Want a sneak peak into our inaugural Advent series?

Advent is just around the corner (only one week away!) so we decided to give our listeners a sneak peak into our vision for this platform by releasing a teaser episode featuring one of our gifted storytellers, Brittany Calavitta.  Brittany's writing can be found on her website, www.liveinthelonging.com.

Music for Today's Episode:

"In Need of a Savior (feat. Andrea Thomas)". Words and Music by Andrea Thomas and the Vigil Project.

© 2016 Papercastle Records Publishing (ASCAP), VIGIL Publishing (ASCAP). All rights reserved. Used by permission.

In our final episode of this second season, we discuss the power of the arts to help provide healing, particularly through music. Whether it's the individual, the culture, or the Church, music can enliven our spirits and help us to face big, deep emotions on the journey of faith.

Featured in today's episode:

Shaun Garrison, musician, missionary, founder of Windswept Ministries. You can learn more about Shaun at his website: https://www.shaungarrison.com.

Jimmy Mitchell, founder of Love Good Culture. For more information about how you can support Jimmy and the Love Good Mission, please visit his website here: https://lovegoodculture.com.

Gabby Banzon, podcaster, musician, and music therapist. You can visit Gabby's website for more information about her various projects here: https://www.gabbybanzon.com. In her spare time, Gabby partners with other Catholic musicians in the Novum Collective. You can learn more about their work here: https://www.instagram.com/novumcollective/

Andrea Thomas, co-founder and singer for the Vigil Project. Please visit their website for information about upcoming tour dates and music for the Advent season. https://www.thevigilproject.com

Music for Today's Episode: 

All Shall Be Well

Words and music by Shaun Garrison.

© 2017 Shaun Garrison. As recorded on All Shall be Well. All rights reserved. Used by permission. 

In today's episode, we dive into the world of beauty through the medium of theater. We talk with experts in the theater, including playwrights, directors, and actors, about how the medium can build bridges in today's fractured world, why storytelling is essential in the Christian life, and how theater can move our hearts perhaps more than any other art form.

Featured guests for today's episode: Dr. David E. King, professor at Kennesaw State University. For more about David and his beautiful writings for the Church, check out the article I discovered for my research on storytelling in the Catholic tradition!

Jeremy Stanbary, executive artistic director of Open Window Theatre.

Cole Matson, Managing director of Open Window Theatre.

For more about Open Window and their beautiful work, please visit their website! (In particular, check out their CORE principles, as referenced in the episode!)

Laura Pittenger, playwright and director living in New York City. For more information about Laura's work, please visit her website and the Sheen Center for information about the theater fellowship program and other talented playwrights putting together beautiful work for the archdiocese.

Music for Today's Episode:

Heave Ho⁠ Words and music by Fr. Tansi.⁠© 2018 Love Good Culture. As recorded on Garden. All rights reserved. Used by permission from the artist. https://lovegoodculture.com/product/garden-2/⁠

In 2018, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York hosted its annual MET Gala, the kick-off to an exhibit under the same theme. Oh...and the theme for the night? "Heavenly Bodies, and the Catholic Imagination." I mean, was there any chance I WOULDN'T do an episode on it? :)

Featured Guests for the episode:

Dr. Anne Carpenter, associate professor of theology at St. Mary's College

Dr. Jennifer Frey, professor of philosophy at University of South Carolina

Elizabeth Lev, art historian in Rome

Music for today's episode:

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent

Words by Gerard Moultrie. 

© 2015 Sarah Kroger. As recorded on Origin (a beauty initiative within FOCUS). All rights reserved. Used by permission. https://focusoncampus.org/beauty/projects

Many months ago, as I began to create storylines and episode ideas for an entire season on Beauty, I came across an interesting dilemma: how to talk about beauty when our world has so many ideas about it? It seemed to be that the only way to have an honest and real discussion about the importance of Beauty in our lives, we have to address the ways the culture has weaponized beauty to cause harm and anxiety.

In today's episode, we dive into the heart of our culture's problem with beauty, and how we can better serve as a model for the gift of True Beauty.

Guests for Today's episode:

Amanda Martinez Beck, writer, podcaster, and author of "Lovely: How I Learned to Embrace the Body God Gave Me

Mary Rose Somarriba, managing editor at Verily Magazine. Please visit their website and check out their new subscription service, Verily Yours.

Colleen Carroll Campbell, award-winning journalist, speaker, and author of The Heart of Perfection: How the Saints Taught me to Trade my Dream of Perfection for God's.

Music for Today's Episode:

Beautiful Love

Words and music by Dana Catherine. 

© 2018 Dana Catherine EP. As recorded on Nothing in the World. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://www.danacatherinemusic.com/shop

Today's Sponsor: Annunciation Designs.

Looking for gifts for those you love, especially as we approach the Fall and Holiday gift-buying season? Please visit www.annunciationdesigns.com and use PROMO code MANNERS for 10% off your next purchase (keep in mind the store will be closed in the month of September). 

Throughout this season, we've explored the Catholic arts and the gift of beauty through visuals, and the power of creating alongside our Creator. In today's episode, we'll jump into what happens when our BODIES are engaged in the careful beauty of pen to paper.

Featured in today's episode:⁠

Music for Today's Episode:

Invitation 

Words and music by Rita West. https://ritawest.com

© 2019 Novum Records. As recorded on Invitation. All rights reserved. Used by permission. https://www.novumrecords.com

We're halfway through the season and will be taking our mid-season break! Our next episode will be released On the Feast of the Assumption (August 15).

Exceeding 

Words and music by Shaun Garrison. 

© 2015 Shaun Garrison. As recorded on Exceeding. All rights reserved. Used by permission. 

⁠Blessings, Jules⁠

In this week's episode, we dive into the world of the graphic arts through one of the most popular mediums: T-shirt design. Through the stories of the three most popular designs of our artists, we get at the heart of why the graphic arts are so important, and what these simple and beautiful designs can teach us about the role of the arts in our spiritual life.

Music for today's episode:

Curious about the designs of our episode? Check out the websites below for more information.

Jurrell Sison, The Living Person: https://thelivingperson.com

Lauren Winter, Brick House in the City: www.brickhouseinthecity.com

Joe Kim, PAL Campaign: www.palcampaign.com

In the second part of our two-part series on creating, Jules tries to answer a question central to her own journey: what now? Now that we understand the spiritual significance of creating with our Creator, what are we to do with the creation itself? How can the creative works of artists also aid us in our spiritual journeys?

In today's episode, we journey with Laurence Pierson, an artist we featured last episode, to understand the spiritual significance of icons, why praying with images is so central to certain Christian traditions, and how we each can integrate the arts into our prayer lives.

Music for today's episode:

"Humble Host,"

Check out the incredible work of Behold! Visio Divina at their website https://www.beholdvisiodivina.com.