Restorative justice aims to restore the relationship between offenders and the victims of crime, often in a one-on-one setting. This practice can help heal both parties and the community. A number of programs in Northern California have found success in using this practice to counteract the U.S. justice system's focus on punishment.

What does it mean to live the Gospel? If I'm called to live the Gospel, how do I do it? Women, like the recently canonized Teresa of Calcutta, are shining beacons of this Gospel-centered life for me. While in the process of searching for inspiration and courage to lead a humble life in service of the Gospel, I found inspiration in the history of my own community.

"I am the kind of person who easily gets defeated by life's problems. But when I started working, I saw that other people have bigger problems than me but they don't give up. From them I get the strength to face my problems."

Catholic sisters are demanding the Vietnamese government address their petitions according to legal procedure regarding what they say is an illegal use of their land.

The Feast of St. Francis is a good time to remember that the words we choose to describe life on our planet matter.

"A stone portal reminds us of where we have been, passing through will take us to new places. Do we have the courage to move on?"

Nearly two years ago at the beginning of the Year of Consecrated Life Pope Francis called religious to wake up; "wake up the world" to the beat of this time. That is exactly what Jesus did. He was an awakened person and spent his life waking up the people to a fresh experience of the Holy One. For me one of the major beats of this time is awakening to the New Consciousness, to the sacredness and oneness of all life. Our Only Home is the dwelling place of the Holy One.

This discalced Carmelite monastery was founded in Buea, Cameroon, in 1994 by eight nuns from Mexico and follows the reform of Teresa of Avila of 1562. Sister Rosemary of the Trinity, one of the newest Cameroonian sisters, was allowed to do a written interview with me.

GSR Today - There are times when the world — humanitarian disasters, wars, presidential politics — can make you just want to curl up with a warm dog and forget about everything else for a while. That's how I've felt lately.