A Catholic Journey

✨ JOIN US AT CRAVING CONNECTION ✨

This year’s gathering is open to both women and men. Come with your spouse, a friend, or a brother. ONLY A FEW TICKETS LEFT!!

🎟️ Get your ticket: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/craving-connection-tickets-2001986493494?aff=oddtdtcreator

Episode Summary

Nikki shares the vision that started it all: she wanted a community where she could talk about her kids, her marriage, and everyday life, and always include God in the conversation. The three of them then dig into John 10, the Scripture the event is centered on, and talk honestly about how hard it can be to tell the difference between God’s voice and the enemy’s. Sometimes the enemy’s voice sounds exactly like your own.

They also talk about why we need friends of faith who will speak truth to us, the “hirelings” in our lives who feed the chaos instead, and why it’s just as important to notice what God has restored as it is to name what the enemy tried to take.

Listener Reflection

Let’s Stay Connected! ✨

📱 Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/mimi.and.manuel

🌐 Learn more or get on the newsletter: https://mimiandmanuel.com

🙏🏻 Join us in The Daily Thread Community: https://thedailythread.co

💻 I would love to hear from you, email me: [email protected]

🙏🏻 Remember, where Jesus leads the way, we are called to follow. 🙏🏻

If you've been feeling like faith keeps getting pushed to the bottom of your list — like you're fitting God in instead of building your life around Him — this is for you.

Audrey and I created The Daily Thread, a Catholic community for women who are ready to stop squeezing God into their day and start letting Him be the foundation of it. Each month members receive a workbook rooted in the daily Mass readings, guided reflections, exclusive podcast episodes, and depending on your tier, a space to go deeper with other women in community.

Doors open April 21st and founding member spots are limited.

👉 thedailythread.co

📲 Follow on Instagram: @dailythreadpodcast

Nobody warns you about the quiet season of grief. Everyone prepares you for the intensity — the funeral, the crying, the fog. But nobody talks about what happens when all of that starts to fade and life just... goes back to normal. And you're not sure how to feel about it.

In this episode of A Catholic Journey, Jessica reflects on what it means when grief gets quieter — and how faith can feel the exact same way. The intensity fades. The emotions settle. And suddenly you wonder if something is wrong with you, or if God has gone somewhere without you.

He hasn't. And this episode is a reminder of that.

What You'll Hear in This Episode

✔️ What the quiet season of grief actually feels like — and why it catches so many people off guard

✔️ Why feeling less intensity in your grief does not mean the love is gone

✔️ How faith and grief mirror each other — and what to do when both go quiet

✔️ Why the quiet moments in your faith are not a sign that God has stepped away

✔️ What it means that sometimes your most faithful day is just a regular Tuesday

✔️ How staying the course — even when you don't feel like it — is where real faith lives

✔️ Why the quiet is actually an invitation, not an absence

Has your faith felt quieter lately? Instead of assuming something is wrong, what if you saw it as an invitation to keep going? this journey is better when we walk it together.

If this episode touched your heart, don't forget to:

✔️ Subscribe to A Catholic Journey

✔️ Leave a kind review (it helps others find the podcast!)

✔️ Share this episode with someone who needs encouragement today

📱 Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/mimi.and.manuel

🌐 Learn more or get on the newsletter: https://mimiandmanuel.com

💻 I would love to hear from you, email me: [email protected]

🙏🏻 Remember, where Jesus leads the way, we are called to follow. 🙏🏻

✨ Something Special — Introducing The Daily Thread If you've been feeling like you want more structure and intentionality in your relationship with God, this is for you.

Jessica and her friend Audrey (from the Aligned with Audrey Diaz podcast) have created The Daily Thread — a monthly workbook and podcast based on the daily Mass readings, designed to make your relationship with God the foundation so everything else flows from there. Each month's workbook meets you right where you are — in your family, your work, and your personal growth — and the podcast goes even deeper into each month's theme together.

📅 Doors open April 21st — Founding Members spots are limited, so don't wait!

🌐 Visit: www.thedailythread.co

📱 Follow on Instagram: @dailythreadpodcast

Join the Founding Members group and be part of something truly special from the very beginning.

Episode Summary

Grief has a way of teaching us things we never expected to learn — especially about God.

In this episode of A Catholic Journey, Jessica shares five honest, hard-won lessons about who God is that she discovered in the middle of losing both of her parents in 2022. These aren't lessons she read about in a book. They came through real pain, real doubt, and real moments of feeling completely alone — and finding out she wasn't.

💛 "God is not waiting for you on the other side of your pain. He is right there with you in the middle of it."

