In this 7th episode of this 12 part mini-series, Alissa brings in newly ordained priest Fr. Will Rooney to chat about his heart for story.  The two friends talk about their common love for story--the ones that come from each of us and the Grandest Story of all time.  So much of this episode reminds us all how important we are to that Story.  Tune in to hear:

• A crazy connection Alissa figures out in real time about a beloved priest she knows.
• How God uses the Church to give us a bigger story.
• The imagery of God singing all things into being.
• And also the imagery of God being able to use notes of discord to create something magnificent.  
• Our stories giving us a sense of rootedness in who we are.
• The gift that are priests who recognize the wholeness of people and the value of their story.
• How God can take the hard parts of our story and redeem them.
• How Fr. Will's heart for story influences the way he lives his vocation.
• Looking for the way God has worked in our story.
• How the sacraments proclaim that we are part of God's story.
• The hope that God's bigger story provides us.

Thank you so much for your continued support of this project.  For more information on guests, the zoom community sessions or to financially back it, go to from_here_sessions on Instagram.

No new episode is slated for this week as Election Tuesday is an important opportunity to be prayerfully engaged.  

Instead, Alissa has recorded the recitation of the sorrowful mysteries of the most holy rosary ahead of election day.

May we continue to remember the unchanging, perfect nature of the God we love and serve.  And may He and His Kingdom be at the center of all we say and do. 

Today Alissa is STOKED to welcome Destiny Herndon-De la Rosa of New Wave Feminists to Universal Voices.  Destiny is not Catholic but Alissa could NOT shake the thought that she was supposed to reach out to Destiny and invite her on.  Destiny and NWF have played an important role in the way Alissa lives out her own Catholic call to protect the dignity of all human life.  Strap in for the packed sixth episode of this 12-week series where the two empaths talk about:

• The gift of failure and closed doors.
• Badass saints.
• The power of prayer.
• New Wave Feminists recent work in Juarez.
• The most perfect wax on and wax off analogy.
• Sharing the gospel and if you have to, using words.
• Mr. Miyagi
• Memento Mori.
• The Five Part Holy Spirit Series that led to AMAZING.
• The 2016 Pivot.
• Wiggling free of hypocrisy and extremes through a consistent life ethic.
• The amazing work of Abide Women's Health Services.
• Creating a wholistic culture of life.

Thank you so much for your continued support of this project.  For more information or to financially back it, go to from_here_sessions on Instagram.  

In this 5th installment of this 12-week series, Alissa welcomes Udochi Ekwerike.  Alissa met Udochi this summer and immediately felt a sisterhood with her.  Udochi comes in to talk about her heart for the Black Catholic Community.  The two new friends talk about so so much in this jam packed episode including:

• Being a fully alive human being
• What Udochi calls Beauty restoration
• The power in reversion to the Church
• Pushing back on having to sacrifice parts of our identity to be a part of Jesus' Church
• Being pioneers for racial justice
• The quote that both scares Alissa and propels her forward in anti-racism work in the Church
• The movement that is giving us hope
• Father Brian Massingale's book
• The gift of charity in anti-racism work
• Naming racism as the sin it is
• Looking to divine solutions
• The USCCB document Open Wide our Hearts

If you'd like to learn more about Udochi, this project, our zoom hang out sessions, weekly giveaways, or how to financially back this work, find us on Instagram at from_here_sessions. 

I interrupt your regularly scheduled Universal Voices Podcast Episode with this quick bonus episode in which I:

• Tell the crazy story of how I found the saint that I ask to pray for Universal Voices
• Prove how *extra* I am when asking Jesus for things
• Ask y'all to help me celebrate this new best friend saint of mine on her feast day THIS Wednesday
• Invite y'all to participate in a rosary for respect life month.  

In this fourth installment of the Universal Voices Podcast Mini-Series, Alissa is joined by Patty Breen.  Patty is such a light in this world and in this conversation she brings her heart for Catholics who have gone through a divorce. This is a must listen.  Patty really helps us all learn how to love any and all of our neighbors better. We cover a lot of ground in this episode including:

• Patty's Heart for the Boss.  ;)
• Whether or not the Church really is a hospital for the broken.
• Two helpful questions to ask someone you care about when they are going through something hard.
• Shame as the devil's favorite and oldest trick.
• The tenderness and empathy women often bring to the Church.
• Transactional faith versus a communal one.
• Hopeful and helpful things going on right now for folks who are going through a divorce.
• Our hope to one day meet in real life in Chicago with our girl Christina so we can talk and laugh for hours over Christina's homemade pizza and bread.  

If you'd like to support this project, click here.  For more information on Universal Voices guests, our community zoom sessions and other content offerings follow from_here_sessions on Instagram.

In episode three of this 12-week series, Alissa welcomes in Ana-Cristina Gonzalez to talk about her heart for the Church.  Ana-Cristina worked in various parish settings over her 11 year career in the Church, including a position as Chief Operations Officer in the largest parish in the diocese.  Her experience has given her a wealth of information and knowledge when it comes to how parishes can thrive.  Ana-Cristina is one of Alissa's best friends, and the two have helped each other through much of life over the last 20 years--including throughout their time working in the Church.  Listen in for some real honest, hard-earned wisdom, plus lots of encouragement as the two friends discuss:

• Being centered by Jesus in the Eucharist
• Loving Jesus by loving His Church well
• Having your heart broken by folks in the Church
• Supporting our priests by avoiding the extremes 
• Walking the Talk
• Mean people in the Church
• Encouraging the gifts folks bring to the Church
• Encouraging current Church workers
• Leaving room for Alissa to become the Patron Saint of Instagram

In this second installment of this 12-week series, Alissa welcomes Natalie Alfaro Frazier and Leticia Ochoa Adams.  We talk about all.the.things, including:

• That time Alissa was actually really fraternally corrected
• What it feels like to be in a safe space with other women
• A really good Church and Basketball Analogy
• Defense of the Dignity of the Human Person with no exceptions
• The cameo we are calling Baby's First Podcast
• Reckoning with Racism
• Interconnectedness and how it impacts the pro-life movement
• Problem Trees and Colonialism 
• Leaving the labels of progressive/conservative in favor of being known as a Daughter of the King
• Our Catholic Call to Action
• Chadwick Boseman's Quote on Purpose
• Keeping out of the Weeds

Join us for all this and more as we barely take a breath in this episode about our Hearts for those on the Margins.  

In this first episode of the Universal Voices Podcast Mini-Series, host Alissa Molina:

• lays out the vision and mission for this 12 episode mini-series
• talks about what's in a name
• shares her heart for connection
• pushes back on the idea that there is only one way to Catholic
• tells why she could never be Mother Teresa (ha!)

To learn more about this mini-series, the guests, or our community zoom sessions, visit us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/from_here_sessions/.

To support this project visit: https://linktr.ee/alissamolina