In this episode, Jenna and I mentioned:
Jenna's podcast, A Shower of Roses (LEARN MORE)
Godspell, the musical
Steubenville Conference
Theology of the Body and chastity
We mentioned this passage from Hebrews 4:12: "The word of God is living and active."
The Gospel of Matthew — in particular, Jenna mentions this passage from Matthew 6:27: "And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?" (totally read all of Matthew 5-7. also known as Jesus' Sermon on the Mount!)
I remember first encountering Jenna and her podcast A Shower of Roses in the early days when I was just getting The Feminine Genius Podcast off the ground. She was gracious enough to have me stop by on her podcast, and now it's my turn to have her on! We recorded this during the COVID-19 pandemic, so you'll hear some mention of that.
Together, Jenna and I talked about her own faith journey, the challenges and joys that come with teaching theology to young girls in high school, and the origin story of A Shower of Roses. I am a huge fan of Jenna's and urge you to check out her podcast! It's a wonderful way to get you prepared for the readings that you'll hear on Sunday.
Listen to our conversation here:
Read and download the transcript of our conversation here:
"People are leaving the church, and so, what's the small part that I can play in trying to stop that from happening? People are gonna leave the church for tons of different reasons — a lot of those reasons, I have no control over, and a lot of those reasons I understand! But if it's because they feel like they are not getting anything out of mass, then what can I do to help that?" — Jenna Violi
Meet Jenna Violi
Jenna Violi is the host of the podcast A Shower of Roses. She has been teaching Theology and directing the retreats at an all-girls Catholic high school for four years. Jenna earned her Bachelor of Music Education degree with a concentration in voice in May of 2015 from West Chester University of Pennsylvania but felt the Lord calling her to teach young people about His Goodness and Truth. She graduated from Cabrini University with her M.A. in Religious and Pastoral Studies in May of 2018. This pursuit of a Religious Studies degree led Jenna to ponder and explore what we can do to help people engage in the Mass more fully. This led to the start of A Shower of Roses, a weekly podcast that provides an explanation of the upcoming Sunday’s Mass readings.
On the weekends Jenna plays guitar, piano, and cantors at several parishes. Jenna lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia with her parents and three sisters and is engaged to her wonderful, saintly fiancé, Paul. She loves corgis, coffee, and writing music.
You can listen to A Shower of Roses wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and beyond. Be sure to follow A Shower of Roses on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!