Has a friend hurt you or left you out? 

Dr. Mary Ruth Hackett was just about to leave for a party hosted by a dear friend when she received a text—Mary Ruth’s friend asked her to come a little later, because she was running behind.

Mary Ruth pulled up social media to pass time and was surprised to see a live photo posted by her friend. The image showed the host and many of Mary Ruth’s friends gathered around her friend’s table eating dinner. It turned out that the party was already in full swing.

In reality, Mary Ruth realized she was on the B List and was the only one of all her friends to be invited to the “after party.”

Mary Ruth was crushed.

Yet, while incredibly difficult, Mary Ruth chose to dig deep into this experience to better understand herself, her friendships and God’s hopes for her. 

In this Advent Podcast Mary Ruth shares the wisdom she learned about sisterhood in Christ and the healing grace of God.

Learn how God blessed Mary Ruth with a new heart to love and friendships deeply rooted in Christ.

Discover how you can receive the beautiful gift of sisterhood in Christ, too!

What is beauty?

This is the question O’Maria Akpati answers in this week’s Advent Podcast.

As a former celebrity makeup artist, O’Maria discovered that beauty had nothing to do with the exterior. She found that when celebrities used makeup to become more beautiful, their self-esteem decreased. 

O'Maria left her job and discerned becoming a Discalced Carmelite for two years. During this time, God revealed to O'Maria her personal mission: to help women become “Godfident” in their God-given beauty.

Listen to O’Maria’s personal story of conversion--and discover how God is calling you to embrace your God-given beauty, too!

Do people see me? Do people hear me? Do they love me?

These are the questions that ten-year-old Mildred Chen, feeling lost in the middle of five daughters, asked herself.

When the sixth child was born into her family, Mildred was asked to clean his dirty diapers--a chore she felt terrible about. One day while she was completing this task, she heard a dark voice telling her to jump into the nearby water well.

And Mildred did.

As she fell into the well, Mildred found herself in a deep sleep and sensed herself being cradled.

Instead of drowning, she awoke standing in a small amount of water, a miracle because it was typhoon season with heavy rains.

Mildred survived to tell this miraculous story, as well as her discovery of the spiritual world and her spiritual charism.

Mildred's professions are also healing ministries: she is both a pediatrician and spiritual director.

Listen to this Advent mini-retreat in a podcast and ponder your spiritual charism, too!