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November 18, 2025 54 mins

As a 10-year-old, Sister Marilyn of the Sisters of Mary watched her father murdered by family friends—then grabbed his gun to take revenge and had her finger on the trigger.

Something stopped her in that moment, but the trauma of that experience hardened her heart with thoughts of anger and revenge. She felt like a failure and couldn't trust anyone.

In front of the Blessed Sacrament years later, Jesus met her in that memory…and turned a would-be taker of life into a spiritual mother who gives life to thousands of the poorest children on earth. She found her vocation and the Lord miraculously healed her wounds.

In this powerful conversation, we talk about trauma, forgiveness, Eucharistic healing, and the Sisters of Mary’s mission to the poorest of the poor around the world.

Timestamps

0:00 Intro
1:35 Sisters of Mary: “Sisters and Mothers”
5:19 The day her father was killed
12:10 Running for the gun… and why she didn’t pull the trigger
16:00 The hidden lie: “I’m a loser”
18:10 A priest’s counsel that opened the door to healing
24:10 Adoration: meeting Jesus inside the memory
26:50 From taking life → giving life: discovering her vocation
33:05 Saying the killer’s name before Jesus—and forgiving
39:00 The Sisters of Mary across 7 countries
41:15 “The poorest of the poor” (more than material poverty)
49:45 A student’s story: “Why do I feel nobody loves me?”
53:40 Final encouragement: your wounds can become windows to God

Whatever you've gone through, the Lord is ready to heal you. In all things, God works for the good of those who love him. Pursue his grace in the sacraments. Bring your trauma to the foot of the cross and spend time in Adoration. The Resurrection is on the other side of your trauma. You are not alone.

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Learn more about the Sisters of Mary: https://worldvillages.org/sisters-of-mary/

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Sign up for the Daily Anchor for FREE and receive daily reflections, updates, and encouragement from Chris Stefanick to help you live with the joy you were made for: https://bit.ly/48Xfhfk

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Support the creation of this content by becoming a Missionary of Joy with a monthly gift to Real Life Catholic: https://bit.ly/4nTHbN0

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Join Chris Stefanick on pilgrimage: https://www.reallifecatholic.com/pilgrimages

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