Earlier this month, many of us in the online community grieved the death of one of our own — a vibrant woman who quite literally graced us with the gift of her presence and love. Her death has given Lent a particular acuity for me this season as I reflect on the meaning of the Triduum, the sacred journey from death to new life.

GSR Today - Late last week, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that the atrocities being carried out by ISIS in Iraq and Syria are genocide. The news made headlines around the world, but for Dominican Sisters, the statement was particularly welcome because of close ties going back decades.

Society of the Sacred Heart Sr. Carlota Duarte, a professor trained at the Rhode Island School of Design, has taught hundreds of indigenous Mayan photographers to document their lives through photographs that have made their way from a once-remote region of Mexico to galleries in New York City and around the world.

"Every spring is the only spring – a perpetual astonishment."

"Never saw hide and seek with daisies in the snow. The joyful play reminds me to notice and take time to play."

I was recently approved to profess my first vows as a Dominican Sister of Sinsinawa. The act of public commitment to God in the context of community is both ineffable and concrete: It's sign and symbol and lived reality all wrapped up in one. That's a lot to take in! As I prepare, I again turn to a familiar subject for insight: running and prayer.

The nearly 150 people crowded into the common room listened in awe as Adrian Dominican Prioress Attracta Kelly described how the order grew from six sisters who started a hospital in 1884 to a community with 300 sisters at the motherhouse and chapters around the world.

After fleeing their home countries because of war, people from Iraq and Syria find refuge but no legal status as they shelter in Lebanese refugee camps and substandard housing situations. Only about a third find regular apartments; work is scarce, and a network of service providers see pressure points growing increasingly strained.

It was a privileged experience to be with the people in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, at the Mass celebrated by Pope Francis on February 17 during this Jubilee Year of Mercy. It changed Ciudad Juárez and its people.

"We believe that our efforts to raise consciousness and expend our energy for the cause of justice and equal rights for all people are responsibilities incumbent on us as members of the human family and followers of Christ."