Welcome back to another episode of the Genius Podcast.

My name is Karen Doyle, your host and founder of The Genius Project, an

initiative for Catholic women really designed to support and resource you

towards growth, to understand your unique gifts and your feminine genius,

and then how you can activate those gifts in service and contribution.

We seek to do these through the Genius Podcast.

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out more about on our website, as well as our Catholic coaching programs for women.

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www.geniusproject.co.

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Over the last few months, he's been passion and a fire really burning in my.

Soul around the role that we have as women to take a standard, to have

a voice against some of the forces that are at play in our culture.

To help me unpack this conversation, I have invited Rachel Ullman to join me on

this week's episode of The Genius Podcast.

Rachel was one of our very first guests on the podcast, and she's had

quite the journey over the last couple of years, which she'll share about

at the beginning of this episode.

This is a really important conversation for us as women, and I really hope

and pray that you are blessed.

So by this conversation with Rachel and I.

Well, Rachel, welcome back to the Genius Podcast.

I'm so excited about this conversation and so excited to see your beautiful

face and and have this talk today.

Oh, thanks for having me.

I really love the podcast.

I love listening to all of your guests and it's an honor to be here.

Oh, well it was so great for you.

I think one of our very first, Podcast guests many years ago, and you have

such powerful insights, and I just love your approach to this whole area

of being a Catholic woman and really discovering not just our gifts, but

where we are called to stand up and activate those gifts in service and

contribution to everybody around us.

Because even if we're staying at home with our children, we're still called to

this life of contribution and service.

So, um, I'd love to hear a little bit about your background cause

it's been a couple of years since we launched the podcast.

And I guess your journey, what you're doing now.

Would you share a little bit about that with us?

I'd love to, yes.

When you first invited me, I was serving as the in executive director of the

given Institute, which was a national nonprofit for women's leadership in

the United States, where young adult women come together for a forum and

then they are paired with a mentor.

That works with them in a personal relationship, but mainly to help

the young woman to activate her gifts for the service of the

gospel in some shape or form.

So that was a wonderful experience where I served as the ED for about three and a

half years, and I've just gone through a huge life transition where I had not only.

With given, but I had served the church for about 15 years as a professional

career in a lot of different aspects, working for different parishes and

schools and arch diocesan roles.

And I went through a deep dive of discernment and, uh, I would

really, um, recommend a book that helped me through that process.

It was written by David Clayton.

Have you ever heard of David Clayton?

No.

Okay, so it's.

Called the Vision for you.

Thankfully I have it right here.

And so the book is called The Vision for You, how to Discover

the Life You Were Made for.

And I had a dear friend who works for Endow, and I'm sure

you've heard of Endow before.

Yes.

Another Women's Apostolate and she recommended this book to me and

David Clayton is a convert to the Catholic faith and he told his.

Story about really, um, turning from atheism to Catholicism, all

under a mentorship that took place with the man that he respected

and spent a lot of time with.

And this man didn't really bring God in into the conversation

for a long, long time.

But one thing he challenged David to do was pray the Serenity prayer.

And so I started praying the Serenity Prayer, and I'm sure we've all heard it.

We've had friends who've gone through AA or different 12 step programs where the

Serenity Prayer is, is a crux of that.

And for me, a lifelong Catholic, I turned more towards the rosary.

Right?

Um, novenas, those types of things in times of transition, despair,

uh, when I really needed the Lord.

Well, this time it was the serenity prayer that really helped me.

And so, um, just very simply, right, asking the Lord to give you the courage

to change the things that you can.

And the wisdom to know the difference from the things that you cannot

change and to accept those things.

And so sharing about praying the Serenity Prayer daily, and what also was very

important was I prayed it on my knees.

I knelt down physically and that also was something I

hadn't done in a very long time.

Okay.

Was the posture of being smaller than God, right.

That he is the Divine authority.

He is the author of all things, and it was an incredible.

Experience and I really believe that that is what helped me to be open to

this career change that I have undergone.

So I no longer work for the church.

Uh, um, I actually work in the political realm and I was hired by

three local delegates in the Maryland General Assembly, and I serve as

their communications director.

So a complete 180.

Yes, from working solely for the Catholic Church and one of my

delegates is Catholic himself.

The other two are Christians.

And um, it has been really exciting for me to take all that I have

learned from my church career into the public square, and especially

right now in, uh, the United States.

But really particularly in Maryland, uh, they call Maryland the next California.

Okay.

So in Maryland we are facing a lot of topics and issues that are, um, very

antithetical to our Catholic faith.

And so I am.

Taking the um, Joan of Ark Warrior mentality fantastic into my day-to-day

job, and what's really wonderful is that I might not have been open to

this if it weren't for going through this true examination of what I

felt the Lord had given me in terms of my gifts, but also what he was

asking of me to do with my gifts.

