chores as prayers for everyone in your home
• Involve the kids in helping the poor and vulnerable
• Share your struggles with your kids 
• Transparency about what is happening in the world and praying for those suffering
• When praying for others’ intentions, keep them in mind, and follow up with them at a later time
• Table ministry with family and friends
• Share the fruits of prayer with your family

Cris’ resources on getting closer with Jesus during SIP:
Podcast: An Invitation to Pray with Father Josh during COVID-19
Podcast: The Sacraments and Mass During COVID-19
Prayer Resources: Imagine: A Guide to Jesuit Prayer

Welcome back for our 2nd episode! It has been quite a difficult week so we’re sharing with you why and how prayer has been instrumental in keeping us afloat during times of chaos. In this episode, we ask each other questions about our personal prayer life and how resistance to God pops up from time to time. We also share some ideas on how to deepen your prayer life if you need a jumpstart! Lastly, we provide some space to invite the Holy Spirit into our lives so that we can be filled with the love and mercy that God has shown us.