Letters to Women - Exploring the Feminine Genius

What does it mean to think deeply as Catholic women today?

When you hear that question, do you worry that it means spending endless hours reading and writing academic papers?

Do you wonder if pursuing the intellectual life isn’t for you because you don’t consider yourself a thinker?

Or have you thought that maybe the intellectual life is for another season of life, one where you’re not as busy, not covered in spit up, or at least get full nights of sleep?

In this episode, I’m sitting down with Rachel Bulman. She’s the editor behind the newly released book, With All Her Mind: A Call to the Intellectual Life

If you are a woman who wants to follow the first and greatest commandment: to love the Lord with all your soul, all your heart, and with all your mind, sister, this letter is for you.

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Today’s episode contains a conversation on sexual addiction and healing. If you listen around little ears, you might want to grab a pair of headphones.

No one intends to get addicted to pornograpy, masturbation, or other disordered sexual desires. And it doesn’t help that we live in a world that has ingrained into our minds the idea that pornography is a ‘guys issue’.

Yes, many men do struggle with an addiction to pornography.But the reality of the situation, the reality that you yourself might be living, is that women also struggle with addictions to sexual addiction, pornography, and masturbation.

But there is healing. You don’t have to hide and pretend that everything in your life is going perfectly. It’s time that we stop thinking about pornography as a problem only men deal with.

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About a year ago, when I’d find myself with nothing left to give, I started asking Jesus for His Sacred Heart. I asked him to give me his heart to love those around me, because my little heart was so exhausted. But in the back of my head, I wondered if Jesus was disappointed in me for not being able to love well, for having to return to him over and over to ask for help, to ask for his Sacred Heart. Wouldn’t it be more ideal if I could get my stuff together and love others well without having to ask for his help?

But after growing in devotion to the Sacred Heart this summer, that fear is gone. I’ve stopped treating the Sacred Heart like a safety net to catch me when I’ve tried and white-knuckled my way through the day and just need help for the last few hours. Instead, I start my day with a morning offering and ask Jesus for His Sacred Heart from the beginning, before I even start into the day. And I know now that he isn’t disappointed with that, but that when I share that I’m weak, it’s then that his power is made perfect in that weakness.”

In today’s episode, Emily Jaminet and I are talking about why now is the perfect time to revisit a classic Catholic devotion—the Sacred Heart.

You may remember a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus hanging in your grandparents or parents' home, but what does devotion to the Sacred Heart really mean for our daily lives as Catholic women? Not only are we talking about some amazing promises Christ made to accompany devotion to The Sacred Heart, Emily and I even dive into our favorite depictions of the Sacred Heart and why art is important in your home.

So if you’re feeling like you have nothing left to give, that the demands of your day are taking more resources than you have, sister, this Letter is for you.

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I’d just like to start this episode off with a moment of total honesty in which I reveal to you that one of my biggest fears is fish. I can’t stand them. I don’t swim in the ocean, I don’t swim in the lake, I don’t go to aquariums with my kids. Even talking about fish is making my skin crawl.

But today’s episode is all about the beauty, mystery, and depth that we can encounter when we revisit the familiar—with a special focus on the sea.

So you know it’s going to be good if I put aside my fish fears for thirty minutes to explore this.

In this episode, I sit down with Noelle Merring. She’s the editor of TheologyofHome.com and the co-author of the Theology of Home book series—the third installment of that series just launched this summer and it’s all about the sea. We’re talking about the feminine beauty and mystery of the sea, what the sea can reveal to us about our femininity and motherhood, and the beauty that we can discover when encountering the familiar things in our lives with new attention and depth.

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This summer, I’m focusing in on the topic of friendship with other women, and in this third episode of the series, I’m sitting down with Elizabeth Vargas.

Elizabeth is the recipe developer and photographer behind the blog “Elizabeth’s Table”. She was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, studied Economic Consulting and Business Analytics at India University, and currently lives in Ohio. In her free time, when she’s not cooking for her blog, Elizabeth enjoys drinking coffee, eating bananas, working out, listening to podcasts, and attending Mass.

You’ll recognize Elizabeth’s voice from a past episode of this podcast, “A Letter to the Woman Struggling With Body Image,” which I’ll link in today’s show notes so you can get to know Elizabeth’s story as a Catholic woman and hear her reflections on the feminine genius.

When you open the new Sisterhood book, you’ll find Elizabeth’s reflection on friendships that grow online, which kicks off the chapter on navigating the digital world when it comes to our friendships with other women.

If you have a desire not only to take your digital friendships to the next level, sister, this letter is for you!

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This summer, I’m focusing in on the topic of friendship with other women, and in this second episode of the series, I’m sitting down with Lindsay Schlegel.

Lindsay is a daughter of God who seeks to encourage, inspire, and lift others up to be all they were created to be. She is also the author of Don’t Forget to Say Thank You: And Other Parenting Lessons That Brought Me Closer to God and the host of the podcast Quote Me With Lindsay Schlegel. She writes for Verily, CatholicMom.com, Radiant, and edits for various publications. Lindsay lives with her family in New Jersey, where she enjoys knitting, running, and reading to her kids.

You’ll recognize Lindsay’s voice from a past episode of this podcast, “A Letter to the Women Who Keeps Telling Her Kids to Say Thank You”—from all the way back in 2018!

When you open the new Sisterhood book, you’ll find Lindsay’s reflection on friendships that remind you of Christ, which kicks off the second chapter in Sisterhood which talks Christ as the original giver of friendship

If you have a desire not only to recognize Christ in your friendships but also to bring him into your friendships with the women in your life, this letter is for you.

Topics we talked about in this episode:

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This summer, I’m focusing in on the topic of friendship with other women, and in this first episode of the series, I’m sitting down with Kiki Rocha.

When you open the new Sisterhood book, you’ll find Kiki’s reflection on healing in friendship, which kicks off the first chapter in Sisterhood which talks about examining and healing your own heart for friendship.

If you’re wondering how to navigate a friendship breakup or you’re still stinging from a friendship that fell apart, sister, this letter is for you.

Topics we talked about in this episode:

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