Wholeness and Holiness Podcast

A Production of the Ultimate Christian Podcast Network.

Join professional counselor and certified trauma therapist Margaret Vasquez for an inspiring and practical look at human and spiritual integration from a Catholic perspective.  Gain practical understanding, tips, and tools for personal integration and healthy relationships for lives of wholeness and holiness.

Margaret is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, Certified Trauma Therapist, Certified Intensive Trauma Therapy Instructor, both a Certified Traumatologist and Field Traumatologist, and is Certified in Myers-Briggs.  After over 15+ years of treating trauma clients of all ages, presenting to a wide variety of groups in-person and through guest appearances on EWTN, radio shows, and podcasts, Margaret Vasquez founded Sacred Heart Healing Ministries, which provides healing retreats and trauma-informed care certification training.  Margaret is the Coordinator of Human and Spiritual Integration at Ave Maria University. She began serving as a consultant for Franciscan University of Steubenville’s Institute for Diaconal renewal, presenting workshops and retreats to religious, priests, deacons, and lay people.  She now makes these same retreats and workshops available to you in her new book Fearless and through in-person and online retreats and workshops.

Margaret suffered for many years as a traumatized person before finding healing and freedom through a variation of the therapy she has honed.  Due to this experience, coupled with a degree in Theology from Franciscan University, she sees the challenges of life from a perspective of human and spiritual integration.  Understanding that wholeness and holiness are inextricably interwoven, Margaret has a passion for helping you live in the freedom and peace the Lord has for you.

Visit Margaret’s Website at: https://sacredhearthealingministries.com/ for more information on intensive trauma therapy, healing retreats, and trauma-informed care certification.

Father David Tickerhoof is a retired priest living at the Holy Spirit Friary at the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio.

Reviews for Margaret’s Books

Fearless: Abundant Life Through Infinite Love

If prayer and meditation are a means for developing a relationship with God, this book will not only help you to do that, but it will also challenge you to connect with Him with all of your being. Margaret is eloquent and yet writes in a clear, easy-to-understand, down-to-earth manner. Many of us struggle in prayer, or we may find ourselves feeling alone even when surrounded by people and engaged. Others live in an inner world of anxiety and chaos because they are disconnected from their true selves. Each of these issues is addressed in Margaret’s book, FEARLESS. As we seek out wholeness and connection, Margaret challenges us to live beyond our fears towards a deeper ability to give and receive love through a deeper connection to God, others, and ourselves.

More Than Words: the Freedom to Thrive After Trauma

A great resource for parents, teachers, and others who work closely with people struggling with the effects of trauma on their lives. Full of inspirational stories and hope that there is a way to move on from trauma. I cannot wait for follow-up books!

Wholeness and Holiness Podcast
Wholeness and Holiness Podcast
Margaret Vasquez

from Virtual to Virtuous Reality

 

 

Humility Month

Humility Month Celebrate June – Humility Month! Humility Month. In 1675, Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, revealed His Sacred Heart, and asked for a feast celebrating His Heart in June.  There are so many things in the image of the Sacred Heart for each one of us to receive personally and to imitate. […]

Growing Chastity and Uprooting Lust

Growing Chastity and Uprooting Lust Growing Chastity and Uprooting Lust. We are bombarded with lustful images daily.  Billboards, commercials, song lyrics, and the like are often filled with impurity.  It can be difficult to live lives of purity and chastity.  Yet, it is that to which we are called.  Why does God ask that of […]

Growing Gratitude, Kindness

Growing Gratitude, Kindness Uprooting Envy Growing Gratitude Kindness. Envy is the vice of wanting something that isn’t mine.  Which is actually wanting something contrary to what the Lord knows will lead me to the joy, peace, and contentment He has for me.  When we don’t stay rooted and grounded in love like St. Paul tells […]

Growing Humility Uprooting Pride

Growing Humility Uprooting Pride Growing Humility Uprooting Pride. Scripture tells us to choose the way of humility rather than pride.  It tells us that God favors the humble and humbles the proud.  Jesus even came to give us an example to follow.  His whole earthly life was, from first to last, a wondrous showcase of […]

Growing Virtue and Uprooting Vice

Growing Virtue and Uprooting Vice Growing Virtue and Uprooting Vice. For the longest time, I would bristle when I would hear people talking about growing virtue and rooting out vice because so many times it sounded like something they were engineering.  I’m thoroughly convinced that growing in holiness is something I’m completely incapable of on […]

Freedom from Pornography Part 2

Freedom from Pornography Part 2 Interview with Steve Pokorny Freedom from Pornography Part 2 with Steve Pokorny, founder of Freedom Coaching and author of Redeemed Vision:  Setting the Blind Free from the Pornified Culture, sat down with me to finish our discussion.  Make sure you check out Part 1 from last week to hear how […]