And for so long I really only believed that I could serve him.

Best served him perfectly by working in the church.

Yeah.

And now I know, and I'm open to the fact that that's not

the case, uh, for everyone.

And that we are called to be light to the world and to do that

in some of the darkest places.

Amen.

And so, um, yes, that's my new role is working in the State

House in, uh, in Maryland.

Such an interesting jump.

And I would actually say not just in the United States, but I think all

of these issues are unfolding around the world and we definitely are

experiencing that here in Australia.

Um, things that are being, legislation being pushed through without people

realizing, and I mean just here in right, my hometown, the government

has changed the legislation so that they can publicly acquire.

Our private Catholic hospital and they pushed that through and that's happening

in seven days with no consultation with the archbishop of the church.

And Wow.

It's unbelievable.

There's just unprecedented sort of attacks on Christian faith and, and

being Catholic where really living in a time in history now, which, uh, it's,

it's quite amazing to just stand back and say, wow, look at what's unfolded.

Yes.

I truly believe if we have been born in this moment, it's cause like obviously

God intends for us to be in this moment.

Yes.

So he will grace us to these moments and I really believe that all of us as women

have a role to play in standing up and, and I feel that there's a move of the Holy

Spirit at the moment just calling on women to arise in their sphere of influence,

to be exactly what you said, that that witness to light and to be light in love.

In this culture, in these very, very dark times that we're living through.

Well, one of my very favorite heroines is Esther.

Yes, love Esther.

Ever since I was a little girl, I have just looked up to her and I.

Really adore that the Lord, um, gave us this story where Esther

used her feminine beauty mm-hmm.

To move mountains, right.

She used, uh, something that can seem very secular, very physical right.

Um, to, uh, really do God's work.

And to save her people.

And that has always been an inspiration to me.

But I, I think especially now in this time where it feels like you are literally

pushing against these heavy doors that it would be impossible to do without grace.

Right.

And how can a weak woman.

Right.

Push through this, um, this force that is against us.

And, uh, she is a role model for me.

And I always think about, you know, for such a time as this, that, um,

you've been designated for this.

And I really do believe that this change and this transition in my life was for

such a time as this, there was a really, really important, um, fight that we.

Underwent in Annapolis, which is the capital of Maryland over school

curriculum in, in the state where, uh, you know, there's curriculum that is in

public schools that is mandated that, such as ELA and math, and you have to

pass certain, uh, understandings and levels to move on to the next grade.

Well, There are other curriculums that are not assessed such

as, um, financial literacy.

It's more like an addendum.

It's more like an extracurricular.

Well, another one of those is the health curriculum.

That has always been an addendum, right?

It's not the, the meat of what you learn in school, reading,

writing, and arithmetic.

Well, that was about to change in Maryland, so a law was trying to be

passed this year where the health curriculum, which I'm sure you can

assume, teaches a lot of things that are opposed to our Catholic faith.

Absolutely.

The Maryland legislature was trying to mandate the framework

and not just mandated to put it on the same level as ELA and math.

But they were adding a financial penalty of removing funding if every single

county, every single local district didn't teach it in its entirety.

Wow.

So it was removing all local, in input, local control.

It was removing the rights of parents to have a voice.

In the curriculum and that's, that was the intention because there has

been, and especially mothers have been leading this cause there's been

a big revival going on in the United States where parents are becoming more

involved in their children's education.

It's not just, I send them off on the bus and I'm happy with what's being done.

Really, um, the time in the pandemic when children were learning at home

and parents were overhearing what were their children were being taught?

Oh, not all different subject areas.

Yeah, and all different subject areas, right.

They were realizing, oh wow, I need to be more involved.

I need to attend school board meetings.

I need to talk with my children's teachers more.

And so there has been a huge shift in America.

And, uh, unfortunately a lot of, um, uh, states and legislatures have been

trying to suppress the rights of parents.

Yes.

So my point being, it was no accident that I was in this job when this happened.

And so my delegates and other delegates and senators fought against

this and fought hard and praise God.

The bill didn't pass.

I mean, it was one where, Typically the major, the majority wins, right?

But in this case, because so many parents came out and spoke against

the bill, they, they were witnesses that came out to testify in good

conscience, even the majority of the power couldn't pass the bill.

And so it was a very exciting moment and, um, knowing that children were protected

and their innocence was protected, and that ultimately, Parents were given the

authority to teach their children these sensitive topics at their own discretion.

Yeah, absolutely.

And, and you know, my background, Jonathan, and our core business

is in this area of relat, right?

Education, sexuality, formation.

And so we have a company called Choices Media in Australia, and where leading

providers are values, faith based.

