Universal Sisterhood Podcast

Find Monica Doumit's article here: https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/author/monica-doumit/

Beloved Women's Retreat Toowoomba book here! ohttps://www.trybooking.com/CHSRB

Joelle Maryn is an award winning actress, speaker, and TV host. She has a major reversion back to the faith and now spreads the message of God's healing love. Her story will have you captivated. 

Joelle is currently on tour in Australia for her latest book - Master of the Pieces. check  out where you can find her https://www.parousiamedia.com/

Her Grandmothers book No More Holes in my Shoes is for sale on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/No-More-Holes-My-Shoes/dp/1475944632

Crystalina is a wife, mother, Catholic speaker and author of several books. Her latest book Women Made New is a collection of stories from women (and one man), about adversity, transformation and healing. 

https://womenmadenew.org/

You can buy the book here: https://www.sophiainstitute.com/

What do tennis and babies have to do with one another? Take a listen to this episode to see how. 

Links from today's episode are found below.

https://galaforlife.com.au/

https://pregnancyhelpaustralia.org.au/

https://www.birthtime.world/

https://confidencesupportservices.com.au/

Just a quick chat with my sister Liv to kick start the year. 

What's your word for the year? 

Find yours here 

https://www.wordoftheyear.me/

If you would like to be a guest on the podcast send me an email to universalsisterhoodpodcast @gmail.com

Join our Private Facebook Page Universal Sisterhood Podcast.

Here is Veronica's story on Emily's Voice.

https://emilysvoice.com/veronicas-story/

Beloved Women's Retreat November 5th

https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/950134

In this episode I chat with a brave young women who shares her story of heartache, healing and hope through the process of having her marriage declared annulled by the church.

There is a lot of confusion about annulments and with this confusion there comes assumptions, judgements and often a lack of charity. I really reccommed you watch this 7 minute you tube clip produced out by Ascencion Presents - The Truth about Annulments, with Fr Mark Mary.

https://youtu.be/TKslRnWjRj4

It has been said that comparison is the thief of joy however comparison can also steal your confidence. In a culture where competition means building yourself up by tearing other people down, it is refreshing to see a community that is being counter cultural. Embers Basketball is a wonderful community that accompanies women in living life to the fullest through basketball, friendship and faith allowing women the opportunity to build their confidence and set the world on fire.

Check them out @embersbasketball

https://catholicoutlook.org/category/ourworks/cyp/

What happens when your week doesn't go as planned? What happens if you find yourself facing surgery? 

Liv and I talk about the power of suffering and the chance to continually hand it over to God.

We also hear about Olivia's addiction to chapsticks!

As women, we have such power in birth and the enemy is fully aware of this. Christ could have come into the world in any way he wanted and He specifically chose to enter through the womb of His mother Mary. This space is holy and sacred and for far too long it has been taken captive by the enemy. It is time to reclaim it back and redeem it. A 9,000 women study on birth has been conducted in Australia with surprising results. 80% of women walk out of the birthing experience having had intervention and 1 in 3 women have said to have experienced some for of trauma. The three top comments of women about the birthing experience said that they felt dehumanised, powerless and violated. This is not OK and there needs to be a radical shift in the way we approach birth and motherhood. Find Sally here at @sally.siena.birthkeeper

In this episode you will here my gorgeous friend Joanna tell a story that is very close to her heart. It is the story that she is intimately connected to, it is the Love story of her mother Annemaree Twyford. This story is so beautifully painted you will come to know this incredible woman and ask for her intercession. Be sure to check out her pictures on my instagram page @universalsisterhood_

Holy Week can be daunting- choose one person from the story of the Passion of Christ and stay with them throughout the whole ordeal- they will always lead you to the empty tomb- the beginning of everything.

Did you know that one in three women in Australia will have a unplanned pregnancy?

 Up to one-third of Australian women will face an unplanned pregnancy at some point in their lives. 

Research shows that the most common reason for terminating a pregnancy will terminate their pregnancy because they lack the support they need for parenting. 

Research also shows that the most common reason given by women for deciding to terminate a pregnancy is their lack of readiness & support for parenthood. 

This significant concern that women voice—Diamond Women helps overcome. Diamond Women empowers women & their families through a comprehensive approach to holistic care, creating a wraparound service that is personalised & unique to their needs. 

And as the proverb says, it takes a village to raise a kid, well, we know it takes a village to support a women. 