Freedom From Pornography

Freedom From Pornography Part 1 Interview with Steve Pokorny Freedom From Pornography with Steve Pokorny, founder of Freedom Coaching (Freedom-Coaching.net), joined me to discuss his mission to set the captives free from the addiction to pornography.  He grew up in Cleveland, OH, suburbs.  His father was a Vietnam veteran and suffered from its lingering effects, […]

Suffering Is a Pain

Suffering Is a Pain Suffering Is a Pain. This is a topic that is always with us in this life!  As Catholics we often hear about the redemptive power of suffering.  How are we to do that in a way that is powerful and in a way where we collaborate with the grace the Lord […]

Matter of Life and Death

Matter of Life and Death Matter of Life and Death. In Scripture, we hear a lot about dying to ourselves.  We are commanded to do it and told it is essential for life.  So, what does that actually mean?  What is dying to ourselves?  Is there a value in suffering for the sake of suffering?  […]

Don’t Believe the Lies

Don’t Believe the Lies Don’t Believe the Lies. Margaret Vasquez’s Testimony. When Satan can get us to question God’s goodness and who He is as our Good Father and who we are as His beloved children, anything is possible in a really bad way.  It goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden.  […]

Repentance Those Hurt by Church Leadership

Repentance Those Hurt by Church Leadership Repentance is important, especially if you have been hurt by church leaders. I was away from the Church for a number of years because of the abuse I suffered at the hands of Church leadership.  Maybe you or someone you love is in that same place in their walk.  […]

Our Identity in Christ

Our Identity in christ Our identity is crucial to our personal wholeness and growth in holiness.  It’s a buzzword these days in secular society.  No matter who we are, how we live is going to flow from our identity.  Another way to say it is we behave according to who we believe we are.  For […]

Into the Desert with Jesus

Into the Desert with Jesus The Scriptural basis for the 40 days of Lent is found in Jesus’ own going into the desert for 40 days after His baptism.  In Matthew 4:1-11 we read (on air). The devil tempted the Lord toward sensual satisfaction, testing the Father, power, and popularity.  These are all ways in […]

Lent A New Springtime

Lent A New Springtime If you find the time of Lent to be one of heaviness and drudgery, this is the podcast for you!  Fr. David and I discuss the beauty of new life that comes from eliminating the distractions and dissipation of life and allowing our hearts to be attracted to the Lord.  Jesus, […]

Counseling vs Coaching

Counseling vs Coaching What’s the Difference Between Counseling and Coaching? Counseling vs Coaching. They are both used in regard to wellness these days.  So, what’s the difference between them?  How do I know which one is right for me?  A governing body regulates counseling in each of the United States.  The laws and regulations of […]

Response to Powerlessness

Response to Powerlessness ~ Don’t Waste  Suffering!   Our response to powerlessness. There’s a pattern I’ve noticed as a therapist and experienced personally.  It’s a deeply frustrating pattern, but it’s quite typical for us as human beings.  When we experience the suffering that comes from being powerless in painful circumstances, the natural fear we can […]

Practical Connection Tips

Practical Connection Tips We all know that creating and having practical connections are harder than we think. Whether you’re a priest, religious, clergy, teacher, mental health professional, spiritual director, or medical professional, these are some ways you can boost the rapport in your relationships by honoring the dignity of those to whom you’re relating. The […]

The Key to Marriage

Would you believe that the key to marriage isn’t your relationship with your spouse?  Do you know that we all have the same primary vocation regardless of our state in life?  The truth is that the key to marriage is that our primary vocation is that of union with the Lord!  It’s true!  Monks, hermits, […]

What Is the Baptism in the Holy Spirit?

Acts 1:8 “But, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you…” Do you feel like you need power?  The Lord promises it to us through His Spirit coming upon us! If you grew up like many of us did without exposure to such language or experience, you might be wondering just what […]

Humility: The Path to Freedom and Peace

In Mary’s Magnificat she declares her own lowliness and rejoices in the fact that the Lord raises up the lowly.  She sees and openly acknowledges her own littleness.  That’s not a false humility.  She is in touch with the reality of who she is before God.  She also lays out a stark contrast between how […]

Overcoming Blocks to God’s Love

God’s love is key to the spiritual life.  As we’ve discussed in the past couple of shows, He loves us infinitely and intimately and sent Jesus to reveal His love for us, to make it manifest to us in a real way we could see through the incarnation we celebrate at Christmas.  Yet, despite this […]

God’s Love Incarnate

The Incarnation of Jesus is so crucial.  Jesus is God’s love made manifest to the world!  For this reason, St. Francis of Assisi saw Christmas as the highest of the feast days!  When he made his conversion, God started to work in him in new and beautiful ways and right at the heart of it […]

