"A forest of ferns stand as witness like miniature Christmas trees. How does your life stand as witness to Jesus Christ?"

January begins with the feast of Mary, Mother of God. Often in my prayer at this time of the year I am drawn to a quote from the Dominican mystic, Meister Eckhart: "We are all meant to be mothers of God . . . for God is always needing to be born." But during this stage of my inter-mission with cancer, God has turned the image inside out for me.

GSR Today - Will 2016 be the year that peace finally comes to South Sudan? Despite a peace accord in place since August, other recent events make that seem doubtful. And yet there are still reasons to hope.

Bangladesh is a country often lauded by outsiders for its progressive policies towards women — at least on paper.

The country's 1972 constitution enshrines gender equality, and subsequent laws, such as a 2010 domestic violence prevention and protection act, are also on the books.

One touted point of pride is that women serve both as prime minister (Sheikh Hasina) and the leading opposition leader in the Bangladeshi parliament (Rowshan Ershad).

Holy Cross Sr. Maldeva Wolff established the first graduate theology school for women at Saint Mary's College while she was president there in 1943. In 1985, to honor Wolff, to spread her spirit, and to provide a forum for women's concerns, Saint Mary's initiated the Madeleva Lecture Series, an annual event that draws a prominent woman theologian to the campus to speak. In April 2000 the first 15 lecturers assembled at Saint Mary's and over three days drew up a 300-word manifesto, a "Charter for Women of Faith in the New Millennium."

“These are our sisters in whom we are well-pleased. May their efforts raise us all up to serve a new world with new and holy hearts.”

From a Nun's Life podcasts - How does your New Year's resolution rate on the spiritual-o-meter? In this Random Nun Clip, we discuss our New Year's resolutions and how Chloe the Convent Cat keeps keeps them accountable.

"Often we hear talk of diminishment  — but that is only the surface; underneath, we have begun to talk about identity. We have dared to share our deepest spiritual desires with all who share our ministry. We have listened to new insights from those new to the story. We envision ancient values in new contexts and we experience justice and love across all epochs."

Sr. Dora Nuetzi joined the Maryknoll Sisters in 1954. She taught in New York City and Hawaii until 1985, when she moved to the Marshall Islands and taught religious education for over 20 years. Nuetzi currently lives at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Ossining, New York, where she is working on a book detailing the history of the Maryknoll Sisters' work in the Marshall Islands. Brett Davis met with Nuetzi at the Maryknoll Sisters Center to talk to her about her experiences in the Marshall Islands for Brett's oral history book project about Catholic women religious.