Cycles and Sanctity Podcast | Trust Your Body, Grow In Holiness

Are you letting fear control your marriage, your decisions, or your experience with Natural Family Planning?
NFP abstinence is frustrating. Marriage requires sacrifice. And sometimes, doing the right thing feels impossibly hard.
But what if those very struggles are opportunities to become stronger?
In this episode of Cycles and Sanctity, Mama Jane and Mama Vicki explore the Catholic virtue of fortitude and how Natural Family Planning can help couples develop courage, perseverance, and deeper trust in God.
Mama Jane shares a vulnerable moment when her own marriage nearly fell apart, and together they discuss how fear, difficult conversations, and the temptation to take the easier path can affect intimacy, communication, and commitment in Catholic marriage.
Discover why fortitude isn't about being fearless—it's about choosing what is good, even when you're afraid.
You don't have to be strong enough on your own. God's grace gives you the courage to do hard things.
Listen now and ask yourself: What am I really afraid of, and what might God be inviting me to face with courage?
Virtues and Vices Resource
 

Are your sexual desires creating frustration in your Catholic marriage? Does practicing Natural Family Planning (NFP) sometimes feel like a battle between what you want and what you know is right?
What if the secret to greater intimacy in your marriage isn't satisfying every desire—but learning how to master them?
In this episode, Mama Jane and Mama Vicki explore the virtue of Temperance and how Natural Family Planning can strengthen your marriage, deepen intimacy, and transform the frustration of abstinence into an opportunity for greater love and connection.
Drawing from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1809), we discover why our natural desires for food, drink, and sexual intimacy aren't bad. God created them for good! The challenge is learning to direct those desires rather than allowing them to control us.
We'll discuss why abstinence can feel especially difficult during a woman's fertile phase, how communication and prayer help Catholic couples navigate NFP together, and why practicing self-mastery can actually bring greater freedom and joy to your sex life.
Because desire isn't the problem. Learning what to do with that desire changes everything.
Join us as we discover how Temperance helps Catholic couples move from frustration with abstinence to deeper trust, stronger communication, and a more connected marriage.
Grab Your Virtue Cheat Sheet Here
Listen, subscribe, and share this episode with a Catholic couple who needs encouragement on their NFP journey.
 

Episode #183: Natural Family Planning and Justice: Are Your Thoughts Hurting Your Marriage?
Is NFP abstinence creating resentment, frustration, or emotional distance in your Catholic marriage? What if the real struggle isn't Natural Family Planning itself, but the thoughts and attitudes you bring into your relationship?
In this episode of Cycles & Sanctity, Mama Jane and Mama Vicki explore the virtue of Justice and how it can transform the way Catholic couples approach Natural Family Planning, sexual intimacy, communication, and marriage.
Drawing from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1807), we discuss what it means to give God and your spouse what is due to them—and why practicing NFP isn't just about avoiding or achieving pregnancy. It's also an opportunity to grow in holiness, overcome resentment, and strengthen your marriage.
Discover how negative thought patterns can fuel NFP frustration, why habitual right thinking matters, and how St. Joseph's example can inspire greater love, fairness, and understanding between spouses.
In this episode, you'll discover:
How resentment during NFP abstinence can damage marital intimacy.
Why your thoughts influence your emotions, communication, and behavior toward your spouse.
How practicing Justice helps Catholic couples move from selfishness toward the common good of their marriage.
Why prayer, confession, and honest communication are essential for growing in virtue together.
Journal Reflection: Are my thoughts and actions toward my spouse promoting love and unity, or creating resentment and division?
Natural Family Planning can be more than a source of frustration. It can become an opportunity to deepen intimacy, strengthen your Catholic marriage, and grow together in holiness.
Ready to transform your thinking and strengthen your marriage? Connect with Mama Jane to learn how Catholic mindset coaching and Natural Family Planning instruction can help you move from frustration to greater peace, confidence, and connection.
Remember: God is faithful, and He will accomplish the good work He has begun in you. (1 Thessalonians 5:23–24)
 