Identity Is Key

Identity is at the core of human and spiritual integration.  It’s key to us being able to act from a mature human place and to being spiritually mature.  There are so many things that clamor for our identity and that some gravitate towards – being a member of a certain club, or organization, having wealth […]

Keeping It Real

In the last podcast with Coach Kelly Herrmann, there was something she shared about how she has approached coaching over the years that helped her align her actions with her beliefs.  I was really struck by it, and it has been a gift to me to distill those principles out of the arena of athletics […]

Christians in the Arena

Join me for the final episode in this series with Coach Herrmann and I discuss the role sports can play in character formation!   Coach Kelly Herrmann – now a wife, mom, grandma, health coach, author, and speaker was a fixture in sports at Franciscan University of Steubenville for decades.  Having given up a full […]

The Role of Sports in Christian Character Formation

Join me as Coach Herrmann and I discuss the role sports can play in character formation!   Coach Kelly Herrmann – now a wife, mom, grandma, health coach, author, and speaker was a fixture in sports at Franciscan University of Steubenville for decades.  Having given up a full ride to play division one basketball, she […]

Faith Formation in Athletics

Meet Coach Kelly Herrmann – Faith Formation in Athletics   Today, I’m joined by Kelly who I’ve known for about 30 years.  She’s coached, refereed, umpired for decades in sports of all types and is now a wife, mother, grandmother, and health coach, author and speaker. Kelly has a passion for forming athletes in faith […]

The Sacrament of Reconciliation

The Sacrament of Reconciliation, what we as Catholics commonly refer to as Confession, is a great and powerful occasion for grace and yet sometimes we hesitate to go out of fear, shame, and embarrassment.  Margaret discusses the sacrament with Fr. David in his role as a priest of over 55 years.   Confession is a […]

The Importance of Self-Forgiveness

Self-forgiveness is highly important to mental health and spiritual growth.  If we don’t have it, we can stay stymied and even spiral downwards in our relationships to ourselves, God, and others.  Sometimes, we are hard on ourselves out of fear of failing even worse if we ‘let ourselves off the hook’.  However, it has the […]

Prayers versus Prayer

What is the difference between prayers and prayer? Prayer isn’t just ‘caught’ it needs to be ‘taught’.  Prayer is based on the Lord’s grace and so it is a gift. 

Conversion 2.0: God in My Life vs Me in God’s Life

Fr. David shares about how he experienced the Lord telling him he was running his own life and asked him to let the Lord Himself run his life.

Journey From the False Self to the True Self

How do we make that journey?  It’s a process of grace and coming to understand more and more who God is and what He asks of us.

Suffering and Healing

God intends great things for our lives, but when we look at our personal sufferings, that can be hard to hold onto.  What are we to do with suffering when we don’t experience healing? 

What the Lord Taught Me When I Lived with a Serial Killer

In 1997, I ended up in a roommate situation that turned out to be one of the most dramatic experiences of my life, but the Lord actually used it to teach me tremendous lessons about His wisdom, goodness, power, provision, and desire to be intimately involved in the details of our lives.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

Margaret and Fr. David discuss The Context of Holiness by Fr. Marc Foley, OCD as he examined human and spiritual integration in the life of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. 

Baptism in Fire!

Margaret Vasquez, LPCC and Fr. David Tickerhoof, TOR discuss the notion of the baptism in fire that was foretold by St. John the Baptist. 

Applying the Principles of Human and Spiritual Integration

As we develop in these areas we grow in both human and spiritual maturity.  These principles help us to focus on being rather than doing.

Charity Toward Others and Healthy Relating

Compassion, mercy, and forgiveness are essential for healthy relationships.  We become the hands and feet of the Lord by relating to others the way He relates to us. 

Personal Integration and Charity Toward Others

It’s essential for lives of wholeness and holiness that we grow in communion with the Lord, personal integration, and charity toward others. 

The Importance of Human and Spiritual Integration

As Christians we can tend to over spiritualize, and secular society tends to under spiritualize. We need a paradigm by which to understand how to build a firm foundation that includes both human and spiritual maturity. 

Digging into the Biology of Trauma

Continuing in our understanding of the biology of trauma, trauma is anything that overwhelms the person’s normal ability to cope. 

Introduction to Trauma Series: Avoiding Spiritual Identity Theft

Episode #2 – Introduction to Trauma Series (Avoiding Spiritual Identity Theft!) Have you or someone you love endured sufferings in which you continue to feel stuck?  Does this leave you feeling confused or even fearful, perhaps even rejected or abandoned by God?  Unfortunately, there are so many types of trauma and such experiences are so […]

What is Wholeness and Holiness Podcast?

Have you ever wondered how our natural human lives and the spiritual life are connected?