Shows
A Pondering Heart PodcastS2E5 | One Final Heart to Heart“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” So begins chapter 3 of the Book of Ecclesiastes, and an apt sentiment for this episode. We won’t beat around the bush: in this episode, we share the bittersweet news about taking a step back from A Pondering Heart Podcast. Over the past year, we’ve taken a beautiful journey that has allowed us to dive deeper into our faith, have challenging conversations, and ponder out loud. We’ll talk about what’s next, embracing change in our lives, and extending our gratitude for your continued su...
2022-01-1432 min
A Pondering Heart PodcastS2E4 | In Pursuit of Holy Friendship with Father Richard and Father Raffaele"Picture a lot of jagged rocks, and then put them in a blender, and the push 'on.'" This was how Fr. Richard Conlin, one of our guests for this episode, described his experience of being at the seminary. But our relationships with people in general can be characterized in this way: unique beings coming into contact with one another, engaging in fun times and conflict, with the 'end product' being mutual and reciprocal love for the other.Today, we chat with Fr. Richard and returning guest Fr. Raffaele about the beauty of holy friendships: what the...
2021-12-1056 min
A Pondering Heart PodcastS2E3 | Instagram is Not Your BibleFor many of us, there probably isn't a day that goes by without checking in on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or the host of other social media sites out there. Social media is a great way to stay connected with friends, learn something new or even share your faith, but as with all things we can also run the risk of spending too much time on our apps and lose sight of our intentions. As Catholics, how can we be good stewards of social media and use is to glorify God? It's a fine balance and a great opportunity: one...
2021-11-1240 min
A Pondering Heart PodcastS2E2 | How do you pray? 🙏🏼One of the pillars of our faith is prayer. But... sometimes prayer is difficult. Painful. Boring, even! But in the same way that we need to grow and invest in our relationships with our loved ones, we also need to grow in our relationship with God — and prayer is a great way to do that. Join us as we dive deep into what prayer is, share our own prayer routines, and share encouragement and solidarity. We all struggle in prayer: You aren't alone, and God delights in your efforts. He can't wait to share time with you! Th...
2021-10-0846 min
A Pondering Heart PodcastS2E1 | Balancing Mary and MarthaWelcome to Season 2 of A Pondering Heart Podcast! In this episode, we share some podcast and life updates, which sets us up quite nicely for the topic of today. Using the story of Jesus visiting His friends Mary and Martha, we dive into the topic of busyness in our lives. We look at what being too busy can do to our lives and relationship with God, the importance of observing the Sabbath (#Sabbathing), and some practical ways we can balance action and contemplation in our daily lives.Thoughts to ponder from this episode:"How are you?" / "...
2021-09-1042 min
A Pondering Heart PodcastS1E14 | Season 1 Finale!How did this happen!? Just three months after starting this podcast, we're here at the end of season 1 — and what an adventure it's been! Join us as we celebrate some of the great ways God has moved through the season: inspiring us and our guests, the incredible conversations we've had, and some takeaways that we'll bring with us into our next season.A big thank you to our guests from season 1: Deacon Raffaele Salvino, Mike & Camille Mendoza, Sr. Mary Sabina, and Fr. Mark McGuckin. And of course, thank you to all of you for supporting us and li...
2021-06-2529 min
A Pondering Heart PodcastS1E13 | Dreams, Desires, and Asking Big Things of GodSt. Teresa of Avila once said, "You pay God a compliment by asking great things of Him." God delights in us and desires for all of us to dream big and dream with Him. But as we get older, sometimes we find it difficult to open up and dream. We may get self-conscious, afraid of failure, or maybe even afraid of putting in the work. But ultimately, God has made us for more than mediocrity: He calls us to live magnanimously, welcome Him into our dreams, and desires for us to succeed in them. Let's pay Him a compliment...
