Sr. Mercy Kuriakose, a member of the Missionary Sisters, Servants of the Holy Spirit, practices homeopathy, an alternative medical practice that uses a small amount of an active ingredient to help treat or cure a disease. She has treated approximately 130,000 patients in her 26 years of service as a homeopathy doctor in Mumbai and Bengaluru.

The story is well-known. Two people are walking back to their town, wondering what had just happened — or perhaps more accurately, what didn't happen. This question of "why" allows Jesus to enter the conversation and provide the reframe. It is the answer to this "why" to which men and women religious are called today. Of course, the answers are unfolding and undefined.

The Vatican released an instruction May 15 with new norms for contemplative orders of nuns, encouraging cooperation among their monasteries and outlining procedures for communities left with only a few members. The rules in Cor Orans ("Praying Heart") went into effect immediately.

"I often struggle with feelings of worthlessness; even so, my faith tells me time and again that I am worthy because God says so. ... The knowledge of his love, unconditional and endless, allows me to feel love myself — love for myself."

Listening to Sr. Francis Rose Rivers, who once ministered in a Tyson chicken plant, opened my heart to learn from a corporation that tries to provide "accompaniment" in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

GSR Today - Kansas City's annual Blisters for Sisters celebrates sisters and raises a little money for the Serra Club. From the 174 sisters in attendance at this year's walk/run and more, I encountered sisters from around the world — a microcosm of religious life today.

Little Sisters of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus work in the areas of health, agriculture and education, serving those who live in rural Haiti. The sisters help residents deal with drought, fallout from climate extremes like hurricanes, the effects of climate change, illness and the need for clean water. The sisters carry on their mission with a sense of enduring hope.

"Lean with all your weight on Providence, and you will find yourself well supported."

Postville, Iowa - On May 12, 2008, local police and federal immigration agents arrested 400 people at a meat-processing plant — a raid that disrupted hundreds of lives and changed this Iowa town. Ten years later, more than 300 people gathered at St. Bridget Church to mark the anniversary of the raid and to dedicate themselves to enacting change so similar raids do not happen again.

See for Yourself - "Where is everybody going?" One cruise. Two vacations. Two retiree trips. One trip home. I looked out the window imploringly, wishing by now we were already at the terminal. Should I make up something exotic?