Living Fullness

Respect & Communicate the turn on boundaries

How far is too far? is a question, as a Priest, many couples ask Padre. In this episode our hosts suggest that question comes from a problematic place and instead ask a question like 'what does affection in a healthy, God oriented relationship look like?'. 
Modern civilisation seems to equate intimacy with the breaking of boundaries as opposed to setting and respecting of them. When in reality, intimacy is more than the physical, it is also emotional, psychological and spiritual. When we enter into only one of those facets without appropriately seeing the other aspects of a person, we are only ever seeing them in parts. It doesn't allow for intimacy - Into-Me-See
It seems to be that moving in together is the height of intimacy in a relationship. This makes sense when we have lost sight of the gift of life and instead value our status and our assets that we've worked hard for. Sharing of these most valuable things therefore seems to appear to be a form of intimacy when in reality these are external things, they are not part of who we are as a person. 
It is VITAL to communicate the impact and effect of affection to your significant other. Every person will be affected differently. Every couple is different, and therefore every couple need their own set of boundaries. 
An encouraging message to couples to have confidence and freedom to move within the boundaries set by the church regarding intimacy, and to not feel like you need to create a checklist of behaviours in order to act 'morally', and there is no need to check for morality within every detail of intimacy with you priest. Morality is the result of a lasting relationship with Jesus Christ, therefore it's more than a check box. 
 
T.B.G
Padre - a friend in ministry who has been through a rough patch and thriving through it
Stina - An invitation by a not so familiar person at church

Spiritual Director & Mentor - Do I need one?

In this episode Padre and Stina talk about Spiritual Direction, Mentorship and Counsel and help the listener determine if they should seek someone, and what to look for, as well as what to do if someone asks you to be their Spiritual Mentor. 
A Spiritual Director and Mentor should not be someone who interprets the Voice of God in your life, but instead be someone who helps you hear the voice of God in your own life.  
Seeking spiritual counsel is different to seeking therapeutic counselling, and the two should be not be misused. It may be necessary to share information about your therapy with your spiritual mentor or director, but we should never seek advice from our spiritual mentors about what to do therapeutically. They are not one and the same, and should not be treated as such. 
One piece of advice to consider in choosing your mentor is words from St. John of the Cross '... one ought to take care who we entrust ourselves to. As the master is, so will the disciples be'. 
Some things to consider if you're asked to be one; 
1. Why me?
2. Pray about it, don't rush
3. Are you the right fit for what they need?
4. Does your current state in life allow for this relationship?
5. Is it the right time?
6. Is it an appropriate relationship?
 
TBG
Padre - Diving into study and growing in appreciation of God in asking Mary to be so intimately involved in salvation. He wanted to free us by using human freedom. 
Stina - a gift from a friend - oil diffuser necklace for stressful times

Bishop Mark Edwards; Faith Journey, Friendships, and a bit of Fun

In this week's episode of Living Fullness, our hosts sit down with the current Bishop of Wagga Wagga, Bishop Mark Edwards OMI, to get to know him a bit better and about his faith journey. Here are some of the questions that were covered
What does a day in the life of a Bishop look like?
How does a bishop do to unwind?
What was your upbringing and your faith journey? - Shout out to Mazenod College - Victoria https://www.mazenod.vic.edu.au/ and Oblates of Mary Immaculate https://omi.com.au/
Some words of wisdom to figure our your dream
How have you found the Wagga Wagga Diocese so far?
If there was one aspect of living fullness that you thought was important, what would that be?
What can someone do if they find they're in a workaholic kind of space?
Friendship - Can men and Women be friends? or does the sex thing get in the way? What do you think?
What is your relationship with Jesus like, at the moment?
What is God calling you into at this time? Is there anything on your heart - a message for young people? A message on prayer
Rapid Fire Fun Questions
Books mentionedLord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien A secular age - Charles Taylor
 
Instagram: Living Fullness
Facebook Group: Living Fullness

The 4 Temperaments and Jesus

Our hosts explore the 4 temperaments in this week's episode of Living Fullness;
Sanguine - Life of the Party
Choleric - Natural born leaders
Melancholic - Detail focused
Phlegmatic - Peacekeepers 
The conversation unpacks their natural strengths, tendencies of weakness, spiritual suggestions and a couple of well known examples of people with these temperaments. 
Learning to identify our friend's temperaments can be both a fun and useful piece of information in order to love them better. Stina offers a fun exercise to try. 
Our hosts also discuss Jesus' temperament and what the idea of being a Christian means, in light of the 4 temperaments
 
T.B.G
Padre - IVA - Young Artist (Also Padre's niece). You can follow her on Instagram: ivamahoni
Stina - Discovering similarities with a friend 
 
Congratulations to the New Rector and Vice Rector of Vianney College, Fr. Rick Micallef and Fr. Brad Rafter, respectively.  
 
 

Self-knowledge; a necessity in relationships

In this episode of Living Fullness, our hosts take a closer look at Self-Knowledge, what it is, and how it serves various relationships including that of friendships, romantic relationships, family and even co-workers. How can we grow in self knowledge and what is it's true purpose?
 
