From A Nun's Life podcasts - How can sports like open-water swimming be a form of prayer? For one, there are no distractions.

St. Joseph Sr. Stella Auricchio, 84, is Sr. Camille D'Arienzo's cousin who spent many years as high school campus minister. She now volunteers in St. Francis Xavier Elementary School and offers communion services for parishioners.

The lesson here concerns the power of true dialog, which has the potential for transforming each of the partners as they come to deeper and deeper understandings of the other. Women of the church ought, then, seek and accept opportunities for dialog related to important ecclesial issues.

Sr. Cini George has only one mission — to incense the world with positive energy. The 38-year-old sister is a member of the Congregation of Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit. George was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at age 27. Later it dawned on her that cosmic energy can transform and retransform all that is in it. This realization convinced her about the need to spread positive energy throughout the world. Confined to bed since April 2013, the ever-smiling nun is working on three books, including two novels.

For those who pay attention to the United Nations, this year is shaping up to be something of a milestone, with the last half of the year in particular taking pride of place for global significance. Three major conferences — on financing for development, sustainable development goals and climate change — take place this year, and with their leadership of committees, subcommittees, forums and working groups, Catholic sisters have carved out a well-respected niche in the U.N. system.

"The way you will move into the future must be influenced by those rich gifts which you still have to offer — and must for the good of the world."

Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Sí, accents both the challenges and responsibilities we have to safeguard God’s creation. While there are many passages worthy of reflection and discussion I will concentrate on the connection he makes between climate change and poverty. A quotation in the encyclical from the Bolivian Bishops Conference resonated deeply within me: “Both everyday experience and scientific research show that the gravest effects of all attacks on the environment are suffered by the poorest.”

In the penultimate address at this year’s Leadership Conference of Women Religious national assembly, former LCWR executive director St. Joseph Sr. Janet Mock made some of her most pointed public remarks on the Vatican’s now-concluded LCWR doctrinal assessment and mandate. The Houston assembly marked the first time the general membership had met since the Vatican’s controversial oversight of the group ended in April, and LCWR leaders had only been speaking to select media outlets in the interim, wanting to save further discussion until everyone had a chance to reflect together.

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious membership on Friday morning voted to adopt a resolution that commits member congregations to addressing systemic causes of injustice. While the resolution itself is broad, the focus of the resolution presentation, unquestionably, was immigration and the detention of women and children seeking asylum.

Sr. Janet Mock said it is not she, but those around her who deserve accolades. “I have no illusions — everything I learned about leadership, I learned from you and your predecessors,” she told the Leadership Conference of Women Religious’ annual assembly after accepting the group’s Outstanding Leadership Award at their banquet Friday evening. LCWR officials said Mock not only provided extraordinary leadership as their executive director, but did it “through one of the conference’s most profound and transformative challenges — the doctrinal assessment of LCWR by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and its subsequent mandate.”