***This podcast deals with mature topics such as personal struggles, abuse, or trauma. Certain episodes may not be appropriate for sensitive ears.***

In this powerful episode of Hope Stories with Sister Josephine, Gillian Jenkins, a Catholic wife and mother from Beaumont, Texas, opens her heart about what it’s like to love the Church deeply while being hurt by it.

Gillian shares her journey from faith-filled childhood to Catholic conversion, and the pain of realizing that the Church she loved was also human, imperfect, and sometimes silent when she most needed it to speak. Her story unfolds through her involvement with Catholic education, how she sought to help, met silence instead of accountability, and how that silence became the deepest wound.

Together, Sister Josephine and Gillian explore what it means to be faithful but not silent, how to separate the beauty of God from the brokenness of human systems, and how the virtue of hope calls us to stay and rebuild even when trust is shaken.

This conversation is both raw and redemptive, a testament to the mothers, families, and faithful Catholics who refuse to give up on the Church even when it hurts.

Journey to a new depth of hope, even in seemingly impossible circumstances, with Sr. Josephine in her new book HOPE: An Invitation. Available at osvcatholicbookstore.com.

Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.

Learn more about Sr. Josephine at:
https://nazarethcsfn.org/
https://www.instagram.com/sr_josephine/

In this moving episode of Hope Stories with Sister Josephine, Catholic media pioneer Lisa Wheeler, founder of Carmel Communications in Tyler, Texas, opens her heart about faith, family, and finding God again after walking away from the Church.

Lisa shares her Emmaus moment in Washington, D.C., where a mysterious voice and a miraculous experience at Mass shattered years of spiritual distance. She speaks candidly about adoption, infertility, and the painful search for a faithful Father, both earthly and divine.

Her story weaves through her reversion to the Catholic faith, her work promoting evangelization through film and media (The Passion of the Christ), her devotion to Pope St. John Paul II, and the creation of Veritatis Splendor, an intentional Catholic community born out of the trials of the pandemic.

Together, Sister Josephine and Lisa explore what it means to hurt in the Church and still remain faithful, discovering that true healing comes through surrender, community, and the steadfast love of God the Father.

This episode is sponsored by the University of Dallas.

Get a free college discernment guide and learn more about Sr. Josephine’s alma mater, the University of Dallas. CLICK HERE

Journey to a new depth of hope, even in seemingly impossible circumstances, with Sr. Josephine in her new book HOPE: An Invitation. Available at osvcatholicbookstore.com.

Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.

Learn more about Sr. Josephine at:
https://nazarethcsfn.org/
https://www.instagram.com/sr_josephine/

In this deeply moving episode of Hope Stories, Sister Josephine sits down with Samantha Povlok, founder of FemCatholic, mother of four, and survivor of religious trauma, to explore the raw and courageous journey of healing after childhood abuse that was intertwined with her Catholic formation.

Samantha shares how her experience of trauma, faith, and motherhood pushed her to the edge of her relationship with the Church, and how God is patiently, powerfully, and gently walking with her as she finds her way back. This conversation touches on the power of anger, the need for accountability, and the profound truth that healing doesn’t come from erasure, but from encountering reality with Christ.

If this episode resonated with you, or if you’re walking your own road of healing, please share it with someone who needs to hear:
You’re not a problem. You’re a gift. And you are not alone.

Links:

• FemCatholic
• The GIVEN Forum

Journey to a new depth of hope, even in seemingly impossible circumstances, with Sr. Josephine in her new book HOPE: An Invitation. Available at osvcatholicbookstore.com.

Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.

Learn more about Sr. Josephine at:
https://nazarethcsfn.org/
https://www.instagram.com/sr_josephine/