There is much talk these days about the upcoming encyclical of Pope Francis on the environment. Scholarly conferences, workshops, articles, talk shows and interviews are focused on what the pontiff might say on the environment and the looming consequences of global climate change. It is an extremely important area to engage, since polar ice caps are melting, sea levels are rising and the biological niches of fisheries and natural flora are radically changing. Ecology has become such a hot topic in the public sphere, especially among political and religious circles, that we have not paused sufficiently to ask, what exactly are talking about?

"I believe that the more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction."

From A Nun's Life podcasts - What's it like to minister in Immaculate Conception Academy, a Cristo Rey school?

Three Stats and a Map - On Monday, the United Nations issued a new report on the human rights situation in Ukraine, which has been entrenched in bloody conflict since last year when crackdowns on anti-government protests turned deadly. Within months, Ukraine’s president had been run out of the country and Russia had invaded, all of which only sparked more violence.

Louise Simon, 66, knows each of us has the ability to make a contribution to whatever we believe in and to make a difference. "Being a Mercy Associate for nearly 20 years has led me on a faith journey that I would otherwise not have experienced. It has taught me much about myself and my faith and has brought wonderful people into my life."

GSR Today - I was so excited when Sr. Sidonie Oyembo, provincial of the Sisters of Mary Immaculate of Gabon, was elected the third president of the Confederation of Major Superiors of Africa and Madagascar (COMSAM). She never dreamed three years ago when she attended the second meeting of the organization in Kampala, Uganda, that she would become its leader.

Sr. Jayanthi Simon, a medical nurse, was surprised when she received a call to work in a slum parish of Mumbai, India’s commercial capital. She accepted it, she says, without a second thought, although she had no clue what awaited her in Dharavi, one of Asia’s biggest shanty towns. Eight years later, the 44-year-old nun says she has no regrets, as the experience in the slums has helped her understand and appreciate fellow humans and social realities much better.

A new prayer book that gives advice on how to pray to God at meal time is inspiring Catholic families to restore the value of family meals and relationships. Last month, nearly 700 Catholics from some parishes in Ba Ria Vung Tau province came together to watch dances and morality plays and experience a “heaven meal” held in the Vinh Chau church’s compound. This dinner was the fourth event that Dominican Sr. Mary Nguyen Thi Hong Que has held to help Catholics to experience heaven meals and practice the prayers in the book.

"The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat unused in your closet belongs to the one who needs it."

Four Gospel insights for addressing climate change - I know that the Earth community stands on the brink of another ending, the end of the Cenozoic, heyday of flowers, birds, mammals and, recently, humans. I am pondering a sacred scripture, wisdom laid down a mere two thousand years ago: Jesus’ parable of the fig tree.