It’s been a busy September for the VM team but, as always, and some amazing milestones
were made.
On September 8, Our Lady’s Birthday, the team celebrated 9 years of Virtue Ministry. No
small feat for Founder and Managing Director Stina Constantine. The Living Fullness
Podcast launched Season 8 in early September and you know I’ll be recommending an
episode or two to listen to!
And the celebrations continued well into September when Stina aced her citizenship test.
After what has been a long and, at times, arduous, journey this is a momentously joyful time
for her. Congratulations Stina!
Lightbulbs and laughter
On a slightly less celebratory note – but still noteworthy – Stina has continued presenting on
Human Formation to our seminarians at Vianney College.
“This term we took a closer look at Generational wounds with the senior students,” said
Stina.
“For the senior students we also explored the importance of awareness for self-mastery and
free will, so that should they be called to Priestly Ordination, their future flock will not be
handed their generational wounds but instead served from a healed and healing heart.”
“For the propaedeutic year,” she continued,” we took a closer look at temperaments, and as
is always the case with this workshop it’s very illuminating for a lot of people whether it
shows them something new about themselves OR in recognizing how little they know of
another, or the impacts of their own projections of another when you live in community.”
“It’s a session filled with lots of ‘aha!’ lightbulb moments, and a lot of laughter.”
Students of Hope
Virtue Ministry were invited to be involved in the Day in the Diocese for the Jubilee Year of
Hope. In a short and sweet recap of the excellent article in last month’s Together, Stina co-
emceed the morning Session for some 400 students getting them excited for the day ahead.
Together Stina and Sam Heffer, our new presenter, facilitated a workshop on hope for all the
secondary school students. They enjoyed a little friendly rivalry between the schools and
followed up by exploring the difference between wishes and hope and Jesus being a
Christian’s anchor of hope.
The day concluded with Mass at the Cathedral with Bishop Mark Edwards.
The VM team would like to extend their congratulations to Mitch Bailey and his team for
trying something different to engage the young people of our Diocese with their faith,
applaud their mammoth effort and encourage them to do more experiences of faith in
future. You got this!
Recommended Resources
Listen to: S08 Ep02 – Called to Go: The Great Commission and Everyday Discipleship
What does Jesus’ Great Commission mean for us today? In this foundational episode, Stina
and Padre explore the roots of Virtue Ministry and its connection to Christ’s command to “go
and make disciples of all nations.” They break open how lay people—not just priests—are
called to evangelise, live their baptismal priesthood, and take their role in the Church
seriously. This episode is both a reflection on VM’s mission and a challenge to all Christians
to step into their God-given calling with clarity, courage, and virtue.
Read: Around the Catholic Table: 100+ Simple Recipes for Family and Friends by Emily Stimpson Chapman
This one is on my growing TBR pile and this is why: “Around the Catholic Table features:
Simple, crowd-pleasing recipes with options to accommodate special diets and food allergies
and ten essays that shed light on the practical aspects of hospitality as well as its spiritual
meaning.
“Whether you are cooking for a family of five or a crowd of fifty, Around the Catholic
Table will help you build community and communion with all who gather around your table.”
Written by Emily Shaw
VM Writer and Graphic Designer. Wife of one, mother of 8. Tackling growth in virtue one (baby) step at a time.