Girlfriends (A Podcast for Catholic Women)

Today’s episode is a little different. I’m sharing a clip from a recent Lenten prayer session inside my Girlfriends community, where we reflected on Jesus’ invitation to “abide in me.” If your Lent hasn’t gone the way you planned… this is for you. I also share a quick update at the beginning about the future of this podcast. While I won’t be publishing weekly episodes here anymore, I’ll still be s...

As Christmas draws near, take a quiet moment to pause, breathe, and listen. In this episode of Girlfriends , Danielle Bean shares the reflection portion from Session Three of the Advent Prayer Series , centered on the shepherds’ encounter with the angels in Gospel of Luke 2:8–12 . This gentle reflection invites us to step away from the noise and pressure of the season and remember the heart of Adv...

Advent invites us into a kind of waiting that isn’t empty, but holy. I’m sharing the opening reflection from our second Advent prayer session, where we slow down together and make space for God in the middle of the busy season. We reflect on how God works in the in-between moments, why waiting can be an act of trust, and how Scripture helps steady our hearts when answers feel delayed. This gentle...

In today’s podcast episode, I’m sharing the guided prayer reflection from our first Advent live session: Let It Be: Mary’s Yes and Our Surrender . This 20-minute reflection gently leads you through Scripture, silence, and a posture of openness as we pray with Mary at the Annunciation. If you’ve been longing for a quiet moment to breathe, reconnect with God, and step away from December’s noise… thi...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit daniellebean.substack.com Free preview for free subscribers, full episode for paid subscribers! Subscribe at daniellebean.substack.com When your body feels like it’s failing you, it can be hard to see it as a gift. In this bonus reflection, I share lessons inspired by my conversation with Samantha Stephenson—on faith, healing, and learn...

Subscribe for full content at daniellebean.substack.com What does it mean to grow where you’re planted—especially when life feels broken? In this honest and inspiring episode, I sit down with writer and bioethicist Samantha Stephenson to hear her powerful story of chronic illness, healing, and rediscovering the grace of being human. What began as unexplained exhaustion and pain turned into years o...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit daniellebean.substack.com Free preview for free subscribers, full episode for paid subscribers! Subscribe at daniellebean.substack.com When control slips through your fingers, surrender can feel like the hardest thing to do—and yet, it’s the very thing that sets you free. In this bonus reflection, I share lessons inspired by my conversa...

What happens when life suddenly stops you in your tracks? In this powerful and deeply personal episode, I sit down with writer and podcaster Jennifer Thomas to hear her story of a medical crisis that changed everything. What began as a stiff neck turned into a terrifying 12-day hospital stay, multiple diagnoses, and months of recovery. But in the midst of fear, uncertainty, and pain, Jennifer disc...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit daniellebean.substack.com Free preview for free subscribers, full episode for paid subscribers! Subscribe at daniellebean.substack.com When gratitude feels impossible, that’s often when it matters most. In this bonus reflection, I share lessons inspired by my conversation with Sarah Christmyer—on finding peace, hope, and grace even when...

Exclusive for paid subscribers: Download the Grace Unfiltered companion journal Publishing tomorrow: My personal takeaways from this episode. Stay tuned for this BONUS episode! What happens when your teen tells you she’s gay? This week on Grace Unfiltered , I sit down with Catholic mom, writer, and editor Erin Broestl, who bravely shares her family’s journey through one of the hardest seasons of p...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit daniellebean.substack.com Free preview for free subscribers, full episode for paid subscribers! Subscribe at daniellebean.substack.com When gratitude feels impossible, that’s often when it matters most. In this bonus reflection, I share lessons inspired by my conversation with Sarah Christmyer—on finding peace, hope, and grace even when...

Exclusive for paid subscribers: Download the Grace Unfiltered companion journal Publishing tomorrow: My personal takeaways from this episode. Stay tuned for this BONUS episode! How do you find grace when your baby is in the NICU? This week on Grace Unfiltered , I’m joined by my friend Stacey Sumereau —author, speaker, podcaster, and mom of five—for a raw and deeply moving conversation about what i...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit daniellebean.substack.com Free preview for free subscribers, full episode for paid subscribers! Subscribe at daniellebean.substack.com When gratitude feels impossible, that’s often when it matters most. In this bonus reflection, I share lessons inspired by my conversation with Sarah Christmyer—on finding peace, hope, and grace even when...