Sexuality, relationships, education from kindy up to grade 12, and it's

been really interesting to watch things unfold here over the last few years,

and I a hundred percent agree with you that during Covid, parents got a

front row seat to what was actually being taught or not taught, as I say.

And.

To be honest, there's a lot of people who weren't very happy

with what they were seeing.

And, and we as parents certainly were not happy.

Um, but then just the, the push to online learning, the push

to expand the curriculum beyond what should be taught really in

schools to all these other areas.

And then the introduction of certain things, which are in.

Complete, they're completely contradictory to our Catholic

faith and what we want, right?

And how we want our kids to be formed.

And the one thing that I did see during Covid is obviously parents were

shut outside of the school because of restriction, but then that also meant

they were sort of removed and their rights were removed a little bit further from.

Being the primary educators of their children, right.

Area of formation.

And, and when we have three children, they're in three different schools here,

we actually homeschool now our oldest.

That's been the greatest thing ever for her.

Um, but just sometimes I just feel like you're constantly putting

out fires with schools, with the things that have been done or said.

I mean, it's just unbelievable.

I had one school say that we weren't allowed to put filtering software on our

child's device, and we weren't allowed to have our child's password to her computer.

She's in primary school.

So I think what happens to me when I'm in those meetings is this, this

mama bear instinct comes out Yes.

I'm like, Uhuh, I'm sorry.

This is my child, not your child.

And, and what I love to do in this episode is to really reawaken in women, this

mama bear instinct, whether you have your own biological children or not.

We need women to start to stand up and to get hungry and to fight these battles

because, It's a beautiful saying that all we need for evil to flourish is

for good men and women to do nothing.

And I do believe right, that there is a culture of silence that's,

that's emerged and people are too scared to have a voice because

they're scared of getting canceled.

But if we don't stand up and if we don't fight, then evil wins

and, and our children especially are becoming the targets of this.

And I think this is something that I'd love to sort of explore a little bit with

you now, but before we jump into that, Can you unpack for us, I guess you and I

both have such a passion for the feminine genius and the value and dignity of women.

I guess we have to understand we can't give what we don't possess and,

and we can't be called upon to make a difference if we don't know what

our gifts are and the ways in which we're called to actually stand up and

fight some of these culture battles.

So can you help us unpack, I guess, a little bit about this receptivity of

womanhood, the role that women actually play and, and where that comes from?

Hmm.

I'd love to, I was praying about this and, uh, reviewing again, the four aspects of

the feminine genius that Pope John Paul ii, Saint Pope John Paul II reflected on.

And, uh, maternity is the aspect that truly, I think every woman, um,

very naturally is inclined towards.

There's that mama bear instinct like you shared.

But, uh, in my own life, I think the other three aspects of the

feminine genius are things that I've had to grow in over my lifetime.

The sensitivity, the receptivity, and the generosity.

And because, um, of course, uh, we all are, Prone to be selfish, right.

And not generous.

Um, and I think our society, uh, tries to toughen up women so that we aren't

sensitive and we don't use that beautiful gift that God has given us naturally.

And then, The same with receptivity.

We don't receive the other person.

We become siloed.

That that has been a very negative, um, aftermath of the radical feminist

movement, is that we are in opposition to men rather than receiving the gifts

that they can give us and then in turn, give our own gifts equally, right?

That is what the true feminist movement should be, and we are.

Seeing the fallout of that, uh, very, very keenly here in

America where women's sports are no, no longer protected anymore.

Mm-hmm.

And I'm very happy that just, um, this past week, A swimmer from Penn State

University, uh, had the courage to speak up to share about how difficult

it was for her to swim against a biological man, uh, who was on her team.

And it's gonna take women like that sweet young girl.

I mean, watching her video, sharing her story, she's so young.

I.

Don't think I'm kinda young, but then I look at her, I think she's so young.

She is so brave that she is speaking out and she's doing that for all the other

women in the world who need a voice like hers that can pierce through the darkness.

And so, um, I, I really think we all need to remember that our femininity

is a gift and that it is something to be used for the betterment of others.

And when we do that, We become more satisfied.

Yeah.

And, and that is something that I know I have grown into in my, um,

maturing of my own femininity and my womanhood and, um, knowing that.

Really becoming in tune to who God designed me to be.

Uh, not only makes me happier, but I'm, I'm actually more successful.

You know, even, even in a secular idea of success when you

are who you were meant to be.

You flourish.

Yes.

You thrive.

It's attractive.

That's the world file people.

Yes.

It's attractive to other people.

Mm-hmm.

So, um, I wanted to read a quote, Karen from Archbishop Fulton Sheen, and he had a

lot of great homilies, um, and, uh, talk.

Talks about the genius of women and one of them that I recommend

to everyone to look up on YouTube.