Diamond has been the village to over 1700 women over the past 15 years. And now it's OUR turn... (to become their Village).

 The Village is a community of people who are willing to donate not just once, but who will commit to supporting local Australian women, each month. stick with Diamond, month after month. We subscribe to things all the time—Netflix, Spotify, the gym. We subscribe to these things because they benefit our lives. 

The Village is a subscription that benefits others' lives. Diamond is looking for 200 of us to join us now. And when we get there, we'll go to 2000. And then 200,000—until the day we can say that no Australian woman ever has to face an unplanned pregnancy alone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2so-DNXd9M

https://www.diamondwomen.com.au/

Our mindset plays a huge role in how we react to all situations as our thoughts preceded and help shape our actions.

Monica from Wholehearted Fiat is a Catholic mindset coach who can help by giving you the tools to change your mindset.

Check her out at https://wholeheartedfiat.wixsite.com/coaching

You can also find her on face book https://www.facebook.com/wholeheartedfiat

and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/wholeheartedfiatcoaching/

She is running a Frustration Free Lent over on Instagram. https://www.subscribepage.com/lentcommunity

Liv and I chat openly about the lessons we leaned from taking a party of 14 on a tropical holiday in the middle of a world wide pandemic.

Go follow over at @universalsisterhood_  or @surprisedbyjoyeveryday

In this episode Megan makes the beautiful point that "Our emotions are like a compass that points toward something that has or hasn't yet been healed. They point to something historical."

 It's so important to listen to what our emotions are telling us. We need to stop and ask ourselves, why am I responding this way? 

Be gentle on the 'Eve' parts of yourself that need to be heled and restored back to life.

"Nothing here below is profane for those who know how to see" Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.

Let's start a revolution by find joy in the most mundane of places. 

Take a picture,  upload it to instagram with the hashtag #surprisedbyjoy and #heonlygivesgoodgifts

Let's start to see Him everywhere.

1 picture, everyday for a year,  of something that brought you joy that day.

Can't wait to see where I find Him.

Watch this beautiful clip below -  Hailey Bartholomew TED Talk 365 Grateful Project.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaufonUBjoQ

In this episode I sit down with three other women to discuss where we find ourselves today, in the world of covid and all it has brought with it.

Here are the two links that Liv mentioned during the podcast.

https://opusdei.org/en-au/article/saint-severinus-martyr/

https://ncc.org.au/newsweekly/

Weaning your children into adulthood often resembles weaning a baby - it requires repeated behaviours, some tears, many hard, often scary at times, sleepless nights, a lot of letting go and lots of trust in letting God be God.

Chantal Howard has done just that- come and listen to our conversation where we discuss allowing our children to exercise their freedom which will inevitably lead them to choices where they will fail, but how can we help them to fail forward?

Our children have freedom- it's not our job to be their redeemer- it's His, give them the tools and leave it up to Him.

Check out Chantal over @catholic.oil.mom and @aromarosary

When Teresa's son was less than 2 days old his mother noticed he was becoming less and less responsive and his body temperature was getting colder. Armed with mobile phone, his blue book and a pair of rosary beads she was rushed off to hospital.

Take a listen to her story of fighting for her son's life and accepting the cross she has been handed.

Teresa shows that the impact of the trauma we face is largely dependent on the way we respond to it.

Where do you turn we things feel out of control? In this episode Liv and I talk about what life looks like for us at the moment and how we are dealing with it. 

Escape this lockdown with a great read here are our picks.

Jessica's Picks

Hilly Billy Elegy- J.D Vance

Boy Swallows Universe- Trent Dolton

America Dirt- Jeanine Cummins

Where the Crawdads Sing- Delia Owens

Personal Prayer- A Guide to Receive the Father's Love- Fr Bonifice Hicks & Fr Thomas Aklin

He and I - Gabrielle Bossis

Clare's Picks-

Live your Life- Amanda Hicks

Cheaper by the Dozen- Ernistine Gilbreth

Call the Midwife- Jennifer Worth

Is it just Me? Miranda Hart

The Word Is Murder- Anthony Horowitz

My Sister's the Saints- Colleen Carrol Campbell.

Consecration to St Joseph- Fr Don Calloway.

Daphne's Picks

Peace Like a River- Leif Enger

A Bloody Habit- Eleanore Bourg Nicholson

My Family and Other Animals- Gerald Durrell

Dune- Frank Herbert

Searching For and Maintaining Peace- Jaques Phillippe

Jesus and the Jewish roots of Mary- Brant Pitre.

