Family, Faith, and Vocation with Fr. Thomas Esposito

This week Annie and Hailey welcome Fr. Thomas Esposito, a Cistercian monk at Our Lady of Dallas Abbey and longtime friend of Mighty Is Her Call, for a warm conversation about vocation, motherhood, and letting go. Fr. Thomas shares the story of how his parents met (a cigarette, a cup of water, and a nurse who wasn't having it) and reflects on growing up in a joy-filled Catholic home in Omaha, Nebraska, where his mother wove faith naturally into everyday life. He talks about the "annoying hunch" toward priesthood he felt from age twelve, discovering the University of Dallas through a Rome campus brochure, and finding his true calling with the Cistercians—a community he never knew existed until he arrived. The conversation turns to one of this season's central themes: how mothers help their children discern their vocations without deciding for them. Fr. Thomas offers a beautiful meditation on motherhood as a vocation defined by letting go. And on finding peace not in clinging to our children out of fear but in relinquishing them to the Lord's care. Hailey asks how families can normalize vocations and build real friendships with priests and religious—practical, heartfelt advice for parents hoping to raise kids who are comfortable and curious about the religious life. They also dig into Fr. Thomas's new novel, Blue Miles, a fictional look at monastic life set in Nebraska, and why he chose storytelling over memoir to explore themes of memory, loss, hope, and faith. Plus: how a monk with a full schedule of prayer, teaching, and community life found five years to actually write it. Fr. Thomas closes with a word of encouragement for weary moms, drawn from Psalm 27, learning to recognize the voice of love over the voice of fear. In this episode: The delightful story of Fr. Thomas's parents' meet-cute Growing up in a joyful, faith-centered home in Omaha His mother's role in his intellectual and spiritual formation Discovering UD and the Cistercian order What community life looks like inside the Abbey Motherhood as a vocation of letting go Grounding identity in Christ as children grow and leave How to help kids befriend and normalize priests and religious Behind the scenes of writing Blue Miles Time, freedom, and finding God in interruptions Encouragement for moms from Psalm 27 Mentioned in this episode: Blue Miles by Fr. Thomas Esposito University of Dallas Our Lady of Dallas Cistercian Abbey in Irving, TX Mighty Is Her Call Retreats