The first guest for Season 2’s hope-tellers is long-time RC member Janet Lees. From her Ohio home, this wife, mother, and grandmother has found deep hope in the mission of listening and witnessing to others and getting a front-row seat to God’s glory. Janet shares how her love for the Lord and our spiritual family, her training in spiritual direction, and St. Ignatius’ 19th annotation of his Spiritual Exercises have led her to marvel at God’s glory.

We hope today’s episode blesses you, as it blessed us!

Welcome to Season 2 on the For This Moment Podcast! Megan and Laura take time during this episode to reflect on the past year of the podcast and the blessings they’ve received, as well as launch the new season. This year will be focused on story-telling or, as Pope Francis says, “hope-telling”. The podcast will now focus on RC women with stories of hope to nourish you on your pilgrim journey this Jubilee Year.

On January 25, 2025, Pope Francis encouraged us to tell stories filled with hope that nourish the soul. “Telling hope,” he said “means allowing people to hope against hope..having a gaze that transforms things, making them what they could and should be.”

Here’s to a new season and being apostles of hope!

This week we have a unique episode! Our first time interviewing two women who share a similar passion: the way of beauty. Megan and Laura's sister, Emily, and Holly join us around the table to discuss how they find God's love through beauty. They are both artists, and describe how their love for art's creative process ultimately points them to God. Both share how this love for art has helped them both put on and attend the Regnum Christi Artist retreat in Cincinnati, Ohio.

"The Church needs art and artists, for beauty is the promise of happiness. The greatness of art is rooted in the fact that it seeks and finds a bridge to the human soul... Art opens up to us a path to the divine, showing us a beauty that reflects the glory of God."-Pope St. John Paul II, Letter to Artist, 1999

RC Artist Retreat: https://www.regnumchristi.com/en/stained-and-sainted-an-artists-retreat-in-cincinnati/

Holly's website: https://www.hollyschapker.com

Books mentioned in the podcast:

"This Beautiful Truth" by Sarah Clarkson

"God is beauty" by Pope St. John Paul II (commentary by Christopher West)

"A Severe Mercy" by Sheldon Vanauken