Becoming Gift - Christ Centered Health

Andrew Reinhart
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  • Christianity
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Explore the relationship between health and holiness through a Catholic lens. Discover how faith rooted in tradition fosters vibrant living. This RSS feed rebroadcasts my weekly segments on Morning Offering on Ave Maria Radio. Check out the Physically Spiritual Podcast from Awaken Catholic for my long for discussions and presentations. "Man, who is the only creature on earth which God willed for itself, cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself." Gaudium et Spes 24c. andrewreinhart.substack.com

  1. 6d ago

    The Body Remembers: Epigenetics and the Intelligence of the Body

    This Becoming Gift Segment begins an exploration of the intelligence of the body with an introduction to epigenetics and how every day choices shape gene expression. I explain why habits like exercise, diet, and stress management matter for both health and virtue, and why no action is neutral. Epigenetics are a sign of hope. Most genes are not life sentence. Change can begin today, and even something as simple as a walk can make a real difference. Key topics * I provide a basic explanation of genetics and epigenetics, how genes are expressed. * I give some examples of how behavior and environment, including exercise, diet, and stress, can change gene expression over time. * I connect this to Catholic anthropology: the body is not passive, and it can express hidden moral and spiritual realities. * All actions are either in line with human nature or not, and they move us toward God or further away. Links * Andrew’s Substack * Physically Spiritual Podcast * Morning Offering Thumbnail This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andrewreinhart.substack.com/subscribe

    The Body Remembers: Epigenetics and the Intelligence of the Body

  2. Sep 25

    Why Health & Holiness Are Not the Same

    This Becoming Gift Segment reflects on the relationship between health and holiness, using the Catechism to clarify what the Church means by caring for the body without idolizing it. I explain why health is a good in the natural order, while holiness is supernatural life and can deepen through suffering, aging, and sacrifice, even if these things lead us to be less healthy, if they are ordered toward a higher purpose. Key topics * Equating health and holiness flattens the natural and the supernatural leading to a subtle pantheism. * I walk through what the Catechism says about caring for the body while not making health absolute value. * I recognize that an excessive or disordered focus on health can lead to the cult of the body, making wellness into a religion. * I explore why Christ did not heal every sickness, and how suffering, when connected to Christ’s suffering, can lead to growth. * I close by reflecting on aging and sacrificial love that sometimes the holiest path is not peak performance, but love at the expense of perfect health. Links * Andrew’s Substack * Physically Spiritual Podcast * Morning Offering Thumbnail This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andrewreinhart.substack.com/subscribe

    Why Health & Holiness Are Not the Same

  3. Sep 22

    Avoid Recalling Trauma Alone

    This Becoming Gift Segment looks at how memory works, why painful memories can simultaneously seem vivid and distorted, and how to safely approach spiritual healing in relationship with God and others. I explain why revisiting trauma can actually deepen wounds, and I point to gratitude, a gradual approach, and the presence of God and others as safer ways to pray through the past without getting retraumatized. Key Topics * I explain that memory is not a fixed and that each time we recall something, the memory can be reshaped. * I look at why revisiting trauma too quickly and without support can deepen the pain instead of healing it. * I explain why its best to let God lead the healing process and how to do this. * I suggest starting relationally connected with God in gratitude as a safe foundation prior to diving into difficult memories. * I close by explaining how praying through memories with God can make them more true. Links * Andrew’s Substack * Physically Spiritual Podcast * Morning Offering Thumbnail This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andrewreinhart.substack.com/subscribe

    Avoid Recalling Trauma Alone

  4. Sep 15

    Why Trying Harder Slows Spiritual Growth

    This Becoming Gift Segment looks at a common lie in personal growth that you can overcome your struggles by trying harder and learning more. I explain why self-condemnation slows growth, and I reframe the journey of faith as a healing process rooted in grace with practical ways to cooperate like prayer, the Sacraments, journaling, and a daily examination. Key topics * Why trying harder often fails in spiritual growth * How self-condemnation can slow growth * Pelagianism & Gnosticism vs salvation as healing * Making the daily examination of conscience a strategy session with God Links * Andrew’s Substack * Physically Spiritual Podcast * Morning Offering Thumbnail This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andrewreinhart.substack.com/subscribe