Whether your walking through loss, disappointment, or a season that feels impossibly heavy — this episode is an invitation to look up.

In This Episode, You'll Hear:

⭐ Lesson 1 — God is near, even when we don't feel Him God's presence isn't determined by how we feel on any given day. He is near because of who He is — not because of what we feel.

⭐ Lesson 2 — God does not remove every cross His love for us doesn't mean life will be painless. Just like a loving parent, God walks with us through hard things — not always around them.

⭐ Lesson 3 — We can pray in the pain When grief stripped away Jessica's words, the Holy Spirit stepped in. Prayer doesn't require strength or perfect words — just honesty.

⭐ Lesson 4 — Hope and grief can exist at the same time Joy and pain. Happiness and hurt. Faith doesn't make grief disappear — it changes how we carry it.

⭐ Lesson 5 — God's love is steady He gives strength quietly. He works even when we feel weak. And He holds hope steady when life feels uncertain.

Scripture Referenced in This Episode

Listener Reflection How has suffering changed the way you see God? And if you're grieving right now — know that He is not waiting on the other side of your pain. He is right there with you in the middle of it. 🙏🏻

Enjoyed This Episode? If this episode touched your heart, it would mean so much if you:

Let's Stay Connected

🙏🏻 Where Jesus leads the way, we are called to follow.🙏🏻

Audrey and I created The Daily Thread because we kept having the same conversation. Faith keeps getting pushed to the bottom of the list. We fit God in when we can, instead of building everything else around Him. The Daily Thread is a Catholic community for women who are ready to flip that. To stop squeezing God into their day and start letting Him be the foundation of it.

Doors open April 21st and founding member spots are limited.

Follow us on Instagram for UPDATES on when and how to join

📲 Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailythreadpodcast

Something has been brewing behind the scenes — and in this episode, Audrey from Aligned with Audrey and Jessica from A Catholic Journey are finally pulling back the curtain.

The Daily Thread is a Catholic membership community built for busy women who love God but feel like they are constantly trying to fit Him into the gaps of their day. This episode is the story of how it came to life, what it is, and why both Audrey and Jessica believe it is exactly what God has been building in them all along.

This is not just a product launch. This is two women saying yes to what God put on their hearts — and inviting you to say yes too.

Listen to Audrey's podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-aligned-podcast-with-audrey-diaz/id1715301787

✔️ The conversation between Audrey and Jessica that started it all

✔️ What it means to live liturgically — and why the church's liturgical calendar is more relevant to your everyday life than you think

✔️ Why The Daily Thread exists: for women who are done fitting God into the cracks of their day

✔️ A breakdown of every membership tier — free, The Daily Thread, The Threaded Life, and The Rule of Life

✔️ The May theme: Bittersweet Transitions — and why it fits this season so perfectly

✔️ What founding membership means and why it matters

✔️ The five loaves and two fish moment that gave them the courage to launch

✔️ Why this community is not theirs — it belongs to God

Is God calling you into a deeper rhythm of faith? Pray about it. If The Daily Thread is for you, we would love to have you. Doors open April 21st.

If this episode touched your heart, don't forget to:

✔️ Subscribe to A Catholic Journey

✔️ Leave a kind review (it helps others find the podcast!)

✔️ Share this episode with someone who needs encouragement today

📱 Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/mimi.and.manuel

🌐 Learn more or get on the newsletter: https://mimiandmanuel.com

💻 I would love to hear from you, email me: [email protected]

🙏🏻 Remember, where Jesus leads the way, we are called to follow. 🙏🏻

Episode Summary

Grief has a way of changing everything — including our relationship with God. In this episode of A Catholic Journey, host Jessica Diaz opens up about losing both of her parents in 2022 and the five small but powerful steps that helped her find her way back to God in the middle of that pain.

These aren't complicated spiritual practices reserved for the super holy. They're real, doable steps that anyone can take — no matter where you are in your faith journey. Whether you're walking through loss, feeling spiritually dry, or quietly wondering how to find your way back to the Church, this episode is for you.

💛 "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." — Psalm 34:18

In This Episode, You'll Discover:

⭐ Step 1 — Sit With God & Come As You Are You don't need the perfect prayer or the right words. Just show up.

⭐ Step 2 — Make Space for the Word How Jessica began reading the Bible for the first time (and why it wasn't as scary as she thought).

⭐ Step 3 — Seek Wisdom in Relationships Why having a friend of faith — or finding your local Catholic community — can change everything.

⭐ Step 4 — Go to Confession The step that took the most courage and brought the deepest healing.