Are your emotions making Natural Family Planning harder than it needs to be?
You and your spouse have prayerfully decided to practice Natural Family Planning (NFP), but what happens when abstinence feels frustrating, intimacy becomes complicated, or fear of pregnancy begins influencing your decisions?
For many Catholic couples, the greatest challenge of NFP isn't understanding fertility—it's managing the thoughts, emotions, and expectations that affect their marriage.
In this episode, Mama Jane and Mama Vicki explore the virtue of prudence and how it can transform NFP frustration into greater confidence, honest communication, and deeper marital intimacy.
Drawing from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1806), we discuss why prudence means more than knowing what's right. It's about making loving, intentional decisions together—even when your feelings are pulling you in another direction.
In this episode, you'll discover:
Why your feelings don't have to control your NFP decisions.
How fear, resentment, and assumptions can create intimacy struggles in Catholic marriage.
Why accurate fertility charting and understanding your body are essential to practicing NFP confidently.
How to navigate abstinence frustration without feeling rejected or disconnected from your spouse.
Three practical ways to practice prudence through your thoughts, fertility awareness, and marital communication.
Journal Question:
Where in my NFP practice am I letting my feelings, my fears, or my assumptions guide my decisions instead of prudence?
Natural Family Planning isn't just about avoiding or achieving pregnancy. It's an opportunity for Catholic couples to grow in virtue, strengthen their marriage, and discover a more connected sex life.
If you're struggling with NFP, fertility charting, abstinence, or marital communication, Mama Jane offers Billings Ovulation Method instruction and Catholic mindset coaching to help you move forward with clarity, peace, and confidence.
Remember: You don't have to practice NFP perfectly to grow in holiness.
Register for the Free Online Workshop on October 22nd Here

Why does Natural Family Planning sometimes feel so hard—and what if the struggle itself is forming you into the woman God is calling you to become?
Natural Family Planning is about more than tracking fertility, identifying fertile days, or deciding whether to achieve or avoid pregnancy. For Catholic couples, NFP can become a powerful opportunity to grow in virtue, strengthen communication in marriage, deepen trust in God, and ultimately grow in holiness.
In this episode of Cycles & Sanctity, Mama Jane and Mama Vicki begin a new series exploring Natural Family Planning through the lens of Catholic virtue. They get honest about the challenges of practicing NFP and ask a different question: instead of only asking, “Why is this so hard?” what if we asked, “Lord, who are You inviting me to become through this?”
You’ll discover how the everyday practice of NFP can create opportunities to grow in patience, self-control, courage, generosity, marital communication, discernment, and faithfulness. Mama Jane and Mama Vicki also introduce the four Cardinal Virtues—prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance—and how each one can transform the way Catholic couples approach fertility, intimacy, and marriage.
Because practicing NFP doesn’t automatically make us holy. But when we allow God to work through the decisions, sacrifices, struggles, and joys of Natural Family Planning, NFP can become more than something we do. It can become one of the ways God forms us.
NFP isn’t the goal. Becoming the saint God created you to be is.
Join Our Free Monthly Workshop Here

What happens when you step away from everyday life and encounter your Catholic faith with fresh eyes?
In this episode of Cycles & Sanctity, Mama Jane and Mama Vicki reflect on their journeys through France and Spain—from Mama Jane’s return to Our Lady of Lourdes nearly 40 years later to Mama Vicki experiencing the beauty of Catholic culture in Spain with her daughter.
Together, they explore trusting God, letting go of self-reliance, Confession, motherhood, sisterhood, and God’s mercy and second chances.
After you listen, take these questions to your journal:
Where am I right now in my journey with God—and where do I feel stuck?
What might God be inviting me toward, and what is keeping me from taking that next step?
Then join us on the Cycles & Sanctity Facebook Group page for our October Pop-Up Rosaries.
And if this episode encouraged you, subscribe, share it with another Catholic woman, and leave us a review.
I can help you get unstuck! Let's Chat
JOIN OUR FREE MONTHLY WORKSHOP

