"We have not inherited this earth from our parents to do with it what we will. We have borrowed it from our children and we must be careful to use it in their interests as well as our own."

The work of novitiate is that of soul searching.  It requires digging deep, meeting yourself and God head on, facing your true self, learning about what religious life is, nurturing a deeper prayer life, learning to live intentionally and with constant discernment, and prayerfully considering if the call to live in this way with a specific congregation in their manner of being is right for you. Suffice it to say, you don’t get weekends off.

"May there be a little light in our darkness, a little faith in our doubt, a little joy in our sorrow, a little life in our dying, a little hope in our sadness, a little courage in our fear and a little slow in our hurry."

Film review - In this striking and often beautiful film, Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski has given us much for reflection and much to savor. The independent drama, “Ida,” shot in black and white, follows the life and decisions of a young Polish novice living in a cloister in the early 1960s.

At the core of conflicts between different individuals or different groups is difference. There is something threatening or at least disconcerting about the unknown. We are somehow not at ease with the strange, with the unfamiliar. We lose our sense of security when faced with the other. But we must make a real effort to try to understand each other.

Sisters of Lortetto community in Marion County, Ky., are not calling outright victory that a natural gas pipeline no long will be traversing their land, which includes the oldest operating monestary in the U.S., Gethsemani, former home of Thomas Merton. Simply, energy companies destroy Earth.

GSR Today - The month-long FIFA World Cup soccer championship is right around the corner. However, festive anticipation has been brought up short by protests by the poor who are witnessing massive government spending, and by sisters who are working to raise awareness about human trafficking that exploits people seeking employment.

“I find it interesting that the meanest life, the poorest existence, is attributed to God's will, but as human beings become more affluent . . ."

Mixed message on maternal mortality - A May report from the Institute for Health Metrics at the University of Washington shows that, globally, fewer women are dying from pregnancy-related causes, but some countries actually saw increases in their maternal death rates.