Little Sparks

Send us Fan Mail For our season finale episode, we're talking our top 5 favorite and top 5 least favorite Christmas songs! See how we rank popular hymns and festive favorites in this lighthearted and hilarious season 6 finale! ---- Cecilia's Draft Picks - Least Favorite: 1.⁠ ⁠I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas -    • Gayla Peevey - I Want a Hippopotamus for C...  2.⁠ ⁠Rocking Around the...

Send us Fan Mail Today we're welcoming back our friend Julia Janowski! Julia was a guest on Season 1, and her life has taken many twists and turns over the past few years. We're chatting about what she's learned about trusting in God, and how The Artist's Way is helping her find clarity in her journey. Learn more about Julia at her website. ---- Here's the links referenced...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever heard of The Huron Carol? This traditional Christmas hymn was written by a saint, and its unassuming lyrics have a lot to teach us about evangelization. ---- Here's the links referenced in today's episode - The Huron Carol -    • The Huron Carol (Arr. R. Anderson)  ---- What we're listening to - Tara: Ain't That-a Rockin' by Stacey V. Gibbs  ...

Send us Fan Mail With American Thanksgiving just around the corner, today we're taking a moment to reflect on gratitude. One of the most important tools for growing in contentment, peace and joy, we're chatting about why gratitude is so crucial to incorporate into our lives, and some practical tips for living it out - even when life feels crazy and stressful! ---- What we're listeni...

Send us Fan Mail Loneliness is endemic in our times, and can especially affect musicians around the holidays. Today we're chatting about how to combat the holiday loneliness, whether you're working, or spending time with family this Christmas season. ---- What we're listening to -  Tara: Lux Aeterna, by Håkan Glänte https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AahIeUza8as Cecilia: The Nutcracker...

Send us Fan Mail It's the most wonderful time of the year - unless you're a working musician, drowning in your hectic schedule. Today we're chatting about how to get on top of this crazy time of year, with mental, physical, and spiritual preparation. ---- What we're listening to - Tara: Jerusalem, by Michael McGlynn    • Jerusalem  Cecilia: Disney's Sleeping Beauty Soundtr...

Send us Fan Mail Today we're chatting about the newest Doctor of the Church - St. John Henry Newman. Known for his prolific writings, did you know he was also a musician? We're sharing some fascinating snippets of John Henry Newman's musical life, taken from his personal letters and sermons. ---- Here's the links referenced in today's episode - JHN's sermon on music &...

Send us Fan Mail This is part 2 of our mini-series on the All Hallows Triduum - the feasts of All Saints & All Souls! Today we're chatting all about the importance of these commemorations, some ideas of ways to celebrate them, and a bit about their music. ---- Here's the music referenced in today's episode - All Saints & All Souls Playlist - *coming soon!* ---- What we'...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we're chatting all things Halloween! Though it's become somewhat controversial in Catholic circles in recent years, we're sharing the reasons why we believe it's so important to continue commemorating this important day in the Hallowtide Triduum. We're also chatting a bit about scary music - it's history, uses, and interesting stories about it&...

Send us Fan Mail After an unexpectedly long hiatus- WE'RE BACK! We're thrilled to be returning to the podcast for Season 6. In this episode, we're catching up on what's happened since we last recorded, the reason for the untimely end of Season 5, and chatting about what to expect in this coming season! What we're listening to; Cecilia - Where Is My Husband!, by RAYE Tara -...

Send us Fan Mail Discernment - it can feel like a Catholic buzzword sometimes, with it's increasingly casual use in day-to-day life. But what does discernment really mean and why does it matter? For musicians, especially those forms that require the explicit telling of stories, discernment is a critical part of incorporating their faith into their profession. Art can be very subjective, so ho...

Send us Fan Mail We have a very special guest on this week's episode - Cecilia's mom, Olivia Leskowicz! Sharing her personal story of growing up in a musical family, and balancing a budding career and a young family, this episode is dripping with wisdom and insights. Can you really "have it all"? How do you go about discerning God's Will for your career and family? We&apos...

Send us Fan Mail Theology of the Body was one of the most widely known works of Pope Saint John Paul II, and its message has broken barriers in teaching us about our own humanity and the Divine Character of God as understood through His beautiful creation of human bodies and human sexuality. When we think of Theology of the Body, we usually think of marriage and human sexuality - and for good reas...

Send us Fan Mail Following last week's episode, Cecilia addresses an important and easily overlooked form of mistreatment: emotional abuse. Broaching this difficult topic, Cecilia shares candidly from her own personal experience and healing journey.  If you or someone you know is suffering from emotional abuse, please check out the resources at the link below- https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline...

Send us Fan Mail Power imbalance is an unfortunately common problem in the music industry. It can be personally and professionally devastating to be on the receiving end of unfair treatment or inappropriate behavior of any kind. In today's candid episode, Tara shares her own experience with harassment and inappropriate behavior from a colleague, and how this experience changed her understandi...

Send us Fan Mail You may have heard of St. Alphonsus Liguori, but how much do you really know about his life? St. Alphonsus was a moral theologian, extraordinary musician, intelligent lawyer and much more. He suffered with chronic pain, experienced a total life 180° turn, and founded a respected global religious order. So what can we, as Catholic musicians, learn from the Faith and life of this ex...

Send us Fan Mail If you've ever experienced a performance-impacting injury or illness, you'll know well the feeling of desperation to find healing. For many musicians, this becomes a gateway to new-age practices, which can be encouraged by teachers, coaches or even doctors as a means of seeking physical or mental healing. But how do we deal with this as Catholics? What's the problem...

Send us Fan Mail Send us a text After a deep-dive into the Cardinal virtues last week, we're back discussing the Theological virtues! Everyone knows these terms - Faith, Hope and Charity, but what do they mean, why are they important, and how do they apply to our lives as Catholic musicians? These virtues are gifts from God, and there's PLENTY of wisdom and insight to share about Faith,...

Send us Fan Mail When you think of the word virtue, what comes to mind? If your answer is somewhere along the lines of "dry," "old-fashioned," or "prudish," you need to listen to this episode! The virtues are actually good habits – which we all need to cultivate in order to have a well-ordered life! Today, we're talking about the Cardinal Virtues: four virtues th...

Send us Fan Mail Join us for our first episode of season 5! Today we're chatting about moral theology, what it's all about, and why it's relevant for us today. A book we love on this topic: Made by God, Made for God: Catholic Morality Explained, by Matthew K. Minerd. 

Send us Fan Mail We are excited to announce that our Season 5 preview episode is here! Listen in to hear the theme of the upcoming season, what we’re most excited for, some super exciting updates on the podcast and more! Trust us, you definitely don't want to miss this!

Send us Fan Mail Here we are at the end of Season 4! We're taking some time to reflect on our favorite moments from Season 4, as well as the big life changes we've each been experiencing between the beginning and end of this season. This has been such an incredible fourth season, and we're so grateful to have had such wonderful guests and fantastic conversations. We will be back lat...

Send us Fan Mail Join Tara as she discusses pride versus stewardship, and the distinction that lies between them! What we're listening to: Tara: This fun playlist

Send us Fan Mail After an unexpected, short hiatus, we're back! Today, we're sharing our own career stories and how the Lord helped us to both surrender to His Will, and rejoice in it. What we're listening to: Cecilia: Fountains of Rome and Pines of Rome – Ottorino Resphigi Tara: Better With Time – Emily Scott Robinson

Send us Fan Mail How do we define success, and what does success look like when we focus on what God wants, instead of the world? Tara's discussing these questions in today's bonus mini-episode through the perspective of her own struggles and dreams.