As much as I lament the ways we have become polarized in the U.S., I myself participate in the creation of "information silos." But I recently took an opportunity to experience the vibrations at the other end of the spectrum.

"Everything counts. Everything we do matters. Every gesture of mercy, every compassionate act, every word of truth all contribute to the fund of goodness needed in the world."

School Sister of Notre Dame Rose Rita Huelsmann recently retired after 13 years as the coordinator of volunteers at the sister-run Criminal Justice Ministry, which provides services to currently and formerly incarcerated people in St. Louis.

Over her 36 years of prison ministry, the St. Joseph sister's work has chipped away at U.S. support for the death penalty, fellow activists say: "They don't get argued into thinking differently, they get storied into thinking differently." Sr. Helen Prejean said she never set out to be an activist, especially one advocating on behalf of death row inmates. She spent her early years as a sister working in the suburbs as a middle school teacher, director of religious education at a New Orleans parish and a director of her order's novices.

In this public morass, is there a contribution to be made by Dominican sisters who claim that their grounding principle is veritas (truth)? We might take a lesson from our Dominican brother Thomas Aquinas and his ideas on the discipline of study.

Notes from the Field - Welcoming the stranger, building connections, celebrating differences and discovering commonalities — these are the gifts which, having been blessed with in Chile, I hope to offer all whom I encounter in the future.

"Prophets are called to be faithful, not successful, and so are those who preach truth today."

Three friends walked 335 miles in 25 days to experience the spirit of the journey of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, who arrived in America in 1818 to establish schools with the Society of the Sacred Heart.

GSR Today: On my visits over the years to Myanmar, I have seen the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions grow past political challenges and become more involved in development projects for women: Farming, training of young women in computer skills, tailoring and other income generation skills.