You just type in ful machine women who do not fail.

That's.

Oh, it's fantastic.

You know, it's one of his black and white television episodes and he's of his char.

Yes, yes.

But he writes on a chalkboard in the background.

It's so adorable.

So great.

And, uh, he, he depicts the story of the resurrection, the greatest moment in

human history when God conquered death.

Right.

And who were the ones.

That came to the empty tomb.

First it was women, right?

Mm-hmm.

And that's what he re remarks upon, is they were the women

who did not fail, right?

Yeah.

They answered the biggest test of all, and they, they answered it correctly.

They went.

To look for the resurrected Lord.

And of course, we know that Jesus first revealed his resurrection

to Mary Magdalene, and so I highly recommend you watch that video.

But the quote that I've always loved from Fulton Sheen, he said, to a great

extent, the level of any civilization is the level of its womanhood.

Wow.

And I've prayed on that quote many times, and I know just in my own family as the

mother and nurturer and protector of my own children and guardian of my, my

husband, all these things, it's up to me.

You know, the, a lot of that.

Um, is the level of my womanhood right?

Am I fully embracing my feminine genius?

Am I living who God has called me to be?

Because that will lead my family to also do that, that will lead others

around me in my parish and my community.

And it's, uh, a great call to action when Fulton Sheen.

Says that, that my individual choices of being the woman God

called me to be impacts civilization.

Yeah.

It impacts so much more than just me.

Amen.

So true.

And as you just said that, I just wrote that down just so I wouldn't forget.

But the other line that I am reminded of as you speak is Mia Astem.

That opening paragraph that jump two begins ma astem with is the

hour is coming in fact that it has come when the power of women is

being acknowledged in its fullness.

This is the power never to have achieved before, but he makes the

point that it is women who are filled with the spirit of the gospel

will do so much to aid humanity.

In not falling.

And, and I think there is a call like on us at the moment,

I really sense this in prayer.

I, I sense in my conversations with people that there is a mandate on us as women

to start to step up and to step out.

But we can't do that unless we understand our gifts, the gifts that

God has given to us, and also being filled with that spirit of the gospel.

Mm-hmm.

Because there's no point running into just battles endlessly for the sake of

it, you know, or power to the women.

Unless we're bringing a different spirit to that situation, because we don't just

wanna have the battle, we wanna transform.

That situation and, and that the transformation happens

through the grace of God.

And that happens when we have opened ourselves to be full of his

grace, to be bearers of his image.

I think it's so important to remember that and that, so the invitation for women,

I think listening is really to cultivate that soil in their own soul where Jesus

can just abide and when he's present, so that then you take him into every

interaction and everything that you do.

Mm, that's so true.

And I, I have been thinking more about my spiritual motherhood as well.

Mm-hmm.

And, uh, not just my physical motherhood of my three children, but

my spiritual motherhood of so many.

And I, uh, want to honor all of the men and women that God has entrusted to me.

Right?

That's, that's the gift of our femininity, is we notice the other, right?

We feel the pain that others are feeling.

We notice.

When they are, uh, left out, we notice when they're struggling,

and that has been something too.

In this time of transition in my life where I truly have, uh, a more

flexible schedule, I am more available.

I am not just more available to my three children and my husband.

I am more available to the community at large.

And this is a acute and a silly example, but I'm volunteering next

week at Vacation Bible School.

Good on you.

I haven't done that.

Its right.

But I, I just really, uh, felt no one asked me to.

I just, Felt convicted thinking, why aren't I doing this?

I have the time.

I'm dropping my children off to go.

I should be supporting the event and uh, I'm really looking forward to it.

I'm looking forward to being a witness.

To hundreds of other children in my parish, and hopefully they're

mothers and fathers as well.

And I just have been trying to ask the Lord to make those, um, moments

more noticeable to me, right?

That I listened to those promptings of the Holy Spirit of this is someone or

something that has been entrusted to you.

I want you to do something about it.

Do something, Rachel.

Yes.

And I want.

Respond with the yes.

You know, receive that call, be receptive to it and do something.

Yes.

When we look at Mary's, yes and I, I think that's the invitation there is to

say yes to those inspirations and spirit.

But to do that we have to have cultivated this life of prayer and, and

being attuned to the presence of God in our everyday life and situations.

Oh, yes, it's true.

I, I also have been, um, I, I, my whole life I have been love the blessed mother.

I love praying the rosary, I love reflecting on her life.

And I, I see Mary, I.

As pretty spunky.

I, um, I don't envision the blessed mother as the quiet woman in the corner.

I have always envisioned the blessed mother as a great leader

and as one who led the disciples and led, uh, Jesus's followers.

And the story of the wedding at Cana is one of my very favorites.

Because she told Jesus what to do.

