If you want to hear the voices of the Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist, the best bet is to listen to them sing at the White House National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony on the Ellipse outside the White House on Nov 28.

It was Jan. 20, 2017, and Sr. Susan Rose Francois, a member of the Congregation Leadership Team for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, believed she needed to respond in some way to the presidency of Donald Trump. Almost two years later, Trump is still president and Francois is still tweeting her prayers, which usually focus on leadership, healing divisions and choosing goodness over evil. She tweets a prayer every day except when she is on retreat and during Holy Week.

On Sept. 4, 1838, 859 members of the Native American Potawatomi Nation began a forced relocation march from their home near Twin Lakes, Indiana, to Kansas. Three years later, on June 29, 1841, four Religious of the Sacred Heart departed from St. Louis to found a school for native girls at the Jesuit mission in Sugar Creek, Kansas, where the Potawatomi had ultimately settled. Every five years since 1983, the Potawatomi have organized a caravan to retrace the Trail of Death. 

The International Union of Superiors General has called on women religious who have suffered abuse to come forward and report it to their congregations and church and state authorities.

I feel weary of seeing article after article about sexual abuse by priests. I want to scream, "Enough already!" But maybe not enough yet, because such abuse has also been perpetrated on women and nuns.

The Life - Has the church left young people? Do youth have enough adult leadership? Are we listening to their wisdom? Is the church truly home? Do they feel responsible and valued? Accompaniment … listening … building prayer and community …"walking the talk" … making them feel valued … changing our own hearts — these are some of the ideas sisters shared when asked about young people leaving the church.

Horizons - How do we, as a society, crawl and drag each other out to safety? How do we resist the numbing effect of the never-ending cycle of violence and negative news? How do we wake each other up and remember what really matters?

GSR Today - A caravan of asylum-seekers from Central America has shifted more attention to immigration at the southern U.S. border. GSR has compiled reports from sisters working at or near the border, which illustrate the challenges migrants face.

Notes from the Field - Spending so much time with these elderly sisters, I have come to truly see how they embody Salesian spirituality. One of the aspects of this spirituality is acknowledging God in even common daily tasks.

Women can take a place at the table, even when we're not invited or encouraged — and if we're shut out, we need to set up our own tables. We can take the microphone and speak, post the information and share it, open the door and walk in.