See for Yourself - "This year I'm not going to be so stressed out over the holidays," my friend Carol said. "In the past I always went crazy cleaning the house, decorating for Christmas, baking cookies, making appetizers and dips, writing cards, and falling exhausted into bed every night in December. No more! I'm not doing that!"

"If it is true what they told me as a child — if we are the world — then we are screaming in our sleep. From coast to coast, continent to continent — the nightmare ends when humanity wakes up." #PrayForAleppo

The answer is a resounding yes. Aside from the usual suspects — laity and nuns — bishops are exercising prophetic leadership in opposing the massive deportation of refugees.

Sr. Francoise Bosteels makes and exhibits dolls. She says dolls can tell stories and spread messages of hope and values. "Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs or those with no faith say the dolls spring in their heart compassion and make them aware of their sinfulness," Bostells said. 

From A Nun's Life podcasts - Who might be a good patron saint for extreme sports? In this Random Nun Clip, an extreme sports enthusiast asks if there are saints who took on high risk situations for something they loved. 

The Victory Noll sisters recently sold their Indiana campus to a nursing home company. Sr. Janice Bader, superior of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood in O'Fallon, Missouri, and the former director of the National Religious Retirement Office, said communities of women religious partnering with nursing homes has become common: As congregations age and numbers drop, many have worked to find ways to provide care for their elderly sisters either at the convent or another facility.

"O God of our longings, we long to see your face."

The St. Louis Catholic Worker community took an unflinching look at its own practices and made anti-racist changes to existing community structures.

Notes from the Field - I never feel like I'm quite doing enough and that my weekly presence in Kathy's life cannot possibly make that much of a difference. But one week, she opened up more than she had previously and told me that she thanks God for putting the two of us together and helping her find a kindred spirit.