Yeah.

She was an assertive woman.

She told God what to do.

And, um, that it helps embolden me.

It helps, um, uh, guide me in my spirituality, in my relationship with

the Lord of being, um, open to the assertiveness that God has given me.

And I think that is something that women.

Also can and should be able to, um, ask the Lord to give them

more fire, more courage, right?

Yes.

More, um, ability to speak the truth when the time is needed.

And that's exactly what Mary did.

You know, Jesus said, this isn't my time, and Oh yes it is.

You know, and she was so confident in that instruction.

And that's something that I, I really, I.

Love reflecting on the blessed mother and those times of her, um, confident

assuredness of what to do next.

Mm, absolutely.

I a hundred percent agree and, and my devotion there, that Marian

devotion has grown in my life and so many graces from that have come.

You pick up on something earlier, just about Jesus revealing the

resurrection was revealed to women.

But throughout the gospels and throughout his entire ministry, and John or two

makes this point in his work on womanhood, is that Jesus actually chose women.

It was deeply intentional that he chose women to reveal certain spiritual truths

too, because they had these resonance of heart, this receptivity of spirit.

To the things of God, not that men don't, but there's a unique way in

which women receive those truths and those revelations from Christ.

And I think I'd like to take that into this conversation now, and I guess

looking at where we're at as a culture and what women can practically do, because

my experience in Australia is that.

If you speak up or if you stick your head out, you're silenced or you're boxed.

And I think the time has come where it's time to end trying to

be politically correct and trying to end dancing around these things.

We actually need women to start standing up into speaking out.

I know there's some amazing mothers who, they've noticed things in schools

and they've been banging on the door.

Um, Our education offices relentlessly sometimes to no avail sometimes to be

put down, which is disgraceful because our educators actually put to steward

the education in Catholic schools.

But I think women and mothers particularly play a crucial role.

And so I'm interested, Rachel, just your, your thoughts on how women can

be more involved, how they can actually do something because the reality is,

I know a lot of women who are trying to write letters to schools or to

education boards or to politicians, and they're like, well, what's the point?

Nothing's ever gonna change.

And it's tiresome.

It's exhausting.

It takes a lot of time to craft these letters and only

to be met with resistance.

But that's not a sign of that we shouldn't do this.

Have, have you got some thoughts practically about what women can do?

Because I think the time is coming, in fact, I think it's right now

where women need to find their voice.

Where they need to start standing up against some of these forces

that are at playing culture.

And they're not going away.

They're not going to settle down because we don't say anything.

They're accelerating an unprecedented rate and we need to to be protective

of our kids and, and culture.

Yes.

So how can women practically, I guess, do certain things around this area?

Well, Karen, this certainly hits close to home because it's exactly

what my husband and I had gone through in the past, um, four months.

So we were the ones knocking on the doors and writing the letters.

We had our own unfortunate situation at our.

Catholic parochial school with our children, where an aftermath of

the pandemic was a digital library that was downloaded on all of the

students', um, devices in the school with no filters, no supervision, no

um, really no understanding or, or foresight by the leaders to realize

that a secular product would have.

Titles that are antithetical to our faith and would expose innocent children

to topics and issues that we do not want them to have that exposure at

such a young age, but also not without the consultation of their parents

or the knowledge of their parents.

So what I would wanna say to all of these mothers is that your voice matters.

And you may not get, um, gratification instantly, but it will come.

And there are many parents who reached out to me after, um, we

spoke out and all that took place.

There were some local media outlets, um, in the United States.

States that covered the story and parents who were so grateful that someone spoke

up because they had no idea that this product existed and they had no idea

that their children had access to it.

And so, while unfortunately, um, Our daughter was a victim to the negligence of

the school to have this at her fingertips.

Thankfully, our work has stopped it from being accessible to other children.

And there are other diocese and other schools across the country

that are investigating this.

And hopefully the same will happen there.

Well, they will just eliminate the product.

Mm-hmm.

Um, there were.

Parents who reached out to us, um, in our own community saying,

thank you for standing strong.

Thank you for, um, holding tight, sticking your feet in the mud.

Uh, because we could have given in, you know, we could have just

said, oh, well, it was an accident.

Um, all right.

Well, But no, we knew that this had been going on for years, unfortunately, and

it really was my mama bear conscience.

Mm-hmm.

That, that woman's intuition that when my daughter, we were sitting

at the dinner table, she said, I was reading on Epic today, and then it, I

almost felt like I was going to vomit.

That's how I felt when I just sat there and I realized that my eight

year old was on a library device, that I had no idea what it was.

I had no idea what was on it and what's going on in our culture right now.

Of course, I knew what was on it.

Of course I did.

And so that very night, I, I said, Tony, we have to investigate this.