You love God. You pray. You receive the sacraments. So why are you still so triggered?
If you’re a Catholic woman who struggles with anger, anxiety, overwhelm, emotional triggers, or reacting in ways you later regret, you may wonder why your faith hasn’t made those reactions disappear. In this episode, Mama Jane talks with Catholic coach Andrew Lanchoney about what may actually be happening beneath our emotional reactions—the wounds, beliefs, memories, and interior “parts” that can influence how we respond.
Discover why your emotions aren’t the enemy, how to recognize what your triggers may be trying to tell you, and how greater emotional awareness can help you respond rather than react. Jane and Andrew also explore Catholic healing, renouncing false beliefs, bringing wounded places to Jesus, and allowing God to restore what has been hurting within us.
If you’ve ever thought, “Why do I keep reacting this way when I know better?” this conversation will help you look at your emotions with less shame and greater hope—and begin moving toward emotional freedom in Christ.
Meet Andrew
Meet Mama Jane

What do you do when you deeply love someone in the LGBTQ+ community—but you’re afraid that saying or doing the wrong thing could damage the relationship or compromise your Catholic faith?
In this powerful episode, Mama Jane sits down with Catholic coach Crystal to talk about the grief, fear, confusion, and isolation many Catholic parents and family members experience when someone they love identifies as LGBTQ+. Together, they explore what it means to love without trying to fix, control, or change another person—and how learning to truly listen can begin healing even the most difficult family relationships.
You’ll discover how to stay grounded in your Catholic faith, recognize what is and isn’t within your control, navigate your own emotional triggers, and create a sacred space where your loved one can feel seen, heard, and loved.
Meet Crystal
Register for Crystal’s FREE Listening with Love Workshop:Listen With Love Workshop
Mama Jane’s FREE Workshop — The Lies Women Believe About Themselves:Register Here
 

Have you ever caught yourself thinking, I’m not enough. I’m too much. I’m too emotional. I should be handling this better. Something must be wrong with me.
But what if those thoughts aren’t the truth about who you are?
In this episode, Mama Jane sits down with Catholic coach and spiritual director Kylie Hein to uncover where our negative beliefs about ourselves come from, why they become so deeply rooted, and how they can distort not only the way we see ourselves—but the way we see God.
Together, they explore Catholic mindset, self-worth, perfectionism, negative self-talk, emotional healing, identity in Christ, and how to recognize the thoughts and beliefs that are keeping you stuck. You’ll learn why you don’t have to believe every thought that enters your mind—and how bringing those beliefs into prayer can help you rediscover the truth of who God created you to be.
Ready to go deeper?
Join Mama Jane and Kylie for their FREE live workshop, The Lies Women Believe About Themselves: Break Free From the Beliefs That Have Shaped How You See Yourself and Rediscover the Truth of Who You Are in God’s Eyes.
Come discover practical coaching tools and prayer to help you identify the lies you’ve believed, bring them into the light, and begin seeing yourself through God’s eyes.
Register for the free workshop using the link below.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE WORKSHOP
Kylie's Website

Have you spent years caring for everyone else while quietly putting your own health at the bottom of the list?
As women, our bodies change through every decade—from fertility and motherhood to perimenopause, menopause, and beyond. But those changes don't mean our bodies are failing us. They are an invitation to understand what our bodies need in this season and to care for ourselves as whole women—body, mind, and soul.
In this episode of Cycles & Sanctity, Mama Jane and Mama Vicki welcome Pilates instructor and women's health advocate, Ann Geraci, for an honest conversation about women's health, healthy aging, menopause, emotional wellness, movement, nutrition, community, and finding purpose in every stage of life.
Ann shares a powerful moment when, sitting in her gynecologist's office, she looked at an anatomical image of the female body and was suddenly overwhelmed by “the sanctity of a woman's body”—recognizing the body as the vessel through which we do God's work.
You'll hear simple, practical ways to care for your health through the decades, including daily movement, whole foods, hydration, sleep, stress management, supportive relationships, and consistency. Ann reminds us that taking care of ourselves doesn't have to be complicated—and that our health matters because we cannot continue giving to everyone else when we have nothing left to give.
This conversation goes beyond physical health to explore Catholic womanhood, mental and emotional health, self-awareness, friendship, vocation, and God's purpose for your life. Because aging well isn't about trying to become the woman you used to be. It's about honoring the woman you are today and continuing to become the woman God created you to be.
Journal Question:What does my body need from me in this season of my life—and what is one simple way I can begin caring for it today?
Purchase the Red Tent Book Here
Ann Geraci's website: