This episode of Ministry Monday is brought to you by Loyola Press. Loyola Press is proud to announce the arrival of the new book Spiritual Practices for the Brain. Written by Anne Kertz Kernion, founder of Cards by Anne, this book is grounded in neuroscience, theology, and mindfulness practice to provide powerful, positive results for mind, body, and soul. Visit store.loyolapress.com to order your copy today.

As pastoral musicians who spend countless hours in God’s house, facilitating prayer for others, how can we deepen our prayer experience? How do we discern the time needed for our own prayer practice, apart from the ministry we offer to others?

Today on the podcast we discuss the Liturgy of the Hours and Eucharistic Adoration, two experiences of prayer that help us to encounter Christ in deeper ways.

Today I have the privilege to speak to two pastoral musicians who also compose music for the Church. They both share stories of the Spirit guiding their compositions and their time in ministry, especially through the lens of motherhood and women working for the Church. But the message ahead is clear: we, as women, use our unique experiences to support the Church and allow the guide the Spirit to flow through us. But I hope that we can honor the uniqueness we offer without putting our service in a category of “female musician”. Or “women in music.”

Today I’m honored to share one of the recorded sessions from the 2020 Virtual Convention. The following session was one of four sessions in NPM’s “Black Lives Matter” series during the convention, led by an incredible team across the span of the week. Two of these sessions, along with other topics celebrating the Black Catholic community, can be found in the “Series and Themes” area on our website. We are proud to celebrate Black Catholic Voices and will continue to share what we can, listen and learn so all can truly be at the table together.