We have to know what what it is, and sure enough, it's what my dreaded.

Conscience, that moment where my gut just felt ill and I was right.

And um, so I just wanna share with other mothers that to know, know yourself, know

your family, know your children, and do something when you're kicked into high

gear and you might not get, um, support.

Quickly.

Mm-hmm.

You might not get the response that you want, but being that

brave voice is important.

And there are other people that just don't have as much courage as you do, but

they need you to be the one to say it.

They need you to be the one to step up.

And that's what a lot of parents did say to me.

They said, um, you know, we, we couldn't have done this, but, and we

needed you to be the one to do it.

Amen.

Amen.

It's so true because I think everyone is, Feeling certain

things, but they need a, A warrior.

They need someone to give them the permission as well,

and then to empower them.

The other thing I'd say is that to parents is just find out what

is being taught in the classroom.

Don't be afraid to ask.

I mean, right.

I.

In the work that Jonathan and I do, we know of many schools in here in

Australia that flat out refuse to release the book lists to families.

And so that is a great big red flag.

And, and that's just completely unacceptable.

Um, to ask questions, um, ask about what's happening.

Like one of our children, I mean, I deliver puberty education.

So I go from Genius project, talking to women, to talking to people about puberty.

My daughter said to me, Dena, she goes, oh my gosh, mom, can't

you get a less embarrassing job?

It's, um, but I mean this is sort of our bread and butter.

Really genius project is my ministry, right?

But.

When I'm my daughter, so my child was going through puberty education in primary

school and I started to ask questions and the school was completely closed.

They, I said, could we have a look?

No, we won't show parents.

And I found out through her portal, it's a government resource, which

has a number of things that I'm not okay with, but it's also the way

in which human sexuality is taught.

It's frivolous and it's lighthearted and it's made fun

of, and it's a joke and it's.

There's just this irreverence to the changes that girls are going through

with boys in the class and the way that it's spoken about, and I have

a really big problem with that.

And so I sort of went to war with this school, just sort of mm-hmm.

Kept pushing and, and someone said, why do you bother?

I said, well, because it's actually not okay.

Like they're meant to be writing to parents to say, this is coming

up, this is what, when I challenged them on that, they said, oh no,

we don't have to let parents know.

Actually You do.

Yes, they do.

Mm-hmm.

And it's really important, and I thought you're picking on, you know,

you've met the wrong family here because this is our grandfather.

We're the experts in this area.

But I, I just, people need to know, parents need to know that they

have a right to ask questions.

They have a right to withdraw the children.

Yes.

They have a right to see what is being taught, um, and not to be afraid and to

hold schools and educators accountable.

Um, I think there's this move to withdraw and to really fracture

that relationship and, and to destabilize the role of the family.

Destabilize the role of parents as first educators with their children, and I think

there's a passion in me that's growing.

It's always been there and, and we do this in our work, but to really start to

encourage women to step up, to stand out.

And, and to start to, I guess, make a difference in this area because Amen.

We'll continue if we stay silent.

I agree, and it's the very simple task of asking the question that's that's

not an aggressive move, and that is what is disappointing, is that suddenly

the walls go up when the parents start asking questions, and another red

flag right there, just like you said.

That's a red flag.

You suddenly know that you're not a partner in your child's education anymore.

Uh, you're being treated like an enemy.

And that is what happened to us.

We asked for access to the book list.

We were told they couldn't find the password, um, which we knew was untrue.

I had evidence, I had screenshots.

I knew that that was not true.

And um, and so our trust was completely broken.

It wasn't.

Just the, um, Catholic understanding of children being entrusted to

their parents, and we are the primary educators of our children.

It was, we, we've got some legal issues going on here that suddenly

we are not being shown what our children had access to in the school.

And it, it, the amazing thing about the.

Specific product that we had a problem with is that it seems pretty intentional

how it was designed to weed out parents.

So this app is available for free to schools, but not to parents.

Parents would have to pay a fee to subscribe to the app,

but if you have a school email account, you can get it for free.

But also, even if the school does share access to the parents, it's

only open between school hours, which is from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM

and suddenly access is, is shut off.

Access is not available on the weekends.

And you think we are now in a society, at least in America,

where pretty much every family has to have a dual income to survive.

And so most parents are working.

During the school day, they are not able to sit and research this app and

see what their children have access to and see what they are reading.

And so for multiple reasons, uh, parents need to be asking questions and even.

Questions you'd never think you would need to ask, you would never think that.

You have to dig that deep to realize what's being, um,

what's happening in, in schools.

And we not only, um, uh, Need to know this, uh, for our own sake to make sure

that we're protecting our children to be good parents, but we have to do this

for the sake of other families as well.

Absolutely.

That's where that spiritual, maternity, and spiritual paternity kicks in.