2021-06-1840 min
A Pondering Heart PodcastS1E12 | Following God Through the Drama of Life with Fr. Mark McGuckinMany times we think we know what we want in our life, and we pursue our dreams and desires independent of God. For Fr. Mark McGuckin, he had a desire to work in the TV and film industry. Ultimately, he got his wish: He graduated from the University of British Columbia's film program and then worked in Vancouver's TV and film industry. But through a powerful moment of conversion, Fr. Mark started asking the big questions about what life is all about. This led him to leave his work and followed God to the seminary, and in 2016, he was...
2021-06-1153 min
A Pondering Heart PodcastS1E11 | Our Friends, the SaintsIn a recent Wednesday audience, Pope Francis spoke on the communion of saints and their relationship to us, decades and centuries later: "The saints are still here not far from us; and their representations in churches evoke that “cloud of witnesses” that always surrounds us." The saints are not only historical beings and exemplars of holiness — they also are our friends, continuously interceding for us and proving to us that no matter how far we stray from the path, there is always hope. In this episode, we share our love for the saints, the many medals we wear to honour...
2021-06-0445 min
A Pondering Heart PodcastS1E10 | The Beauty of Accompaniment with Sr. Mary Sabina, OPWhen it comes to discerning God's will for our lives, it becomes almost impossible when we try to do it all on our own. We may feel scared to reach out to other people because of judgement or insecurity. But in our conversation with Sister Mary Sabina, she challenges us to not be afraid and to be bold in seeking accompaniment.In this episode, Sr. Mary Sabina shares her beautiful vocation story, the importance of accompaniment, and how she was tasked to create a community for discerning women in the Archdiocese of Vancouver and what a blessing...
2021-05-2859 min
A Pondering Heart PodcastS1E9 | Can You Get Angry at God?Everyone's prayer life and relationship to God is unique and personal, but one thing that comes up often is the question of getting real with God and showing our true emotions — especially if it is frustration, anger, or hurt. Many times, we even struggle with telling those around us that we are angry at them! Are we allowed to get angry at Him in prayer, or do we have to put our anger in a box and leave it at the door of the chapel? In this episode, we talk through the misconception of holding our emotions away from Go...
2021-05-2130 min
A Pondering Heart PodcastS1E8 | A Partnership Rooted in God with Michael and Camille Mendoza (pt. 2)Oftentimes we hear about the need to 'work on ourselves' or 'focus on us' during those times of singlehood. And during our conversation with Michael and Camille Mendoza, this was the thing that they found was the key for their own marriage.In part 2 of our conversation, we continue to explore this idea of working on ourselves, pursuing our own passions, and the need to put the focus on God, and why spending our time well in singlehood will not only help us in our vocations, it will also naturally help us grow closer to God.
2021-05-1438 min
A Pondering Heart PodcastS1E7 | A Partnership Rooted in God with Michael and Camille Mendoza (pt. 1)We hear stories of happily ever after, and at some level, we all desire to be seen, known, and loved. But behind all the #couplegoals and cute date ideas, there is real and hard work that needs to go into the individuals and the marriage for it to work.To break this topic open for us, we welcome Michael and Camille Mendoza, a couple living in the Archdiocese of Vancouver. We admire their marriage and partnership dearly, and in part 1 of our conversation we dive into Michael and Camille first as individuals and friends, and how that...
2021-05-0743 min
Catholic& PodcastBook 1 Ch. 11: Young Adults with A Pondering Heart PodcastMatt and JB had the great pleasure to chat with Emi Namoro and Rachel Wong, co-hosts of the A Pondering Heart Podcast. They are great lovers of our Lord and amazing witnesses of the faith. In this final chapter of our first season, we talk as young adults who love our Church deeply about being co-workers in the vineyard, owners of our faith, and practical ways to be good stewards of the Faith.We thank you so much for your support, we'll be taking a short break but will be back with more stories and conversations with...