I chat with Gemma Howard. She is an teen mum to sweet little Jospehine.

Gemma graciously shares her story of finding herself pregnant in a toxic relationship at the age of 17.

She humbly seeks help from her family and finds forgiveness, mercy and the face of God in her sweet little Josephine.

Gemma is such a beautiful witness to what walking humbly looks like. We are all human, and with this we have freedom to choose right from wrong. We all make choices that are not in our best interest but that doesn't mean that God is not interested in us.

God is for us, no matter what we choose. Shame is what stops us from reaching out to him when we make choices that turn our hearts from Him. This is where the enemy wants to keep us. The enemy delights in knowing that we feel alone, hopeless and forgotten.

Come and take a listen to Gemma, as she unashamedly talks about being human, and becoming holy.

This song is such a beautiful song which captures the beauty of Gemma and the beauty in her story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHz0w-HG4iU

Great Are You Lord.

You give life, You are love
You bring light to the darkness
You give hope, You restore
Every heart that is broken
And great are You, Lord

It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
We pour out our praise
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise to You only

You give life, You are love
You bring light to the darkness
You give hope, You restore (You restore)
Every heart that is broken
Great are You, Lord

It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
We pour out our praise
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise to You only

It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
We pour out our praise
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise to You only

And all the earth will shout Your praise
Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing
Great are You, Lord

And all the earth will shout Your praise
Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing
Great are You, Lord

And all the earth will shout Your praise
Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing
Great are You, Lord

It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
We pour out our praise
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise to You only

It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
We pour out our praise
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise to You only.

In this episode I chat with Britt Fisk and mother of eight,  who discovered soon after the birth of her eighth baby, and the middle of the pandemic the she had breast cancer and her baby girl had a tethered spin and was to facing life threatening surgeries.

Britt displays great faith and trust in what God's plan is for her life and that of her family. She shows how grace and suffering play a role in our life.

https://shop.bellroadbeef.com/

He and I - Gabrielle Bossis.

"Let yourself be vulnerable. Let your walls down, your carefully constructed fortresses breached, your fiercely guarded heart laid bare. Let your wounds be touched, your fears revealed, your deepest desires, damaged dreams, and most daring hopes unveiled before the Bridegroom, who has the power to redeem, restore, and resurrect them. Drop your independence and the idea- which you clutch so tightly- that you can do anything to protect and save yourself. And let HIM LOVE YOU." St Elizabeth of The Trinity.

Pick up Claire's book:  This Present Paradise, Claire Dwyer.

https://www.sophiainstitute.com/products/item/this-present-paradise

In today's episode I chat with Anne Galea. She is a wife and mother who has experienced what many mothers do with teenagers, rebellion.

By the time her son was 16 he had got in with the wrong crowd, he was addicted to drinking, drugs and had gotten involved in violence and gangs. He was hiding in fear for his life for 8 weeks, when he had a profound encounter with Jesus that changed the trajectory of his life. 

This is a remarkable story, but what is most remarkable is what was going on behind the chaos. The quiet, steady prayers of a mother. A mother who had every reason to despair and become hopeless surrendered her son to God and allowed Him to change his heart. 

Anne's story is ultimately one of faith and hope. She was a delight to speak to, I'm sure you'll enjoy her wisdom too.

Father Rob's Story

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uebcVjpOgf4

In today's episode I chat with Dr Marguerite Harb. She details her story of love, loss, hope and total surrender to how God is writing her story.

Only with Christ at the centre does suffering truly make sense.

"Knowing that Christ has gone ahead of us and awaits us there gives us courage to face the darkness and enter into the silence. In fact,after we endure the trial of silence and experience the depths of our own weakness, we come to a deeper faith in God and the power of His strength to protect us and sustain us. What appeared to us to be silent absence turns out to be silent presence, and we discover that God is always closer to us that what we dreamed possible. What appeared to be silence to us was in fact deafeningly loud and what appeared dark to us was in fact blindingly bright." Pope Benedict XVI.

The Book that has brought me joy this week.

Personal Prayer- a guide to receiving the Father's Love.

https://www.amazon.com/Personal-Prayer-Guide-Receiving-Fathers/dp/1645850234#:~:text=Personal%20Prayer%3A%20A%20Guide%20for%20Receiving%20the%20Father's%20Love%20brings,Acklin%2C%20OSB%2C%20and%20Fr.