Sr. Elaine MacInnes, member of Our Lady's Missionaries, drew on her sensitivity as a musician to learn from Zen masters in Japan and become a master herself, later working with convicts in prison in the Philippines.

GSR Today: In all the national debate over health care and the federal budget, it seems the one thing that is missing most is context.

India's tribal church is upbeat after the Vatican approved the process to canonize Mother Mary Bernadette Prasad Kispotta, the founder of the Daughters of St. Anne, Ranchi, a nun from the community, last summer. The first tribal saint is "a sign of positive change in the Catholic Church in India," says Cardinal Telesphore Placidus Toppo.

I think the call to follow Jesus is as relevant, radical and demanding today as it ever was. But have women's religious communities become irrelevant, as some might think, especially in terms of formation?

"In spite of the reality of systemic evil which we inherit, which has already biased us before we can choose, we have not lost our ability to choose good rather than evil, and hence our capacity for responsibility."

The railroad runs more than 550 miles through 27 communities in the Brazilian Amazon. It runs so close to people's homes that the houses have cracked, and some people have hearing loss.

The trains carry minerals out of the rainforest to the coast. But the tracks separate families from their schools, health centers and fields and, sometimes, the trains stop on the tracks.

See for Yourself - "Please look at the computer screen in front of you. The green boxes are available seats, so go ahead and select where you'd like to sit," the movie ticket receptionist explained. "Select a seat?" I said in horror.

Sr. Catherine Hughes, a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur for 69 years and a former superior general for her congregation, died March 22 in Liverpool, England, after a brief illness. She was 94.

One cold day in January, I woke up and realized I was in a new relationship. As it happens, so are you. No matter who we voted for in the November presidential election or what our personal opinions are about the health and integrity of our electoral process, we have a new man in our lives: Donald J. Trump, the person sworn in as president of these United States on Jan. 20, 2017. 

"Vatican II was a tremendous blessing. We were freed from the legislation of centuries, that a sister, no matter how old she was, was still treated as a little girl. The priests almost patted us on the head. Vatican II brought out the fact that we are adults and able to think on our own and act on our own."