Who in their lives has not attended a school play? You know the scene. Metal chairs scraping the floor in the school gym. Students in the audience trying their best to behave, but unable to resist poking a neighbor or two. Proud parents anxiously awaiting their child's theatrical debut, hoping he or she will remember the lines and not be too nervous. Then, of course, there are the student actors, waiting behind the curtain with butterflies in their stomachs in anticipation of the big moment.

Three Stats and a Map - As the lens of the world continues to focus in on climate and environmental issues, thanks to awareness-raising events like the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Paris last year, sisters in Latin America are become acutely aware of one of the most pressing environmental issues for their region: mining.

Six years ago, the Franciscan Handmaids of the Most Pure Heart of Mary were set to dissolve. The historically black congregation based in Harlem in New York City had a mean age of 81 and no new vocations. But then, in 2010, they had what the community's congregation minister, Sr. Gertrude Lilly Ihenacho, calls a "wake-up call."

"One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world."

See for Yourself - In the 1972 hit movie "What's Up, Doc?" Judy Maxwell (Barbra Streisand) is talking with Howard Bannister (Ryan O'Neal) and says, "I know I'm different, but from now on I'm going to try and be the same." "The same as what?" asks Howard. "The same as people who aren't different."

Beh Paw Gaw and her family spent 10 years in a Thai refugee camp after escaping war in Burma. They left a home with plenty of space to grow mangos, coconuts, bananas and papayas for a household where the nearest neighbor was only one step away. The U.S. government resettled Gaw, her husband, Ta Mla, and their seven children in Kansas City in 2007. Ta Mla found work at a factory in St. Joseph, Missouri. Beh Paw needed a flexible job she could work while raising young children that could help pay the rent when her husband's work was unstable.

From NCR Today - Starting March 3, Sr. Rose Pacatte, NCR’s own film critic, will be hosting a program on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) featuring 27 films that were influenced by the Catholic Legion of Decency.

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump convincingly won the Nevada caucuses last night but he is still struggling in what might be called "the Pope Francis primary."

It is 6:30 a.m., January 21, and I am standing in the dark beside a Swiss Guard, a heavy grey cape covering his colorful uniform. "There," I say, pointing to my name on his list. I show him my passport. Following his directions, we walk over black shiny cobblestones around a towering side wall of St. Peter's looking for the entrance to the chapel where Pope Francis offers his daily, private Mass.

GSR Today - This was my first trip to the Highlands of Vietnam, a beautiful, lush forest area of the country where Lovers of the Holy Cross of Qui Nhon serve many villages. One of their most unique ministries I discovered was dental missions.