Today we’re featuring Erica Segovia, our Benedicta Institute for Women Outreach Coordinator. We hope you enjoy learning more about Erica from her answers to the questions below.
1 How long have you been on the Women of Grace team and how did you begin?
“I have been with Living His Life Abundantly / Women of Grace for 20 years. I was recruited by Johnnette after we had worked in ministry together for 5 years prior.”
2 What do you love best about Women of Grace’s apostolate?
“You may ask, ‘Why is a man working in an apostolate for women?’ My answer is best summed up by the late Archbishop Fulton J Sheen when he said, ‘To a great extent, the level of any civilization is the level of its womanhood. When a man loves a woman, he has to become worthy of her. The higher her virtue, the more noble her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness, the more a man has to aspire to be worthy of her. The history of civilization could actually be written in terms of the level of its women.’
I have experienced the truth of this statement in my own life, in my marriage, with the women I work with, and with the thousands of women, I have met through this apostolate. Each of them trying to respond to Christ’s call to holiness, and to give their own ‘Fiat’ or ‘yes’ to God. By doing so, these women seek to not only become virtuous and valiant
3 What is your favorite devotion?
“The Rosary is my favorite devotion. Specifically, the Warrior’s Rosary.“
4 Who is your favorite saint?
“St. Jose Sanchez del Rio has become one of my favorite saints.”
5 If you could have lunch with Jesus today, what would you want to talk about?
“I would like to know more about what Jesus was doing before He created.”
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace®
1 How long have you been on the Women of Grace team and how did you begin?
“I’ve been working with Women of Grace for about a year and a half. I started a business helping Catholic businesses and apostolates with their marketing efforts and Women of Grace was at the top of my list of dream apostolates to work with! I reached out to them and they’ve made me feel so welcomed.”
2 What do you love best about Women of Grace’s apostolate?
“I love that they don’t shy away from tough topics or water down the faith. Johnnette and the team live what they preach and they give everything to live for Christ. From an early age, I’ve loved that I could go to Women of Grace with my questions and get answers and resources I can trust. At our events, I’ve also seen firsthand how women are touched by Women of Grace in learning to live authentic femininity and aim high to become saints.“
3 What is your favorite devotion?
“My favorite devotion is praying something similar to the Liturgy of the Hours with the Magnificat publication. I also especially love adoration.“
4 Who is your favorite saint?
“My favorites saint sisters are St. Joan of Arc, St. Zélie Martin, St. Gianna Beretta Molla, St. Thérèse, St. Margaret Clithrow, and St. Elizabeth of the Visitation.”
5 If you could have lunch with Jesus today, what would you want to talk about?
“I’d want to talk about suffering and why God physically heals in some situations and not in others. And just to know if He’s proud of me!”
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace®
1 How long have you been on the Women of Grace team and how did you begin?
“I have been a part of Living His Life Abundantly since 1998. I started as a volunteer making outbound donation calls and very shortly thereafter joined the development team. I have been traveling with Johnnette for about 15 years to speaking engagements, retreats, and conferences being the on-site coordinator and handling sales and all that entails.”
2 What do you love best about Women of Grace’s apostolate?
“What I love best about Women of Grace is being able to interact with women of all ages to help them understand their true calling as Women of Grace and daughters of God. Meeting women at events brings a greater fulfillment to what I have been called to do. When you can reach just one person and see the light shine in their eyes it is so rewarding and a confirmation of where I am supposed to be. And to be part of this sacred sisterhood is a blessing!“
3 What is your favorite devotion?
“The Anima Christi is my favorite prayer and of course the Rosary and Mass“
4 Who is your favorite saint?
“I have many go-to saints – St. Padre Pio, St. Theresa, St. Joseph, and of course St. Anthony who is always helping me find what is lost.”
5 If you could have lunch with Jesus today, what would you want to talk about?
“I would probably be tongue-tied at first and in awe! But asking Him where I have gone astray and how I can get on the right path and closer to Him and His mother.”
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace®
1 How long have you been on the Women of Grace team and how did you begin?
“I started facilitating a Women of Grace Foundational Study in 2008 at my parish in Lake Placid, NY. I moved to Florida in 2013 and became a Regional Coordinator..”
2 What do you love best about Women of Grace’s apostolate?
“What I love best about this Apostolate is seeing the transformation of each woman as they come to know who they are as God’s Beloved Daughter. Being able to share in their journey of faith and walk with the Lord.“
3 What is your favorite devotion?
“The Rosary.“
4 Who is your favorite saint?
“St. Joseph, St. Barbara, St. Barbara of Korea, St. Barbara of China, St. Louis Marie, St. Jacinta, St. Francesco, St. Teresa, St. Therese, St. Maximillian Kolbe, St. Juan Diego, St. Bernadette, St. John Vianney, I could go on and on!”
5 If you could have lunch with Jesus today, what would you want to talk about?
“I would ask Him to tell me all that He tried to tell me that I missed hearing while here.”
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace®
1 How long have you been on the Women of Grace team and how did you begin?
“I became a part of Women of Grace when I attended my first retreat in Malvern in 2008. I purchased my Women of Grace Foundational Study kit and became a facilitator that year. In 2013, I was a part of a committee that invited Johnnette to our diocese to introduce the Foundational study in Spanish. It was during that weekend that Johnnette asked me to become a regional coordinator for PA.”
