"The life of the spirit is not dissociated from the body or from nature or from worldly realities, but lived in and with them, in communion with all that surrounds us.”

GSR Today - I came back to work feeling pumped up about journalism and the world. Then the Internet happened. It’s crazy to me that even today — even among people who should know better — misogyny-tinged racism can be so easy.

GSR Today - For a moment, it appeared that peace may at last come to South Sudan. Meanwhile recovery in Nepal trudges slowly on.

Hundreds of Colombian families have turned to the center, Asociación Hogares Luz y Vida ("Homes of Light and Life"), to aid their children with special needs. As director of the home, Sr. Valeriana García-Martín has worked tirelessly for more than two decades to build an institution that provides needed care for some of Colombia's most vulnerable children. García-Martín, a 74-year-old native of Spain, compares the work to rebuilding a house — "rebuilding the church of the poor," she calls it. And her own role, she believes, is secondary to the example of Jesus' mercy at work in the world. But there is another person whose example she thanks: Pope Francis.

"I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears."

We, at Aashray Abhiyan (Campaign for Shelter Rights), have over the past decade taken this campaign for decent housing forward by using various processes. We adopt the methodology — educate, organize, agitate — among the homeless communities, which are close to 5,000 families. The numbers have swelled over the past five years.

When there’s a break in the clouds in northern Tanzania, clear skies reveal the most stunning panorama of mountains. The snow-peaked plateau of Mt. Kilimanjaro is in one direction, and the stark outlines of Mt. Meru is in the other. Tucked between the peaks and fortified with clear mountain air, the Holy Spirit Sisters built the Theological Pastoral Center of Rauya, a tranquil theology college, where Sr. Theresia Fidelis Tarimo challenges men and women religious to learn about morality, in order to answer challenging questions from the young generations.

"The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us.”

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Recently I’ve been playing around with this familiar quotation attributed to Gandhi. While there is apparently some dispute as to whether Gandhi actually said these words, they nevertheless hold a surplus of meaning for those seeking to effect systemic change and make peace in a world where oppression and violence abound. As a younger Catholic sister living religious life in the early 21st century, I have discovered a different surplus of meaning by substituting one word.

Notes from the Field - I distinctly remember the first time I referred to a place that was not the physical home of my childhood as my “home.” It was the end of winter break of my freshman year of college and I was talking to my mother about when she would be able to drive me back home.