Exclusive for paid subscribers: Download the Grace Unfiltered companion journal Publishing tomorrow: My personal takeaways from this episode. Stay tuned for this BONUS episode! How do you save your marriage when you aren’t sure what a healthy marriage looks like? This week on Grace Unfiltered , I’m joined by writer, speaker, and dear friend Roxane Salonen . Roxane shares her powerful testimony of...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit daniellebean.substack.com Free preview for free subscribers, full episode for paid subscribers! Subscribe at daniellebean.substack.com When gratitude feels impossible, that’s often when it matters most. In this bonus reflection, I share lessons inspired by my conversation with Sarah Christmyer—on finding peace, hope, and grace even when...

Exclusive for paid subscribers: Download the Grace Unfiltered companion journal Publishing tomorrow: My personal takeaways from this episode. Stay tuned for this BONUS episode! What do you do when life falls apart—again and again? In this heartfelt conversation, Sarah Christmyer shares her story of walking with God through repeated storms: financial collapse, faith crises, the pain of addiction, r...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit daniellebean.substack.com Free preview for free subscribers, full episode for paid subscribers! Subscribe at daniellebean.substack.com Sometimes it’s easier to cover up the cracks than to face what’s really broken. In this week’s Grace Unfiltered bonus episode, we’re talking about the hard—but holy—work of letting God heal what we’d rat...

Exclusive for paid subscribers: Download the Grace Unfiltered companion journal Publishing tomorrow: My personal takeaways from this episode. Stay tuned for this BONUS episode! Is it sometimes harmful to keep the peace? In this candid and deeply honest conversation, Laura Phelps opens up about the quiet healing work God is doing in her life right now. Together we talk about the hidden struggles be...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit daniellebean.substack.com Free preview for free subscribers, full episode for paid subscribers! Subscribe at daniellebean.substack.com What does it really mean to be resilient? In this week’s Grace Unfiltered bonus episode, we’re talking about the difference between self-reliance and God-reliance—and how grace meets us when our strength...

Exclusive for paid subscribers: Download the Grace Unfiltered companion journal Publishing tomorrow: My personal takeaways from this episode. Stay tuned for this BONUS epsiode! What does it mean to get back up when life knocks you flat? In this episode of Grace Unfiltered, I sit down with my dear friend Mary Lenaburg —wife, mom, speaker, and author—whose life has been shaped by both tremendous sor...

Real women. Real stories. Real grace. In the upcoming special Girlfriends series, I'll be sitting down with women who have faced heartbreak, loss, doubt, and transformation—and found God’s grace right in the middle of it all. These honest, hope-filled conversations will remind you that you’re never alone and that God is always at work, even in the messiest parts of life. New episodes release weekl...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit daniellebean.substack.com Do you ever feel like peace is just out of reach—buried under all the pressure to do it right and hold it all together ? In this (bonus podcast!) Girlfriends Live session for paid susbcribers, we got honest about how perfectionism steals our joy, and how God invites us into something better: His peace that “gua...

Hi friends, After more than 500 episodes of Girlfriends (I still can’t believe that number myself!), it feels like the right time for something new. I’ll be taking a short break from the podcast—but on October 15 , I’ll be back with a brand-new series: Grace Unfiltered . This is going to be different from what we’ve done before. Instead of weekly advice or short interviews or reflections, Grace Un...

What does adoption teach us about the way God loves? How can the Eucharist draw us closer to heaven even while we’re still on earth? In this week’s episode of Girlfriends , I’m joined by Jamie McAleer —wife, mom, grandmother, and author of I Will Come to You: A Story of Adoption and the Relentless Love of God . Jamie shares her powerful conversion story, beginning with her very first Mass as a col...

What does it really look like to raise children in the faith—not in a perfect Pinterest-ready way, but in the messy, ordinary moments of family life? In this week’s episode of Girlfriends , I’m joined by Colleen Pressprich , author of Real Moms of Real Saints , Marian Consecration for Families with Young Children , and The Women Doctors of the Church . A former missionary and Montessori teacher tu...