This is important for.

All children, and it's important for the next generation so that we are

laying the foundation, that there is an open line of communication that's truly

what should be happening in schools.

I mean, we all know that we, we feel so good when the school nurse

calls us to tell us that, uh, you know, Johnny scraped his knee.

You feel so good about that, right?

Like, oh, oh, such a minor thing, right?

But they are looking out for my child, and that should be the case

in any element of what's happening during the care of your child.

Is that absolutely there should be that open line of communication.

Yeah, so look, Rachel bringing it back, like that's what's happening in schools.

But I also think in some places we've abdicated or some parents have abdicated

the role in the home to tech as well.

And so we we're talking about protecting our kids in the school, but also we

need to be a little bit more vigilant about what's happening in the home.

We need to be really good stewards over.

The influences, the forces, um, that our kids are accessing through

recreation or whatever it is.

Social media technology has fundamentally shifted the landscape for parents when

it comes to parenting children, right?

And so I think we just need to be vigilant on that front as well, um,

and really being very intentional about forming our children.

And I think.

The more that time that you have with your kids, the more that you

can have these conversations and just weave them into different moments.

Um, it's just so important.

And creating an atmosphere and a culture between you and your child where you

can say nothing is too embarrassing.

Nothing is off limits, even if you've done the wrong thing.

Like, we, we wanna know about it.

And it's, it's creating this open conversation and culture as well at home.

What are some of the things that you do with your kids?

So I.

Your home, but also to cultivate those conversations.

Hmm.

Yeah.

I'm so glad you bring that up because I do think that is the hardest

struggle of parenting in 2023.

Absolutely.

And I'm sure that you go to a restaurant and you're shocked to see that.

It's not just teenagers on their cell phones, which I think is

how I felt five to 10 years ago.

Now it's toddlers that are sitting with a iPad, um, at the dinner

table at a restaurant, and you can't even get through a meal.

Without being a slave to a device.

And, uh, that is a constant struggle in my husband and my decision

making of how to balance our day.

And right now it's summer break here in America.

So that is what so many families are facing right now is how do

we get through our summer day without having the TV on Yeah.

All day or having them watch YouTube videos, et cetera.

So I, um, I've recently been, uh, just inspired by the stories and the lives

of the saints, and you think about how abandoned they were to the Lord, right?

And, uh, he reigned first.

In their hearts.

And I've just been, um, feeling called to ask for the intercession of blessed

Pierre Giorgio ti, who is, uh, an amazing patron for the youth and young people.

And, uh, one that I think every parent should ask for his intercession.

But I wanted to bring him up because I came to Australia in 2008.

For World Youth Day, I was leading a pilgrimage and I actually saw

his body at World Youth Day.

They physically, uh, brought him in a casket, uh, to be venerated

at that incredible event.

And I remember, uh, going to this prayer service at the Cathedral where,

First you sat and all of the pilgrims listened to some speakers reading

some of his letters to his loved ones, which was a very moving experience.

You know, a young man, he died at age 24, who had given his entire

life to the Lord serving the poor.

But L, he lived his life fully.

You know, his, uh, motto was Verso Alto to the heights.

So he was a rock climber, he was a hiker.

He, um, smoked cigars.

You know, he was a, a manly man, right?

He did it all and very engaged, um, in his, in, in life and all the good

things that the Lord has for us.

And so I'm sitting there in the cathedral hearing these

beautiful letters and, uh, just.

You know, his life came alive when you hear these things and then you could walk

up and kneel down and venerate his body.

And I have a picture of when I was there that moment, and I actually, I

have kept this on my desk ever since then, since 2008, because I was so

moved by the very simple wooden.

Casket, right.

Nothing fancy, nothing gaudy, but especially behind it, there's a mosaic

where Jesus is conquering death.

It's, it's the moment of the second coming when, um, uh, you know, the dead.

Rise again, right?

The tombs are broken and you, you see in this mosaic, Christ is stomping a grave.

He's breaking the chains of death.

And I remember being so moved by that moment, kneeling before this saint's

body, the blesseds body, and looking at this image and just knowing that there's.

There's an eternal life.

There is more than this life.

There is more than these earthly pleasures, right?

That's the goal.

That is the moment when our body and our soul will reunite in H

in heaven, and I gotta make it.

I have to live my life to make it.

And so I was single.

I was a young adult at the time when I had that beautiful experience.

And now as a mother and parenting three children in the modern age, uh, I have

to, uh, continue to tell my children about these incredible people's lives,

the lives of the saints, because it helps us move outside of ourselves, our own.

Little village.

Yeah.

Our own day-to-day life where it's the simple choice of what

do I watch on Netflix tonight?

Right?

