It’s been amazing to see how God has kept this conversation going here in spite of our absence; it reminds us that life is best lived in community with one another. We’re excited to share more in this space as God allows in the days and months to come.

We had the joy of spending this past weekend on retreat together in a sleepy little town, where we’ve encountered God in late night conversations and lots of space to rest and belong. We’ve given this space a face lift and hope you’ll take a minute to catch up on the stories God has written in our lives.

Meet Faith

Meet Mary

We’re praying for you, wherever you’re at, keeping you in our hearts.

The article below was written for “Liturgy Notes” from the Office of Sacred Worship in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Many thanks for the opportunity to contribute!

By: Mary Serafino  This past Christmas, a piece of Heaven came to a choir loft in the most unexpected of ways. With less than 24 hours until the morning Mass, I risked a last-minute addition to the repertoire. Thankfully, the organist was happy to oblige. The piece was Pietro Yon’s Gesu Bambino and it was an unlikely choice for a late inclusion, being slightly out of my range and enormously out of practice. That did not matter. In my heart, I simply longed to sing the words, “The angels sang. The shepherds sang. The grateful earth rejoiced. And at His blessed birth, the stars their exultation voiced.” We got creative, made a few alterations to the highest of notes, rehearsed it once, and hoped for the best. While I sang, I was only aware of one thing: it seemed to me as if the angels, shepherds, and stars were in fact, singing it with me. A woman stopped me after Mass. “That piece!” she said. “I don’t know how to explain it, but while you were singing, I could actually imagine all of the angels in the church, singing it too! It was like I was there, in the field, with the shepherds, going to adore the newborn King.”  I was amazed. She heard them too! Rather than noticing the haphazard nature of this musical accompaniment to the Mass, this woman heard creativity come to life, both in the art of the composer and in our hearts. She heard Bethlehem. In his letter to artists, Pope Saint John Paul II explains how this works: “Art has a unique capacity to take one or other facet of the message and translate it into colours, shapes and sounds which nourish the intuition of those who look or listen. It does so without emptying the message itself of its transcendent value and its aura of mystery.” Speaking about music specifically he continued,“In song, faith is experienced as vibrant joy, love, and confident expectation of the saving intervention of God.” Those in creative ministry — and any ministry, at that — will likely relate to this Christmas experience in many different ways. Ministry is more than work, it’s a personal experience with God, lived in communion with others. Yet, not every day in ministry can be like that Christmas morning. We know too well the ebb and flow of ordinary life that makes creativity seem out of reach or dull. It is easy to get caught up in repeating musical repertoire year-to-year, wedding-to-wedding, or funeral-to-funeral. It is also possible to get caught up in the work, investing time to perfecting skill and knowledge for the sake of excellence alone so that the fruits become results — numbers, attendance, and feedback — instead of nourishment to the soul. Discouragement can also arise simply from our own imperfections. The good news is, when creativity seems out of reach or lost, it is in fact, not far away. True creativity has love as its source — a kind of creativity that is always available to us, no matter the day or situation. When we love we are naturally creative. I have witnessed this around me in the strongest of loving bonds, especially in marriages and in the holiest of priesthoods. The lover is always creative in expressing his/her love for the other. The Source of this Love is God. He is the one who invites, instills, and engages in this love with us and creates personal movements of “art” in our everyday lives. St. John Paul II explains that, “He touches [the human genius] with a kind of inner illumination which brings together the sense of the good and the beautiful, and he awakens energies of mind and heart which enable it to conceive an idea and give it form in a work of art.” Our Lord Himself wastes no chance in showing us His creative love. He lived it with every step He took in the Gospels, in the words that he spoke, the places he visited, and the miracles he performed. He turned water into wine, raised the dead to life, walked on water, and multiplied loaves and fish by the thousands! He spoke through parables, addressing people as they lived and in the way they would best receive His word. He was, is, and always will be the culmination of “vibrant joy, love, and confident expectation.” It is hard not to respond to this kind of love with our own! The saints and friends of Jesus constantly demonstrate this. Mary hurried to the Pharisee’s house to anoint Jesus’s feet with oil, much to the surprise and skepticism of those around Him. Jesus called her love “great” and told her, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Friends of the paralytic man lowered him through the roof of a home in order to bring him to Jesus. He saw their faith and said to the man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Some of the Church’s most treasured Eucharistic hymns were penned by St. Thomas Aquinas, including Adoro Te Devote and Pange Lingua.  The next time we feel stuck or bored in art or ministry, chances are it’s time to take our cue from the saints and lay our heads on the heart of the Beloved. He is eager to intervene and already has His hand in the sights, sounds, and shapes in the world around us. When we do, we might not only hear Bethlehem, but see also Galilee, taste the Wedding Feast, smell the holy oil, and touch His precious wounds. This kind of creativity can turn any act of love into a total masterpiece.                                                                                                                                                            About the Author: Mary Serafino is the Communications Specialist at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary and a cantor at the Basilica of St. Louis the King. She enjoys a wide range of creative outlets, including photography, cooking, graphic design, and writing for her blog, Her Soul Proclaims. Mary enjoys hiking, learning new music, traveling, and learning new music. When she’s not exploring national or state parks with friends, she can be found baking in her kitchen and singing along to a favorite playlist or soundtrack.

