I am reliving a past that slaves died to overcome, a bitter reality that brought pain into the lives of my parents and their parents. This horrific and malicious illness of racism still holds this country captive.

Updated - President Donald Trump may believe the statements he made in the wake of racial violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, were "very nice," but many communities of women religious had their own words to say.

As soon as St. Therese of the Child Jesus Sisters moved onto the church grounds in a rural region outside of Beijing, abandoned babies with severe disabilities started showing up on the doorstep. The sisters' care for them today encompasses three centers for children and young adults that offer therapy, education, and a chance to tell their stories.

"What profit have we from all the toil which we toil at under the sun? One generation departs and another generation comes, but the world forever stays. The sun rises and the sun sets; then it presses on to the place where it rises. Shifting south, then north, back and forth shifts the wind, constantly shifting its course."

I attended a roller derby. I was expecting a brawl-type atmosphere, which was erroneous. Today's roller derby skaters do block and push and pull to accomplish each "jam," but it's done with integrity, good sportsmanship, and skill.

The day after the violence in Charlottesville, I was scheduled to speak at a Latino Christian church. That Saturday, as I heard about a car plowing into counterprotesters, I realized that the next day, I, a white woman, would be preaching to a room of people of color.    

With a little help from her friends, the body of Sister of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Helen Maher Garvey departed her motherhouse for the last time Aug. 17 at 2:46 in the afternoon.

"I was talking with her shortly after her arrival and naively asked, 'Sister, how are you enjoying retirement?' She responded, 'Oh, honey, around here, you never retire. As long as there's spit on your tongue, they'll run stamps across it.'"

"It's all connected to safety and the viability of the neighborhood. These are the issues that make you comfortable wherever you're staying. ... The housing piece wouldn't work without the safety piece and the education piece. All these things affect everything."

From A Nun's Life podcasts - Almost-Sister Jane joins Sister Maxine as they ponder what they'd ask an extraterrestrial about religion, and what popes and a Vatican astronomer have had to say about life on other planets.