In the final episode of Season Three of Hope Stories with Sister Josephine Garrett, Sister Josephine sits down with Anna Carter, co-founder and president of Eden Invitation, for a profound and honest conversation about faith, silence, and hope in the midst of suffering within the Church.

Anna shares her story of growing up in a deeply faithful Catholic home, encountering same-sex attraction as a teenager during the height of the sexual abuse crisis, and internalizing fear and shame in a Church that did not yet have language or pastoral clarity. As Anna matured in faith through prayer, theology, literature, and ministry, she discovered that silence, especially unspoken pain, can wound as deeply as words.

Together, Sister Josephine and Anna explore the tension between witness and vulnerability, the cost of public faithfulness, and what it means to remain rooted in Christ when the Church feels unsafe, scrutinizing, or silent. Anna reflects on founding Eden Invitation as a response to gaps in pastoral care, creating space for honest questions, community, and fidelity that does not deny complexity.

This episode invites listeners into a deeper reflection on what it means to stay with the Church not because it is perfect, but because Christ is present. It is a conversation about choosing hope, allowing questions to be spoken, and anchoring one’s life in God even when the surface feels storm-tossed.

Links

• Anna Carter Bio: https://www.edeninvitation.com/staff-bios/anna-carter
• Eden Invitation: https://www.edeninvitation.com
• Eden Invitation on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edeninvitation/

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/

***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/

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

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/