Mamas in Spirit

Abby Davis received a call. Within thirty minutes of hanging up the phone, there was a social worker on her front porch holding a baby girl.   Abby and her husband would care for this little girl for many months to follow, not knowing if they would adopt her or just care for her for a little while.  Abby's heart was filled with love for this precious child, yet was also breaking at the possibility...

Still reverberating in Colleen Carroll Campbell's heart are an older mom's words of wisdom from 15 years ago: "I don't know if there is room for perfectionism in any other part of life, but I know this: there is no room for it in motherhood." Colleen had done her best to achieve flawlessness during her ambitious career, including a job as the American president's speech writer.  But it wasn't unti...

After raising four boys, Caroline Graham's husband shared that he felt called to adopt a daughter. Soon thereafter, Caroline received a call from a dear friend about a toddler girl needing a home. Caroline figured that she and her husband knew how to love children and said "yes." Caroline realized that the call to love her precious daughter would demand more of her than she ever could have imagine...

Chaplain Father Jon Meyer was in his early twenties when his mother passed away. In his grief, Father Jon faced the dark thought of needing to earn love, as well as the fear of being unloveable.  Father Jon was in the seminary at the time and chose to be honest about the thoughts he struggled with. He shared with his Spiritual Director and Formation Advisor, as well as some family and close friend...

Stacey Sumereau is on a healing journey. Stacey was pregnant with her third child when she had a placental abruption--Baby Honora (Nora) was born early by emergency C-section.  Stacey's heart broke into pieces as she watched her baby go through what seemed like endless life-saving procedures. The final breaking point was when Stacey and her husband were told they needed to say goodbye.  Miraculous...

Becca Bumm's family members were struggling and her very own heart was, too. She felt alone and close to despair. Until a wise friend encouraged Becca to attend a women's retreat called "Cursillo." God healed Becca's heart and poured in His holy love throughout the weekend. And then God sent Becca on a mission of love. Hear how Becca re-entered her life after the retreat with only one thing having...

Jennifer Calabretta's childhood and early marriage were perfect in so many ways. But Jennifer never could have imagined what was to come. Jennifer lost her second baby weeks after delivery to a rare muscle disorder. Doctors told her this would never happen again. However, during one of Jennifer's subsequent pregnancies, she learned that her daughter wouldn't survive the very same disease. Jennifer...

Lisa was in a hole she never thought she'd get out of. Lisa struggled with insecurity since her childhood. As an adopted child, Lisa felt like she was given up. Even though her adoptive parents lavished her in love, Lisa worried that if she wasn't good enough that they might give her up, too.  Lisa turned to drinking. When Lisa hit the depths of the hole she was in, God reached in and helped Lisa...

Throughout her entire life Shana Blayney has gone to Sunday Mass and shared Sunday meals with her family.  So simple, yet so powerful. From the time Shana was small she's experienced the living witness of her parents, who have religiously attended Mass and hosted family dinners on Sundays.  Shana now has a family of her own and they, along with her siblings and their families, spend Sundays at Mas...

On her birthday in 2018, Mollie Verdier wrote a letter asking God to reveal her divine purpose to her. Soon thereafter, Mollie and her husband Nathan experienced infant loss. Mollie went into a dark place. Compounding her loss, Mollie and Nathan didn't know how to grieve together and were distant from one another. One night, as Mollie watched Nathan pray at the foot of her bed, she asked God to so...

"I'm not supposed to feel like this, because I'm Catholic." Jeannie Ewing felt inept in her motherhood when she found out she was pregnant with her fifth child--she wondered why God didn't just take her in her sleep.   Self-loathing consumed Jeannie as her thoughts intensified.  Then Jeannie was asked to speak to a group of cloistered nuns. After the retreat, a couple of the nuns invited Jeannie t...

"You've been trained to heal my body physically as a nurse, but what I'm inviting you to do is heal my body spiritually as a missionary." Christ spoke these words into Anna Hurd's heart when she was discerning what God was calling her to after completing her nursing degree. Anna's own life had already been transformed through FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) at Western Kentucky U...

