Journeying to Sainthood with Joy and Vulnerability — with Maria Raissa Espinoza
Season 4, Episode 18 | Originally aired on April 5, 2022
Episode description
“What is youth ministry? I get paid to love teens where they are and create community and show them literally the way, the truth and the life.”
Joy is the word that come to mind when I think of Maria Raissa Espinoza. Maria is a youth minister and the host of the podcast Saintly Not Salty. After receiving a call from the Lord to evangelize to youth, Maria devoted her life to the calls to mission and holiness. A lot of her ministry revolves around bringing people closer to Christ and encountering Him and His love. In this episode, Maria shares the call that changed her life, her ministry as a youth minister, and the inspiration behind her podcast Saintly Not Salty.
Listen to the episode
Meet Maria Raissa Espinoza
Maria Raissa Espinoza is the host of The Saintly Not Salty Podcast. A small but mighty podcast that aims to feel like chatting with friend, who thinks she’s funny. It’s a time and space where we can be real about ourselves while at the same time trying to become saints.
Maria Raissa lives in Toronto, ON and is also a full-time youth minister for her home parish in the Archdiocese. She’s been telling teens about the Good Lord for the better part of 18 years (she started when she was 4 years old :P ). When she’s not serving youth & young adults, Maria Raissa is also a wedding planner and coordinator. Having went to school for Fashion Management, she was working in fashion design & manufacturing for 4 years before the Holy Spirit lovingly pushed her into ministry.
Once on her dating bio, Maria Raissa wrote this to describe herself: "I love my big Filipino family, a good cup of coffee, laughing to a podcast, Jesus, watching a good doc, noodles, fresh flowers & having great conversations (not in that order)." She did not go on any dates but is thankful to Rachel for having her on her pod!
Links:
The Saintly Not Salty Podcast: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Instagram: @saintlynotsalty
I had the great opportunity to MEET Maria Raissa in person in a very beautiful, happenstance way while on a trip to Toronto: hear the story here, as told by Maria Raissa on Saintly Not Salty!