GSR Today - Big things happened in the world last week, and it seems like all the pope mania gave the U.S. a shot of optimism. I was happy for last week’s joyful reprieve, to see happy tweets about papal Fiats, pope dogs and tailgating nuns instead of the constant arguing and bickering. And I was happy to not feel compelled to blog this week about yet another racist or misogynistic thing happening in the world.

“Pick a flower on earth and you move the farthest star.”

The biography Joan Chittister: Her Journey from Certainty to Faith by Tom Roberts was released Oct. 1. It reveals the interior Joan Chittister, from childhood to her becoming the public figure whose brilliance produced a body of written work that will stand as a profound expression of spirituality and women's concerns in this era.

Marian devotion and the spirituality therefrom come down to us from the reflections and writings of the doctors of the early church and the theologians of the Middle Ages; the four-fold Gospel offers only a limited source that features Mary. Marian devotion has become a permanent feature of the Nigerian church. There is hardly a parish in the country without one Marian society or another. A Marian devotee can belong to one or more of sodalities such as the Legion of Mary, the Blue Army of our Lady of Fatima, the Mother of Perpetual Help and others.

"God’s grace is unruly. It comes to change us, to correct our orientation, to direct us beyond ourselves and our desires for importance or exclusive claims to the truth."

Getting an audience with the pope can be a once-in-a-lifetime event. Missionaries of Jesus Sr. Norma Pimentel was in Washington and New York as a special guest to the papal visit. She talks to GSR about being at the welcome ceremony Sept. 23; making the visit Sept. 25 to Our Lady Queen of Angels School in Harlem with Sr. Donna Markham; and of getting to speak directly to the pope Saturday morning Sept. 26 at the diplomatic residence of the Holy See. She says the experience gave her strong encouragement to continue work at Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, especially helping migrants.

Nuns on the Bus Blog - Sisters on the tour were struck by Pope Francis’ words, particularly his address to the U.S. Congress that came just as we completed an amazing trip through seven states and 13 cities with 33 stops. We went to talk with people, hear their stories, provide a space for conversations and learn how they are bridging divides.

GSR Today - The detention of assylees coming from Central America into the United States continues to be an issue, as the U.S. government is appealing last month's court decision ruling detention a violation.

Beatrice Bruteau was a brilliant woman, but only a few people know of her work. She was a contemplative scholar with a unique combination of intellectual gifts — philosophy, mathematics, natural sciences, psychology — and she brought these gifts to bear on her penetrating insights on evolution and human becoming, which she described in several seminal books.

See for Yourself - Our work team members leaned back in our chairs, held up the multi-page work product document, and air high-fived each other around the room. “We did it, everyone, despite some naysayers who were sure we wouldn’t or couldn’t. Congratulations. And thank you,” I said as the project leader.