Forgiveness Is For YOU - Overcome Trauma Through Forgiveness

Friends,  Healing is not all gloom and doom. When we've been deeply hurt, betrayed, or disappointed, it can feel as though suffering has taken over every corner of our lives. Yet even in our darkest seasons, moments of joy remain available to us. The challenge is learning how to recognize and receive them. As part of this Summer Rewind series, I'm revisiting one of my favorite short episodes. In t...

Friends,  In this Summer Rewind episode, I'm bringing back my conversation with Fr. Thomas Berg, originally released as Choosing Forgiveness. Together, we explore one of the most challenging aspects of the Christian life: what happens when guilt lingers long after we've sought forgiveness. Many of us understand God's mercy intellectually, yet continue carrying shame, self-condemnation, and regret....

Friends, In this episode, I explore the mother wound: how early relational experiences shape identity, distort boundaries, and quietly influence how we relate to ourselves, others, and even God. I focus my discussion primarily on the mother-daughter relationship.  Many daughters grow up learning to perform for love, manage emotional climates, and abandon their own needs in order to maintain connec...

Friends,  If forgiveness takes place in the heart, what kind of heart is capable of forgiving? In Episodes 21 and 22, I explored the anxiety that often accompanies forgiveness and practical ways to move through it. In this episode, we go into the heart itself. June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus , a devotion that invites us to contemplate Christ's boundless love for humanity. As I refle...

Friends,  In this episode, I sit down with Catholic Coach, Husband, and Father, Andrew Lanchoney, to discuss the impact of pornography on the human person and the journey toward healing and freedom.   Together, we explore the deeper questions beneath pornography use: What are we really searching for? Why do so many people feel stuck? And how do we begin restoring authentic desire in a culture that...

Friends, What if the anxiety you feel around forgiveness isn’t resistance… but protection? In this episode I explore the very real fear, confusion, and nervous system responses that can surface when we begin considering forgiveness after trauma, betrayal, abuse, or deep emotional pain. Forgiveness is often presented as simple or immediate, but for many people, the thought of forgiving can activate...

*Content Warning* This episode contains mature content not suitable for minors. Please use discretion when listening.  Friends,  In this episode, I explore one of the most difficult and rarely discussed questions surrounding forgiveness: Who will I be if I let go of unforgiveness? For many people, unforgiveness is not simply an emotional response to pain. It becomes intertwined with identity, safe...

Friends,  As Memorial Day approaches, we pause to remember the men and women who gave their lives in service to our country. But there is another group of veterans quietly fighting battles long after deployment ends, those struggling to transition home, find belonging, and rediscover hope in civilian life. In this deeply important conversation, I’m joined by retired Lt. Colonel John Garcia, host o...

Friends,  In a world marked by division, violence, and deep injustice, the question of forgiveness becomes anything but simple. In this deeply personal episode, I reflects on my lived experience of Apartheid, a system that shaped my childhood, understanding of safety, and relationship to truth.  As global events echo familiar patterns of oppression and silenced voices, this episode explores what i...

Friends,  What does it do to your heart, your body, and your sense of safety to love someone struggling with alcohol use? In this episode, I’m joined by holistic health and fitness coach Tresa Salters, who shares her story of loving a spouse with alcohol use disorder, and the lasting impact it had on her mental, physical, and spiritual health. While much of the conversation around addiction focuse...

Friends,  In today’s episode of Forgiveness Is for YOU, I’m joined by forgiveness coach Abigail Sikes, who shares her story of forgiving her ex-husband nearly nine years after their divorce Abigail shares how God redeemed the pain of divorce by calling her into forgiveness ministry.  In this conversation, we talk about: How infidelity leaves wounds that don’t quickly resolve The physical cost of u...

Friends,  When a marriage ends, many Catholics are left asking: Where do I belong now? Am I still part of the Church? And can I ever remarry? In this episode, we explore the reality of divorce through the lens of the Catholic faith and the often misunderstood annulment process. My guest, Theresa Matters, shares her personal journey through divorce and her experience seeking an annulment, and offer...

