The Vatican commission studying the history of women serving as deacons in the Catholic Church has been unable to find consensus on their role in the early centuries of Christianity and is yet to give a "definitive response," Pope Francis said May 7.

The ability to imagine a different future takes courage. Where do I go today to see an image that draws my heart into a new vision of what might be coming in the future? Our brother, Pope Francis.

Moved by the plight of women abandoned in the streets in Kerala, India, Sr. Roselin Chirayil left the Daughters of Mary and started a new order, the Sisters of Mercy, solely dedicated to caring for destitute women with mental illnesses.

By harvest time last fall, my little 3-year-old neighbor helper was moving away. My dad wasn’t really interested. With little motivation I simply left the garden. And it overgrew quickly. Then changing seasons brought terrible news. 

Lovers of the Holy Cross sisters began teaching in 1996, when they opened two classrooms with 30 children ages 1 to 3 at their convent near Hanoi. On Jan. 5, the nuns opened a new building with 12 large classrooms to accommodate growing demand for their care and teaching of young children. A local education official said Anh Duong Nursery School is one of the largest nursery schools among the 159 public nursery schools and 10 private schools in the province. Next year, the school plans to enroll 70 more children, bringing the total to 350 students.

Horizons - As the pottery wheel of time whizzes on, God lovingly molds us with expert hands into what — and who — is needed for the present. Even as we grieve, we can rejoice in the goodness emerging. Instead of "diminishment," I choose a paradigm of "transformation."

From A Nun's Life podcasts - In this Random Nun Clip, Sr. Subha Clare Ramesh, of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria, Illinois, describes her unexpected turn from corporate life to the convent.

The International Union of Superiors General (UISG) will meet with Francis at the end of its May 6-10 triennial assembly, but unlike in 2016, Sr. Carmen Sammut, UISG president, said the group will not be asking Francis questions then. She said she does not know if he will address the work of the commission studying the history of women deacons during their encounter.

Notre Dame Mission Volunteers-AmeriCorps is a partnership between Notre Dame Mission Volunteers, a program of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, and AmeriCorps, a network of U.S. service programs. Its members serve in teaching, tutoring and other programs. They gain new skills and, often, a lifetime appreciation for service.