"As we move from contemplative prayer to reflecting on the realities facing us we will be invited to engage with others out of a deep empathy. We will cast a circle of protection which embodies the values of love, hope, equality, inclusivity, justice, sustainability, peace and right relationships."

"We live a simple life in poverty and in harmony with people," says Sr. Mary Nguyen Thi Nguyet, vice superior of the Carmelites of Sacred Heart congregation. "We try to develop close relationships with neighbors, do all kinds of manual work for a living like others, and bear witness to the good news. Many people call us farmer nuns and treat us like their relatives and friends."

Two years ago, the women of the Ngando women's peacemaking group, an empowerment project in a slum of Nairobi, used to sit on a blanket and make their beaded handicrafts under the shade of a tree in the church courtyard. But with the arrival of a new store in a converted container, proudly advertising their wares along the busy Ngong Road, the group has blossomed. The peacemaking circle has doubled in size and implemented a thriving "table banking" system, providing temporary loans to up to five women per week.

Admit it! We have all done it, haven't we? Stuffed our old clothes in a bag, or maybe, first washed and folded them neatly, and then given them away. Sometimes, the clothes just do not fit anymore. Or, we need more room in our drawers for newer clothes and are just too tired of folding that sweater we have not worn in forever. At other times, we call it cleaning out our closets. I have heard of some who give away an old item every time they buy something new.

"If you want to see the brave, look for those who can forgive. If you want to see the heroic, look at those who can love in return for hatred."

Notes from the Field - If it had been just me, I would have rolled over and been asleep again in minutes. But three other people had also set alarms and would be downstairs in 10 minutes, ready to go. If they could do it, so could I.

"Being a Christian is never about fairness in the worldly sense of the world. It's not about security or suspicion or selfishness. It's about loving one another. These are people's lives that we're talking about. If we are comprehensively pro-life, we should care."

Sr. Anselm Minj was one of four Missionaries of Charity sisters killed by militants last March in Yemen. Sister Anselm's relatives and neighbors recalled her life of dedication. They now view her as a martyr who will protect them from local aggressors.

The draw to religious life is more than community, says Sr. Jessica Kerber, director of the retreat center of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: "It's finding that at that deepest level of self, there is this desire to give fully to God one's own being. . . . It's a commitment to God and God's project, the project of salvation."

In the wake of the elections, I feel the need to be grounded ever more deeply in contemplation so I can move forward in new ways into the space that holds the tensions, contradictions and challenges that are before us as families, as congregations, as a nation, as Christians, as Earth community.