⭐ Step 5 — Commit to Showing Up How attending Mass consistently became one of the greatest gifts of Jessica's faith journey.

Scripture Referenced in This Episode

Resources Mentioned

Listener Reflection Which one small step toward God feels possible for you this week — and what's holding you back from taking it? You don't need a perfect faith. You just need one step. 🙏🏻

Enjoyed This Episode? If this episode touched your heart, it would mean so much if you:

Let's Stay Connected

🙏🏻 Where Jesus leads the way, we are called to follow🙏🏻

Episode Summary

After some time away from the microphone, Jessica is back — and she's sharing exactly where God has been leading her heart.

In this episode, Jessica opens up about the season of discernment that led to her pause, what it looks like to choose a relationship with God every single day, and why faith is never about perfection — it's about perseverance. She also revisits her story of losing both parents in 2022 and how grief and faith have become so deeply intertwined in her life that she truly cannot walk one without the other.

One of the most powerful moments in this episode? The image of Jesus standing outside the door of our hearts — waiting. Patiently. Because the door has no handle on His side. It only opens from within.

💛 If you've ever felt alone in your grief, distant from your faith, or unsure of your direction — this episode is for you.

In This Episode, Jessica Shares:

Listener Reflection

Is there a door in your heart that you've been keeping closed? What would it look like to open it — even just a little — this week? 🙏🏻

What's Coming Next Jessica has new episodes and guest speakers in the works — you won't want to miss what's ahead for A Catholic Journey!

Enjoyed This Episode? If this episode touched your heart, it would mean so much if you:

Let's Stay Connected

🙏🏻 Where Jesus leads the way, we are called to follow.

⚠️ Content Notice This episode discusses grief, trauma, and the loss of a parent to suicide. Some parts may be difficult to hear. Please listen with care.

🆘 If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available. Call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or visit 988lifeline.org. You are not alone.

📺 Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/NZOnp0t-o8k

Episode Summary

Some grief comes with a clear explanation. Some comes wrapped in shock, silence, and questions that nobody around you knows how to answer.

In this episode of A Catholic Journey, Jessica sits down with artist, educator, and grief advocate Monica Brown to talk about what it's like to lose a parent to suicide at age 11 — and the decades-long journey of learning how to carry that grief with faith, creativity, and community.

Monica shares how she went from a quiet, introverted kid who suddenly felt the pressure to prove everything was fine, to a woman who is now creating intentional space for grief conversations — one honest story at a time. From working with horses on a Montana ranch to leading art therapy workshops for bereaved mothers, Monica's story is a testament to what can grow out of the kind of pain nobody talks about.

💛 "Healing happens in community. We need each other to witness our grief — and sometimes that witness is what allows the next step of healing to happen." — Monica Brown

In This Episode, You'll Hear:

⭐ What it felt like to lose her dad at age 11 — the shock, the confusion, and the question she asked her principal that she'll never forget

⭐ The silence around suicide — why nobody explained it to her as a child, and why she's still learning how to talk about it as an adult

⭐ Compound trauma and the performing child — how Monica became extroverted overnight as a coping mechanism and what that cost her

⭐ Parentification and the lost childhood — changing diapers at 11, living at friends' houses by 12, and finally breaking down at 21

⭐ How horses, art, and solitude became her healing — from a Montana dude ranch to a college gallery, and why getting her body involved was the key

⭐ The gift of faith from a young age — and what it means to believe in and out of season

⭐ Leading an art therapy workshop for bereaved mothers — and the overwhelming, unexpected day that brought her full circle back to her childhood church

⭐ Monica's closing reflection — why we hide our pain like Adam and Eve, and why community is where healing actually happens

Scripture Referenced in This Episode

About Monica Brown Monica Brown is an artist, elementary educator, and grief advocate from Chester County, Pennsylvania. She is passionate about creating space for honest grief conversations and using creativity as a pathway to healing. Monica has led art therapy workshops for bereaved mothers and is currently exploring ways to bring grief advocacy more intentionally into her work and writing.

Connect with Monica

Listener Reflection Is there a grief in your life that you've been hiding — from others or from yourself? What would it look like to let someone witness it with you? 🙏🏻

Enjoyed This Episode? If this episode touched your heart, it would mean so much if you:

Let's Stay Connected

🙏🏻 Where Jesus leads the way, we are called to follow.🙏🏻

When you lose a parent, you don't just lose a person. You lose your home base. That safety net. The place you could always go back to — no questions asked, no expectations. Just unconditional love.