T.B.G
Stina - Baptism reflection on the Presentation in the Temple
Padre - Study on Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul 2nd) and Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict 16th)

Stina's Deportation & Managing Crisis

This episode of Living Fullness is a little unusual as Padre sits down with Stina to talk about the elephant in the room, the undefined turbulence she has mentioned on several occasions before. 
After 20years of being in Australia, Stina is facing deportation due to a clerical error not of her own doing, and the outcome of the situation is entirely out of her control. Listen to the episode to find out how they're both coping with this news as they explore how to manage crises in life and where friendship becomes a very clear gift at this time. 
Petition Page (Ministerial Intervention): https://www.change.org/p/honorable-mr-alex-hawke-save-our-stina-from-wrongful-deportation
GoFundMe Page (Legal costs):  https://au.gofundme.com/f/help-stina-stay-in-australia

Elise Drum; an unfiltered, writer and young Country Doctor in the making

On this week's episode, we welcome a young country doctor in the making, who is also one of the writers at Virtue Ministry, Elise Drum. 
Padre and Stina talk to Elise about what it was like to move from a country town into the big city, adjusting to a new life style and to making new friends. AND THEN to readjusting back to a country town life when the people around her have essentially moved on in life. 
Elise may be young in age, but her wisdom is beyond her years. Her consistent deep thoughts are an asset on the Virtue Ministry Team. Check out her blog posts here
Virtue Ministry Blogs - https://www.virtueministry.org.au/blog/
Elise also shares about a moment in friendship that has always struck her and ways to remain other focused when making new friends, as well as how this drastic move has helped shape her faith and her personal relationship with Jesus. 
Elise encourages young people to look to John Paul II's words for encouragement to remember that 'you're not waiting for your time, your time is now'.
The episode concludes with some fun questions for Elise. 
 
Shout outs in this episode to 
Rebecca Gosper - Life Choice
Saint John Paul the Great: His 5 Loves - Jason Evert 
Unbroken - Laura Hillenbrand

Forgiveness in Friendship, and in our relationship with Jesus

In this week's episode, Padre and Stina tackle forgiveness - free act of releasing someone from the debt they have incurred by sinning against us, and by no longer defining them by the act of the sin against us. 
If someone has hurt us, it's because we trusted they would not harm us or would not break our boundaries. We need to accept then that trust has been broken. We also need to pay attention to our emotions because they are helpful and tell us something. 
Padre explains the difference between vincible and invincible ignorance and why this is important in considering whether a conversation around forgiveness needs to take place. If we do decide that a conversation has to take place, Charity must be our motivator. Including giving people space when we bring up the conversation. 
Some common sayings:
1. Forgive and Forget - We don't define people by the wrong they have done against us, but we do need to learn from the interaction. Repairing the relationship doesn't mean the relationship turns back into what it was, it will need to grow into what's most appropriate at the time.
2. Forgive and Never Forget - Means I still define you by the behaviour
3. Forgiveness is just a matter of the will - it's a choice but the will does not operate on it's own. It's needs emotion and intellect.  
4. Only able to forgive when you're no longer hurting - we are always able to enter into the process of forgiveness even when we're not emotionally ready to forgive. 
Forgiveness is a journey and it's supernatural - because we are called to forgive as Christ forgives. 'Father forgive them for they know not what they do' Luke 23:34
We also need to be careful that we are open to receiving the forgiveness of others. 
 
T.B.G
Padre - Celebrated 6yrs of Ordination to the Priesthood
Stina - The Chosen - Season 2
 

Apology Language in relationships

Following on from love language, Padre and Stina have a closer look at apologies and Apology Language by Gary Chapman. Apologies opens up and makes the path to forgiveness easier. Apologies can be healing an have health benefits. They also recognise there is a rule or and expectation in place that has been broken and should have been upheld. There is also an ongoing conversation in our culture about the tendency for women to apologise for things that are unnecessary. 
 
The 5 Apology Languages
Expressing regret - being sorrowful for our behaviour and saying I am Sorry
Accepting Responsibility - Taking ownership over what happened
Making Restitution - Rebuilding broken trust
Genuinely Repenting - making a resolve to change
Forgiveness - Asking for forgiveness
 
5 Apology languages in light of our relationship with Jesus
Expressing regret - having a contrite heart
Accepting Responsibility - Owning, Jesus died for MY sins
Making Restitution - A broken relationship requires two people to repair, however when it comes to our relationship with God, we need Jesus to help us heal the brokenness which we cannot heal on our own.  
Genuinely Repenting - making a commitment of the standard of love we ought to uphold and strive for. 'Be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect'- Matthew 5:48
Forgiveness - Ask for his mercy and forgiveness, he will not hesitate to forgive you. All he wants to do is shower us with his love and mercy. Anything that makes us hesitate, is not of God. 
 
Truth. Beauty. Goodness
Stina - a father and son playing chess in a cafe
Padre - the host of a birthday dinner party 'you can taste the ingredient of love' in her cooking.  
Forgiveness - Asking for forgiveness
 

Friends in Ministry with Fr Reece Beltrame

Note: There were was a phantom mic problem with Stina's mic, for the first 7min. Do not turn the volume too high as it returns to normal at 7min 43sec. 
In this episode, our hosts interview one of Padre's friends in Ministry, a brother priest, Fr. Reece Beltrame from the Wagga Wagga Diocese. Fr. Beltrame walk us through some of his testimony, and what his relationship with Jesus looks like at the moment. Father gave us some insights and some beautiful things to consider.
The questions asked in this episode include: What's your testimony in a snapshot? How did the people around you respond to your call to the priesthood? What's something you would have wanted the younger version of yourself to know?
What do you think it would take to remain friends with people pre-seminary? Were you two friends in the seminary or how did the friendship come about? What might be some challenges of friendship between priests? What is the best part of having a friend in the priesthood? As a priest, what are your thoughts on friendships with lay Christians? 
What does your personal relationship with Christ look like? What has been a game changer in your relationship with Christ in more recent times? What is God calling you into at this time? 
The episode ends with a quick fire series of questions and a lot of laughs. 
A shout out to Ignatius Press, Exodus Challenge and Rise Challenge
Let us know what questions you would have asked our guest