Friends,  Divorce can feel like both a personal and spiritual rupture, leaving many questioning where they stand with God, the Church, and even themselves. But what if healing doesn’t require walking away, but instead how to remain? In this episode, I’m joined by Carolyn Klika Catino, who shares her own journey through divorce and the deep healing that followed. Now serving others through her apos...

Friends,  What does it look like to feel safe again after experiencing church hurt? In this episode, we continue the conversation on healing from spiritual wounds by exploring a path forward, one that is honest, and rooted in encounter with Jesus in the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation. Through personal testimony and reflection, we look at how the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Recon...

Friends,  In this episode Trauma-informed consultant and Neurosomatic Intelligence Practitioner Cendrine Hosoda shares her story of growing up in an evangelical church community in Switzerland where her father, a respected church elder, used Scripture and spiritual authority to control and manipulate his family. With courage and honesty, Cendrine reflects on what it was like to live inside a faith...

* Content Warning* This episode contains mature themes and is not appropriate for minors. Friends, In this vulnerable and sobering episode, I visit with Father John Michael Paul, a Catholic priest who discovered that the founder of his religious community had a decades-long history of sexual abuse.  For someone who spent decades serving as a priest and leader in his community, the betrayal was spi...

Friends,  In this episode of the ongoing series on spiritual abuse, I sit down with Catholic Counselor Paul Fahey to explore a subtle but deeply impactful layer of harm: the abuse of conscience. Many of us were taught to “follow our conscience,” but few of us were ever taught how a conscience is properly formed — or how it can be manipulated. When spiritual authority bypasses freedom, pressures co...

Friends,  In this episode, I welcome Sr. Mary Stephen, founder of Restorative Catholic, to explore a restorative path forward for trauma survivors within the Catholic tradition. Sr. Mary Stephen shares how her vocation within a vocation led her to integrate somatic healing with Catholic spirituality, creating spaces where wounded hearts can safely encounter healing from the inside out. We discuss...

*Content Warning* This episode contains content not suitable for minors. Please listen with discretion.  Friends,  In Episode 8, Catholic Therapist and mom, Lisa Leopold, and I discussed her experiences as a postulant in a religious community, and how the misinterpretation of the vow of obedience caused her and other sisters in the convent to experience spiritual abuse. In this episode, Lisa bring...

Content Warning: *This content is not appropriate for minors, so please use a headset or listen in their absence. This episode discusses experiences of spiritual abuse within the church. While we approach this conversation with respect for the Church and for religious vocations, some of the themes may be difficult for listeners who have experienced spiritual trauma. Please listen at your own pace...

Friends,  In this opening episode of a new series, I begin a much-needed conversation about spiritual abuse: what it is, how it manifests, and why so many suffer in silence within church communities. Drawing from Pope Francis’ definition and addressing the dangers of clericalism, I explore how manipulation of conscience, misuse of authority, and distorted interpretations of Scripture can wound the...

Friends,  In a culture that often equates success with wealth and possessions, author and former special education teacher and school administrator Rosemary Olender invites us to rethink inheritance altogether. In this episode, we explore how character and forgiveness form a legacy that outlasts money, status, and material goods. Rosemary shares how forgiveness is not only a personal healing pract...

*Content warning* - Content not suitable for minors. Please listen with discretion.  Friends,  Many of us feel skeptical when someone says they’ve heard God or encountered Jesus in a tangible way. And yet, at the core of the human heart is a longing to be seen, known, and loved, especially in painful places. What happens when God breaks into a life marked by deep childhood trauma? In this episode,...

Listener Note: This episode includes a personal story involving abortion and emotional trauma. The conversation is approached with care, compassion, and a focus on healing. Please listen at your own pace and tend to your heart as needed. Friends,  In this episode, I am joined by Brittany Poppe, who vulnerably shares her story of experiencing abortion at age seventeen, the emotional and spiritual a...

Friends,  Finding a therapist who truly “gets” you can be challenging, especially if you’ve experienced both painful and healing moments in therapy. In this episode, I’m joined by Clinical Psychologist Dr. Matthew Breuninger to explore what creates safety in the therapist-client relationship, why belonging is essential to healing, and how our relationship with God the Father can shape the therapeu...