Hello dear readers and happy summer! We’re pausing to check in with YOU as we checked in with each other over this past weekend over a wonderful breakfast and even better company.

Life has been a little bit crazy-busy for the both of us (as you may have deduced from the lack of consistent blogging over the past couple months) – with weddings, graduations (including Joseph’s medal ceremony as he transitions from the ‘baby’ to ‘toddler’ class at his gym) and planning for summer trips and vacations all crowding around the calendars. Mary is preparing to walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain soon and Faith is bracing herself for a twelve hour car ride with a twenty month old. Both daunting tasks!

Yet, Despite the busyness of these seasons of our lives, Jesus continues to still our hearts with His love and remind us who all these efforts are for. He continues to teach us about trusting Him wholly, reminding us that despite all the chaos we may muddle through, the best laid plans we pour into pursuing (including the times they go awry) HE is sufficient, through and in it all.

And what better way to remember this than to dive into the abyss of love found in the Sacred Heart? During this month dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we encourage you as we do one another to rest our heads longer on the chest of our Sweet Savior, as did the beloved apostle St. John, in order to hear the sound of it beating on our behalf. If we listen, we can hear it pounding with love, mercy, compassion, forgiveness – a perfect combination of humanity with the Divine. Truly it is a heart for our hearts, One strong enough to withstand our every doubt, fear, rejection- One stronger, even, than death.

Will you join us there for awhile? Will you join us in seeking this Heart which so tirelessly pursues us?

With all our love,

Mary & Faith

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

That’s right! It’s Mary and Faith together, in person and on paper with a Her Soul message to you, dear sisters, as we celebrate tidings of great joy!!

This evening, we took a long breath and pause amidst the swirl of red and green to direct our hearts toward the manger and our friendship. Together, we prayed, ate, laughed a lot, and argued about who would pay for the milkshakes. And after we caught up on each others lives and hearts – we talked about YOU.

Don’t worry, it was all good. 😉 In fact, we talked about you in wonder. We talked about the analytics map and how readers visit our site every day, the “likes” and “shares” we receive through social media, and the delightful comments left by Tom and others. We even talked about our committed readers who subscribe to our posts by clicking the “Follow” button, located on the sidebar. (Yes, shameless plug, right here.) —>

And then, as the waitress approached our table for the fourth time to encourage us to at least look at our menu, we discussed the incredible coincidence Mary had of meeting some of our lurking readers at a recent Christmas party; women who share “Her Heart” and the various ways we live life for the same cause. It was at that moment when it really hit home: how absolutely lovely and real are the faces and hearts behind these likes, shares, and comments!!

Thank you for joining us on the journey and sharing your time with us. We believe that this life isn’t meant to be lived, loved, and fought for alone and we are so grateful for your willingness to join us for the ride. Each and every one of you returns to this space because YOU share Her Heart and seek His story in your busy, hectic lives.

[And in case you’re wondering, this evening’s quiet time together was made possible by Paul, who also values our friendship and the chance for mommy to have some quiet time. Because YES – friendships can flourish beyond the “I do” when one friend is married and the other is single. We know that this can be a struggle or fear for some of you and plan to publish a series on the topic in January. If you have questions from the single or married perspective of the “friends after marriage” topic, please send them to us and we’ll be sure to include an answer in an upcoming post.

This evening we paused long and hard together with Our Lord at the parish adoration chapel, praying for each others intentions and looking ahead at a new year. Perhaps you are doing the same – wondering if the new year will bring joy or sorrow, gain or loss, easy rides or hard knocks? Whatever your prayer may be, know that you are not praying alone. And whatever the new year brings, it will be exactly that which will make you a better, stronger, healthier YOU!

What is your word for 2018? A word for the new year is like a seed planted for the next chapter of life; a word that comes from the year past and promises to unfold in it’s own way as the new one commences. We would like to challenge each of you to ponder and decide on one word you will take with you from 2017 into the new year. Here we go!

Mary’s Word for 2018: Enough

Faith’s Word for 2018: Trust

As what I can only consider a sister of the word and theme which Mary has chosen (“enough”), “trust” is a word which I believe God has been whispering lovingly to my heart even long before my entrance into this crazy-beautiful vocation of marriage and motherhood.  I was born out of my parents’ trust in God, that He would fulfill their desire for a child in HIS timing, according to HIS plan; thus they named me “faith”, a synonym, I believe, if not the very definition of trusting in God…in His Providence, in His close proximity to our hearts and our crosses even when we cannot feel His prescence, in His goodness and His mercy.

I believe that my hope and challenge for the coming year can be summed up in the call to TRUST God, foremostly to trust that He is who He says He is and to trust who He has revealed me to be in relation to Him.

He is my father; I am his daughter.

If I believe that simple truth deep in my bones- if I believe it to my core, everything in my life changes. It all starts to make sense.

Where trust abounds, fear ceases to control and bind.

So here’s to a year of freedom from worry, a year resonating with the peace that comes not from this world, but from trusting Jesus deeply and wholly.

Here’s to a year of TRUST, and (no pun intended 😉 , faith in action.