As Tammi McCarthy sat at Mass and listened to the Parable of the Prodigal Son, God revealed to her that she was the person in the story she didn't want to be: the older brother. God whispered into Tammi's heart: "You have sat at my banquet table for years and you have dined on my abundance, but you have never invited anyone to dine with you." Tammi made a commitment that day to invite others to pr...

Do you struggle with your body? "The Catholic Fasting Coach" Beth Bubik understands and can help you. As a child, Beth thought that her worthiness was tied to her weight. By the time she was in fifth grade she was dieting. It wasn't until Beth discovered spiritual fasting—fasting that incorporates both the body and soul—that she was transformed. Beth knows we have to fast for a deep spiritual purp...

"Stay alert and sober" As Amy Cara heard these words while in church, she knew God was speaking directly to her.   Soon thereafter, Amy fell asleep early one evening after drinking and heard the distant cries of her toddler. The next morning Amy flipped through the phone book and found Alcoholics Anonymous (AA).  After nineteen years of sobriety, Amy has learned: "We don't need to live with these...

Have you ever been blessed with a sense of peace that "was not of this world?" This is what Ester Munt-Brooks experienced while in a Croatian hospital just miles from Bosnia. It was a Sunday, there was no doctor to be found and no one in Ester's family spoke the local language. Yet Ester had a very sick child in need of emergency surgery. In this moment of maternal desperation, hear how Ester acce...

While Ellie Hiller was raised in a beautiful home of faith and memorized Scripture, she wondered if her faith should be so much in her head. Something was missing. Until God converted her heart. When Ellie's husband became Catholic and they lost their shared non-denominational practice, Ellie struggled. She armored herself in defensiveness and even listened to Matt Fradd's podcast "Pints with Aqui...

How does a Catholic woman become Planned Parenthood's "Employee of the Year?" And then later become what she termed its "Enemy of the Year?" This is the life-story of Mayra Rodriguez, a teen immigrant groomed to believe she was helping women, even encouraging them to receive abortions without their husbands knowing. From becoming director of an abortion facility to witnessing the horrific reality...

Anne Trufant was sixteen and only went to Catholic summer camp to find the "cute boy in the room." However, when Anne finally got the chance to dance with the cutest boy at camp, she looked up and didn't see the boy—she saw Jesus. This moment changed her life forever. Anne went home and couldn't get enough of what a seminarian referred to at camp as "Jesus' Love Letter." She soaked Scripture in da...

When Kathy Schmugge found out her baby didn't have a heartbeat at about twelve weeks, she went out to her car and cried "The Great Cry." In that moment Kathy mourned her baby in her womb, as well as previous babies lost.  Kathy felt held--she knew she was in the arms of God. Kathy offers grief support through the Office of Family Life in the Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina. Yet what makes he...

Heidi Hess Saxton taught her children that their guardian angels only leave them once each week--it is during the Eucharist that they gather around the throne of Heaven and make their offerings of prayer. Like our guardian angles, our lives are meant to be beautiful offerings to God. In this podcast, listen to Heidi as she shares stories of her conversion and from her experience of motherhood, as...

At 36 years old, Karen Gambino was surprised she felt like an orphan when she lost her mom--it was like she was missing a significant force in her life.  As Karen grieved, she sensed the importance of remembering and choosing to share the goodness of her mom with her family.  At first, Karen and her five sisters visited their mom's graveside. Soon all the family wanted to join in their annual ritu...

As twelve-year-old April Mascola sat in her school desk she wondered what things would be like when she got home. Her mom had gone away for psychiatric care—April was doing her very best to fill her mom's shoes and care for her three younger siblings while her mom was gone. While April's family wasn't praying or attending church during this time—or any of the first twelve years of April's life—Apr...

This podcast contains sensitive content, including discussion of suicide.   Lisa Morris stopped going to Reconciliation as a teenager. She figured she could just go to God herself. Lisa now recognizes her turn away from God was the beginning of many choices that resulted in immense suffering, including an abortion, eating disorder, poor relationship with alcohol and divorce. Lisa went to church on...

Sue Simms got down on her knees and prayed in her hospital room. She awaited the test results revealing if her second daughter would have the same fatal birth defect she lost her first daughter to. Sue told God that she trusted His plan and would follow—she just asked to know if her baby would live or die.  As soon as Sue stood from her time of prayer, the doctor returned to tell Sue that her baby...