Celebration's Scripture for Life column – Everybody is getting ready for Christmas. Did you ever wonder what the preparations for the first Christmas looked like from the vantage point of eternity?

Horizons: At a glance, most observers might assume that I'm the only free person in the room. That as a visitor and minister, I'm able to enjoy liberty and live as I wish, in ways that align with the Gospel. But in the following days, the Spirit reminds me I'm not free.

GSR Today - It is very easy — and natural — at this time of year to focus on the "Peace on Earth, goodwill to men" part of the Christmas story. After all, it is the story of how the Savior brings those gifts and many more to all humankind. But it is also the story of fear: thousands of years of fear

Accra, Ghana - Two recent convenings, in Ghana and in Uganda, provided an opportunity for women religious to meet with each other and members of nongovernmental organizations and educational institutions about forming new partnerships.

On Dec. 21, the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas celebrate the 175th anniversary of their first arrival to the United States. And though the foundress of the Sisters of Mercy died two years before the congregation arrived stateside, the sisters constantly invoke Mother Catherine McAuley's legacy in everything they do. 

Since finishing my service as president of my order, my phone is (almost) mute. My email tray is almost empty. But the Lord sends hundreds of messages every day. God's call is insistent: "Console my people, console them."

Notes from the Field - When a sister dies at Casa Madre Mazzarello, the community comes together not just to mourn but to celebrate the sister's life, the nearness of Jesus and Mary in the moment of death, and the reunion of the soul with the heavenly Father.

Catholic sisters, church leaders and United Nations officials are hailing a U.N.-sponsored global compact on migration that provides a framework for more humane treatment of migrants, though also expressing disappointment that many countries did not approve the agreement or attend the international conference that led to its adoption.

Medical Mission Sr. Lilly Chunkapura is founder-director of Treatment Rehabilitation and Education of Drug Abuse, an addiction and counseling center in southern India. The center has helped thousands of addicts rehabilitate and improve their lives. Chunkapura spoke with GSR about the center and its work.