Helga Leija

GSR columns editor Sr. Helga Leija reflects on the V Latin American and Caribbean Congress of Religious Life, held Nov. 22-24 in Argentina.

Global Sisters Report shares excerpts from the Advent section of our first book, Wisdom from the Global Sisterhood, published earlier this year.

I had never met anyone who had transferred institutes until God called me to transfer. I now realize how important accompaniment is through this journey of intense listening to God throughout this vocational process.

GSR is looking for women religious to participate in the 2024-25 panels for The Life and La Vida. If you are interested in writing about your experiences in religious life, we would love to hear from you.

"Miriam is a foremother and an example to women, to teach us how to sing joyfully, and to nurture others when our wells run dry, when we are most vulnerable and fragile," writes Sr. Helga Leija.

At the LCWR annual assembly, we sisters were reminded that we often struggle to find balance between work and prayer, letting go and welcoming the new. 

GSR Today - Often, after a sister publishes a column, columns editor Sr. Helga Leija receives emails from readers who are deeply moved by the messages. Here, she shares a particularly beautiful one.

I have recently been questioning God deeply about things that seem beyond what I can understand or even control. I, too, have felt like I am capable of torching everything I touch. What do I do when I know I'm fire?

GSR Today - Global Sisters Report is launching "Wisdom Wednesday," a new video series to highlight the pieces of wisdom that are passed on in religious life and that sustain us on the journey.

As my community ages and discusses the future, waiting for God's promise, this reading reminds us to stay faithful, to keep doing what we were called to do, even if the promise isn't fulfilled in our lifetime.

With "Hope Amid Turmoil," the most ambitious and challenging project we have undertaken at GSR, we've been inspired by the incredible courage and deep faith of sisters serving in conflict areas throughout the world.

GSR Today - After attending the IV Latin American and Caribbean Congress of Religious Life, Sr. Helga Leija is encouraged by the spirit of synodality and determined to transcend dynamics that deny what is human.

GSR Today - A session on intercultural leadership at the LCWR assembly in Dallas offered a profound exploration of the diverse experiences and perspectives that shape leadership within many religious communities today.

Our darkness is only one part of who we are, not the whole. We must be willing to see ourselves the way God sees us. We must be willing to embrace our identity as beloved.

GSR Today - The sisters said the piñata was too pretty to break, but that is the whole point of it! It is about sharing culture and creating memories. It is about sharing a part of myself that points the way to Christ.

We still believe, like our ancestors, that during these days, the strength of our love and remembrance grants the souls of our loved ones a temporary return home to the world of the living.

I realize, as I look back at my time in exclaustration, that although difficult, it was also a time of grace, growth, and an outpouring of goodness.