Profiles of Endurance

Profiles of Endurance: Gina Donovan

When we go through a traumatic loss, we depend on faith more than ever. But sometimes, our
faith seems to vanish when we need it most. Gina Donovan had this lonely experience after
suddenly losing the love of her life, when, during the darkest days of loss, she couldn't feel God's
presence anymore.

Many people who have had this experience never tell anyone about it. Listen as she bravely
opens up with her pastor about what it felt like to be without her husband and without God, and
how she is finding her footing on the path once again.

Gina was not alone in feeling this way. For more information on this experience,
what St. John of the Cross famously termed as "The Dark Night of the Soul,"
start here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Night_of_the_Soul

Profiles of Endurance - Caroline Lewis

24-year-old Caroline Lewis faced a huge challenge when she was accepted into the Peace Corps and assigned to Ukraine, a country with a language and culture entirely different from her own.  But that challenge now pales in comparison to what happened to her when COVID-19 arrived in her adopted country. Listen as this wise young woman shares with her pastor what it means to accept life on life's terms.

Profiles of Endurance: Marie DeFrancesco

On the day before the first day of her senior year of high school, while enjoying one last day of summer with a good friend, Coxsackie, N.Y. resident and St. Mary's parishioner Alison DeFrancesco was in a catastrophic car accident that put her in a coma for two years. When she awoke, she found herself permanently unable to move or speak. That was 31 years ago.

 

Her mother, Marie, and niece Genevieve talk candidly with Fr. Scott about how the family endured such a trauma and how they have had the stamina to take care of Ali at home for all these years and about the love and courage she brings into their lives and into the world.

 

This intensely personal interview will change you. Listen and uncover fresh strength to endure the COVID-19 Pandemic and the many other challenges you find yourself facing. Please share this generous gift from the DeFrancesco family far and wide.

Profiles of Endurance: Hugh and Peggy Quigley

What does a business owner or manager do when the decisions they are being advised to carry out for the good of the organization would hurt some of the very people that have been working right along side of them as they built that organization into what it is today? That is exactly what today's guests were faced with, yet they found the courage to do something different for the sake of their neighbors.

 

This conversation with Hugh and Peggy Quigley is a reflection of how the events of September 11th, 2001 compelled them (along with their partners Michael and Sandra Grosso) to re-think their business operations overnight and to make decisions emboldened by their love of their community and their neighbors. Hearing how people of integrity and good conscious find their way through difficult times can inspire us all as we navigate the unforeseen challenges facing us personally and professionally in today's unprecedented time.

 

Profiles of Endurance: Mary Jane Persico

The loss of a child is something no parent should ever have to endure, yet so many do. This conversation about loss is the first in a series of episodes profiling the people who have been through some very challenging life experiences that have given them hard earned wisdom. They have opened themselves up in a vulnerable way in hopes of inspiring or comforting others enduring similar situations.

 

This conversation with Mary Jane Persico is a humble and honest reflection of a mother of 5 who has experienced the devastating loss of not one, but two children. She not only shares her story, but also imparts the wisdom that comes from living through seemingly unbearable situations, and does so in a kind, unassuming and loving way.