In this episode of A Catholic Journey, Jessica opens up about one of the most unspoken parts of losing a parent: the feeling of being orphaned, even as a full-grown adult. The feeling that your home is gone. And how faith became the foundation of a new one.

This episode is for anyone who has lost a parent and felt that strange, hollow ache of having nowhere to go back to anymore.

✔️ What it really means to feel like you've lost home after losing a parent

✔️ Why even grown adults feel orphaned when their parents pass away

✔️ The sobering moment of realizing the people who helped create you are gone

✔️ Why selling a childhood home hits differently when your parents are no longer in it

✔️ The strange experience of walking into your parents' house after they've passed — and your mind still expecting them to be there

✔️ How God stepped in when the home base disappeared

✔️ Why our Heavenly Father and Our Blessed Mother become a new kind of home in grief

✔️ How faith doesn't take the ache away — but it changes how we carry it

If you've lost a parent — did you feel like home was gone? This is not something people talk about enough. Drop a comment or send a message. You are not alone in this.

If this episode touched your heart, don't forget to:

✔️ Subscribe to A Catholic Journey

✔️ Leave a kind review (it helps others find the podcast!)

✔️ Share this episode with someone who needs encouragement today

📱 Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/mimi.and.manuel

🌐 Learn more or get on the newsletter: https://mimiandmanuel.com

💻 I would love to hear from you, email me: [email protected]

🙏🏻 Remember, where Jesus leads the way, we are called to follow. 🙏🏻

What happens when you come off the high of a faith milestone and suddenly feel... nothing? The fire that was burning so bright just weeks ago feels like a wet log. You know God is there. You just don't feel Him the way you used to.

In this episode of A Catholic Journey, recorded from a car in a parking lot during a 45-minute wait, Jessica gets real about the dry season she's been walking through after completing her confirmation. The excitement is gone. The routine is gone. And the enemy is using the silence to creep in.

This one is honest, unfiltered, and something a lot of us need to hear — especially if you've ever wondered why faith can feel like work even when you love God.

✔️ What a faith dry season actually feels like — and why it's more common than we admit

Have you ever felt like you were on fire for your faith and then just... lost it? You are not alone. Drop a comment or send a message — this is a safe space to be honest about where you are in your journey.

If this episode touched your heart, don't forget to:

📱 Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/mimi.and.manuel

🙏🏻 Remember, where Jesus leads the way, we are called to follow. 🙏🏻

📺 Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/s5OBQ0UXWvQ

Episode Summary

There are losses that come with a funeral — and losses that don't. Losses that have a name — and losses nobody ever taught us to grieve.

In this episode of A Catholic Journey, Jessica sits down with trauma-informed writer and grief coach Katy Parker to talk about the kind of grief that often goes unseen. Katy opens up about the accident that changed her life, the PTSD diagnosis that followed, and how a pen and paper in a hospital room — during the height of COVID lockdowns, with no visitors allowed — became the beginning of her healing journey.

Together, Jessica and Katy get into the weight of guilt in grief, the secondary losses nobody talks about, and why awareness is the first step toward healing. This is a conversation for anyone who has ever felt like their grief didn't count — or didn't know what to call what they were carrying.

💛 "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." — 2 Corinthians 12:9

In This Episode, You'll Hear:

⭐ How a traumatic accident led Katy back to writing — and how Journey of Smiley was born in a hospital room during COVID lockdowns

⭐ What PTSD actually looks like — and why it isn't just something soldiers experience

⭐ The guilt that follows grief — and why both Jessica and Katy carried it for years in very different ways

⭐ Secondary losses and unmet expectations — grieving the life you thought you'd have, not just the person you lost

⭐ Living losses — grieving someone who is still here but not the same (dementia, addiction, illness, and more)

⭐ Why your loss counts — no matter what anyone has told you

⭐ Katy's upcoming solo book — on living losses and the grief we don't have a name for

Scripture Referenced in This Episode

About Katy Parker Katy Parker is a grief and loss coach, trauma survivor, and mental health mentor dedicated to helping people heal from invisible grief and trauma through storytelling and community. She is the creator of the Journey of Smiley blog and the PTSD: My Story project — a community where people from around the world share their stories so no one has to feel alone in their pain.

Connect with Katy & Access Her Free Resources

Listener Reflection Is there a loss in your life that you've never given yourself permission to grieve — because it didn't come with a funeral? What would it look like to name it? 🙏🏻

Enjoyed This Episode? If this episode touched your heart, it would mean so much if you:

Let's Stay Connected

🙏🏻 Where Jesus leads the way, we are called to follow.