2 What do you love best about Women of Grace’s apostolate?
“Women of Grace is a blessing for all women and for the Catholic Church. It shows all women how to open their lives and hearts to God by giving them the tools we need to walk this journey of faith He has laid before each of us.“
3 What is your favorite devotion?
“I love praying the Liturgy of the Hours each day. It makes me feel closer to the Holy Family by praying the Psalms as they did throughout their day.“
4 Who is your favorite saint?
“Saint Joan of Arc. She is my role model in life. I go to her for strength, courage, and a deepening of my faith as I walk my mission path given to me by God, as He did for Saint Joan.”
5 If you could have lunch with Jesus today, what would you want to talk about?
“Jesus, the state of the world must break Your Heart. What can I do to help the children of God to become more faith-filled and to put their trust in You?”
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace®
1 How long have you been on the Women of Grace team and how did you begin?
“I have been on the Women of Grace team even before the inception of Women of Grace, since 2004! It was an exciting time for Living His Life Abundantly, as this new outreach, Women of Grace began and our mission to women formed! Johnnette (my Mom) offered me a job after the position opened up because a long-time trusted employee was making a career change. I’m sure Mom was just throwing it out there to see if her 23-year-old daughter had any level of interest, but for me, it was a wake-up call that I really needed to put my education to work and get my life started, so I accepted the position.”
2 What do you love best about Women of Grace’s apostolate?
“The transformation! To see how this apostolate touches lives is so rewarding. To hear the stories our how the study or television program helped someone come to know God better and/or change their lives altogether is amazing! in addition, to know that we are working for the Big Guy is extremely rewarding-it is His work and we simply try to do right by Him.“
3 Who is your favorite saint?
“Saint Michael the Arc Angel and Our Blessed Mother are my go to’s. I find St. Perpetua very intriguing! St. Charbel prays for super miracles! St. Michael the Archangel is our protector! Padre Pio, need I say more? St. Therese of Lisieux has worked in my own life more than once!”
4 If you could have lunch with Jesus today, what would you want to talk about?
“If I could have lunch with Jesus today, I would want to know how I can better myself. Where are the areas I am too blind to see in myself where healing needs to take place? I would ask Him to show me, so I could be healed and more closely live the will of The Father!”
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace®
1 How long have you been on the Women of Grace team and how did you begin?
“In 2006, an information flyer was put up in my home parish, Holy Name of Jesus Parish, on the Foundational Study, and I thought ‘this is for ME!!’ I have been a Regional Coordinator for the last ten years.”
2 What do you love best about Women of Grace’s apostolate?
“After completion of the life-changing Women of Grace Foundational Study, women can choose from a variety of spiritual and social growth paths to become a sacred daughter of the Most High God. Further studies adapted from additional books by Johnnette, Webinars, Conferences, along with the Benedicta Leadership Study Formation are a few of the opportunities for spiritual growth. Socially, a safe, secure network of Sacred Sisters has been formed during your Women of Grace Foundational Study; in addition, ‘Mornings of Grace’ either in person or online, along with opportunities for interaction during various events held by Women of Grace. A ‘Daughter of the Most High God’ can choose the best path for her spiritual growth and development with the Women of Grace Apostolate.”
3 What is your favorite devotion?
“The Rosary! For those women new to this lovely devotion, why not try to start praying the rosary with your Women of Grace Prayer Group? We also offer a weekly Rosary Crusade on our website at 4:00 p.m. every Wednesday afternoon.“
4 Who is your favorite saint?
“Father Damien of Molokai- he made those that were so physically altered, feel loved!”
5 If you could have lunch with Jesus today, what would you want to talk about?
“Jesus, what ways do you see that I may grow in holiness that I am missing? What would you like me to focus more on, and at the same time, spend less time on?”
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace®
1 How long have you been on the Women of Grace team and how did you begin?
Isabelle Liberatore is the Director of Development at Women of Grace. She left her career in Information Technology Consulting to enter the non-profit sector, joining the Living His Life Abundantly / Women of Grace team for the first time in 1998, and returning in 2010. She has worn a number of hats including grant-writing, marketing, management, social media, and now fundraising and development. She loves meeting donors and sacred sisters around the world and has been enriched by the many friendships she has made through her work in our mission to “transform the world one woman at a time.”
Isabelle lives with her husband James in Tampa, Florida. They are both cancer survivors and they continually give glory to God for His healing grace. She is also a budding oil painter and enjoys creating works inspired by nature, the saints, and the beauty of the Catholic faith. If you’d like to learn more about her journey, check out this video.
2 What do you love best about Women of Grace’s apostolate?
“I love working for Jesus and His kingdom, meeting sacred sisters and donors in person at our events, and transforming the world for Christ with our amazing team of staff members, regional coordinators, donors, and facilitators. Johnnette has been my spiritual mother throughout my reversion back to the faith and I’ve been blessed to know and work with her all these years.”
3 What is your favorite devotion?
“I love the Holy Rosary and am grateful that we added our outreach of praying the weekly Women of Grace Rosary Crusade with prayer warriors from around the world. Our Lady said that the Rosary could stop wars from happening and I believe her!”
4 Who is your favorite saint?
“I have been a devotee of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. I can relate to her being a spoiled child in her early years and desiring to become a great saint, despite her seeming ‘littleness.'”
5 If you could have lunch with Jesus today, what would you want to talk about?
“A few things I would like to discuss with Jesus are:
a. Why does discernment have to be so hard. Not everyone has access to a spiritual director.
b. How can we better embrace the crosses that are entrusted to us, overcome the fear of suffering, and be more surrendered to accept them in union with His redemptive plan?
c. What was it like to be reunited with God the Father and St. Joseph in heaven when He ascended?”
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace®