When you hear these stories of the Saints, it's so inspiring for you

to step outside of yourself and hopefully live your life for Christ.

And so that's something that, just a simple thing I'd

love to share with parents.

There's a great podcast, so.

Called Catholic Sprouts.

Okay.

And it is a beautiful, it's very short, five to 10 minutes a day that

tells a story of a saint for children.

Mm-hmm.

And I really recommend it.

So I think that's a healthy use of technology.

Yes, yes.

And we don't wanna be go too far the other way, obviously.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, Exactly.

Uh, we, we just got an Alexa, um, this past Christmas, and so really all we

use Alexa for is listening to podcasts.

Um, and then every once in a while, a couple fun songs.

So we'll dance around the kitchen.

Uh, and I, that has been very helpful for our children to listen

to that podcast and be inspired.

Fantastic.

By the lives of the Saints Catholic sprout.

Is that what it mm-hmm.

Okay, we'll put that in the notes as well.

Oh gosh, Rachel, it's amazing, isn't it?

Like just sometimes we can get so busy in the everyday and forget just

what we're actually called to steward.

I find that in my life, you know, as a mom, I have a 16, 14, 12 year

old child and they're reaching those teen years where I feel like I

actually need to be far more present now than when they were little.

Um, that life is busy and it's.

Right.

And so how can we as women, as mothers, get that balance so that we're

really honoring our vocation and, and stewarding the lives of our children?

Well, hmm.

Well, so you have to know what makes your family tick.

You know, for us, we love to play games together, and that

is a very bonding experience.

It's also how in my husband and I, in our dating relationship, we

would go to trivia once a week.

That was, It was so much fun, you know?

Yeah.

Built the, the competition aspect in us, and we got to know each other really well.

We, uh, especially with the trivia game, right?

You're learning about different topics.

You find out who that person is, what they're interested in, and

so that is something that has been really healthy for our family.

We not only have games on a bookshelf.

By our kitchen table.

I have an entire closet filled with games.

Yeah.

And uh, and it's something that we've chosen to share with other families too.

So, um, especially in the winter months, uh, when there's not much to do outside,

we invite families over for game nights and it can be chaotic and a, a little

discombobulated, but it has been.

I, I think a very, um, healthy and just wholesome, um, evening for families

because, uh, I, I have noticed parenting young children, a lot of times when

families get together in homes, the parents will say, all right, the kids

are watching a movie in that room.

So we as the adults can talk in this room, and that can be great every once

in a while, but, I, I have found bringing the families together, parents and the

kids all doing an activity together are the most fun nights that we have.

Yeah, lovely.

They really are.

And you'll see a beautiful interaction of the men and women and a beautiful.

Way for the kids to look up and see healthy, um, relationships, healthy

understandings of one another, and it's something that I, I certainly recommend.

Another thing that we do is a family Olympics.

So that is something that once a year that a group of friends,

we come together and we host.

Family style Olympics and the kids are involved.

You know, the, there's a fun one, a fun game like where you're passing

water buckets down and who can pour the water over their head and catch

water behind them and make a real race.

And those are the greatest memories that our kids have.

They constantly talk about those events that we have together.

And you know what?

Those things are free.

Right.

They don't cost any money, my God, at the moment.

Yeah.

You don't have to fill your life with trips to Disney World.

You don't have to fill your life with, uh, the glamorous.

Things that social media does make mothers feel that they

have to do for their children.

Certainly, we are all living in a comparison age where we think that there's

a certain way for kids to have a great childhood and that that's not the case.

You want to be able to be present to your kids and those are the things

that have worked for us or playing games and having in community as

well, not just our individual family.

Yeah.

Fantastic.

Well, Rachel, thank you so much for joining us on the Genius Podcast.

You're just such a kindred spirit and I've loved our friendship

over the last four years and look forward to hopefully getting back

over to the United States soon.

I hope so too.

And I wanna just say a blessing to all the women in this community too.

Continue to, um, have the Lord inspire you in your feminine genius because

it is a gift and it's something that the world needs right now.

Amen.

Well, ladies, I hope and pray that that conversation was a real blessing

to you and that it ignited within you, I guess, some thinking around

the areas in which you are called to speak up and to take a stand against

some of the cultural forces that are at play in our life, in our culture,

and in the lives of your children.

Never forget that you are the.

Primary educator of your child, and you are the best possible person

to lead your child through their critical years of development.

If you would like to be supported with some resources and some information on

how you can navigate this, please send me an email, Karen, karen@geniusproject.co.

Or if you're interested in resources to help you speak to your children about

these critical topics of development.

You can visit our website, www.choices.com au and choices is spelled C H O I C E Z.

We have some incredible resources for schools and for parents to

really equip you and to help you teach the topics that matter most.

Until next week, have a beautiful week and God bless you to.