2021-05-041h 11
A Pondering Heart PodcastS1E6 | Trusting God with Our GrowthAs children and adolescents, there is a natural progression to life: you go from one grade to the next and you follow what the rest of the world prescribes as the rational next steps. But at some point, adults come to a place of choice — choosing what's next in their life's plan of growth. It can be overwhelming and scary, especially when you thought you knew where you were going, only to have plans change or fall through. Join us as we live through our own existential crises and place our confidence in Jesus, the True Vine: the master ga...
2021-04-3040 min
A Pondering Heart PodcastS1E5 | Vocation, Timelines, & Spiritual Battles with Deacon Raffaele SalvinoEach of us desire to know God's will for our lives. But despite our best efforts, the answers may not be as clear as we'd like for it to be. What happens when God's timeline doesn't line up with our own?In this episode, we're blessed to hear the vocation story of Deacon Raffaele Salvino and some of the insights that he's gained from his own journey. We also discuss the anxiety around the beauty of God's invitation to deepen our relationship with Him, vocational timelines, and the spiritual battles that can be fought—and won—with the...
2021-04-2349 min
A Pondering Heart PodcastS1E4 | Holiness For You, Too!The Second Vatican Council makes it clear that there is a "universal call to holiness". We sometimes think that this call is impersonal or reserved for the saints, those who have religious vocations, or our very holy grandmothers. Taking some inspiration from Pope Francis and some of the saints, we unpack this idea of holiness for each of us and how God intentionally built His church to help us succeed in being holy men and women.Our icebreaker question: What is your favourite apparition or title for Mother Mary?Emi: Our Lady of Guadalupe and...
2021-04-1634 min
A Pondering Heart PodcastS1E3 | St. Joseph: A Patient Man of Few WordsSt. Joseph is a quiet man. No really, he is: in all of the Gospels, St. Joseph doesn't say a single word. And yet, St. Joseph is revered as one of the greatest saints in the universal church. In this episode, we take the time to share our favourite titles for St. Joseph, the reason why we sought St. Joseph's patronage for A Pondering Heart, and the incredible witness and faith of the foster father of Jesus.Our conversation centered around Pope Francis' apostolic letter Patris Corde ("With a Father's Heart"). This is the Litany...
2021-04-0937 min
A Pondering Heart PodcastS1E2 | Meet Your Hosts!In this episode, we introduce you to the voices behind the microphone: Emi Namoro and Rachel Wong! We share the story of our friendship and different parts of our life, including our favourite foods, what we used to want to be when we grew up, our favourite saints, and where we've encountered the heart of God.Podcasts we love!:Poco a Poco Podcast Abiding TogetherWord on Fire Show99% InvisibleClerically SpeakingSleep With MeSleepyFollow us on Instagram and Facebook @aponderingheartpodcast to stay up to date with us!Our theme music is "Yellow" by Scott Bu...
2021-03-2632 min
A Pondering Heart PodcastS1E1 | Welcome to A Pondering Heart Podcast!Welcome to A Pondering Heart Podcast — a podcast hosted by two friends learning and growing together in our Catholic faith. In this first episode, hosts Emi and Rachel introduce you to the podcast, share a little bit of the insight behind the name, and where we hope to go with you on this podcast journey!Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook @aponderingheartpodcast to stay up to date!Our theme music is called "Yellow" by Scott Buckley. Learn more about him at scottbuckley.com.au.
2021-03-1921 min
The Feminine Genius PodcastChrist, Coffee, and Conversations — with Emi Namoro & Maggie Orcullo"It felt so natural to combine all of the good things in life — Christ, coffee, conversations." These three things, plus the deep friendship shared by Emi Namoro and Maggie Orcullo, make up Immaculatte. After reconnecting through a class and serving in ministry together, Emi and Maggie decided to take their ministry callings one step further to create Immaculatte, which serves as a ministry for young women of all stages of life who live in the Lower Mainland (or Vancouver, for all the out of towners listening!). Every month, women gather together in a coffee shop to meet, talk, and pr...
2020-06-2232 min