    Why Trying Harder Slows Spiritual Growth

  5. Sep 8

    What the Body Can Teach Us About Prayer

    This Becoming Gift Segment explores the concept of antagonistic pleiotropy, and applies it as an analogy for growth in the spiritual life. I explain how something that benefits us early in life can become an impediment as we grow, and that holding on to prayer methods for too long can sometimes slow spiritual growth. Key topics * What is antagonistic pleiotropy * How biology can offer metaphors for growth in the spiritual life * How the effectiveness of prayer methods shift as we make progress * How to integrate silence and contemplation into devotions Links * Andrew’s Substack * Physically Spiritual Podcast * Morning Offering Thumbnail This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andrewreinhart.substack.com/subscribe

    What the Body Can Teach Us About Prayer

  6. Sep 3

    Hold Science Loose and Faith Tight

    This Becoming Gift Segment looks at how Catholics can navigate two different sources of input in everyday life: faith and science. I explain why faith offers a stable foundation, while conclusions from scientific research change as methods, evidence, and interpretations progress. In this episode, I break down the main kinds of research reported on in health related articles, and why we should avoid turning diet and other lifestyle choices into a religion. Key topics * Catholics receive guidance from revelation, sacred tradition, the magisterium, and the catechism, , but also from news, social media, and health reporting. * The contrasts between faith-based knowledge with scientific knowledge, faith provides stable certainty while science advances gradually through observation and testing. * Using butter as an example, he shows how public health advice can shift over time, from butter being treated as harmful to bring considered healthy, and back and forth. * I walk through population-based studies, mechanistic studies, randomized controlled trials, and meta analysis, and the difference between statistical significance from clinical significance, pointing out that a result can look impressive on paper without making much difference in real life. * I warn against treating scientific findings as unchanging and unquestionable facts and against reading sensationalized headlines as if they were settled truth. * I close by urging listeners to keep religious convictions firm while holding scientific convictions more lightly. “Hold your convictions with faith tightly, but hold your scientific convictions loosely.” Links * Andrew’s Substack * Physically Spiritual Podcast * Morning Offering Thumbnail This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andrewreinhart.substack.com/subscribe

    Hold Science Loose and Faith Tight

  7. Jun 2

    GLP-1s, Virtue & Perception

    This Becoming Gift Segment explores the effect of GLP-1 medications on the human person. Do they make the person who takes them more temperate? The conversation reviews the known physiological effects of GLP-1 medications on the body, the different medications that work as GLP-1 agonists, and discuses how this effects the persons perception and decision making. Links * Andrew’s Substack * Physically Spiritual Podcast * Morning Offering Thumbnail This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andrewreinhart.substack.com/subscribe

    GLP-1s, Virtue & Perception

  8. May 15

    Evangelizing Adult Children

    This segment discusses the complex process of evangelizing children, especially during adolescence and adulthood. It explores the stages of identity development that typically occurs for teens, the influence of relationships on this process, and practical strategies for parents to nurture faith in their children while allowing them to go through their own process of experimentation and identity synthesis. Key Takeaways * Listening without overreacting can place parents in a more influential role for their older children. Parents need to separate their identity from their teen and adult children’s outcomes to effectively foster faith. When they tie their self-worth to their child’s religiosity, their actions become attempts to validate themselves, hindering authentic influence. * Modeling Authentic Faith Overrides Sheer Instruction in Shaping Older Children’s Beliefs Living a faith-driven life demonstrates principles more powerfully than verbal lessons. When parents act consistently with their beliefs, children internalize the values more deeply than through preachiness. * The Digital Age Has Created a New Terrain for Identity Experimentation Online spaces can act as virtual changing rooms where children try on identities, often outside the boundaries of their family’s culture * Parents need to examine and be rigorously honest about their motives Parents often project their fears and self-image into their children’s faith journey, but a necessary step is to emotionally detach and critically assess whether concerns stem from love or ego. Links * Andrew’s Substack * Physically Spiritual Podcast * Morning Offering Thumbnail This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andrewreinhart.substack.com/subscribe

    Evangelizing Adult Children
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Explore the relationship between health and holiness through a Catholic lens. Discover how faith rooted in tradition fosters vibrant living. This RSS feed rebroadcasts my weekly segments on Morning Offering on Ave Maria Radio. Check out the Physically Spiritual Podcast from Awaken Catholic for my long for discussions and presentations. "Man, who is the only creature on earth which God willed for itself, cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself." Gaudium et Spes 24c. andrewreinhart.substack.com

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