Sr. Sonia Zuleta Ruiz prayed that God would let her get assigned to work at the Hogar Acogida de Belen, a girls orphanage in Medellín, Colombia. But after almost a year working at the orphanage, she knows this is where she belongs.

Paris - The Bénédictines du Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre are eager to engage in conversation and welcome anyone who comes to the sanctuary of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. To make this welcome easier, a sister often sits on a bench, folding bulletins. If a pilgrim does not speak French, the sisters use English and Spanish. "When visitors see me doing something, they find it easier to come and sit by me, perhaps start a conversation," Sister Anne-Christine said. The church is the site of perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, unbroken since 1885.

"You cannot teach peace. You have to lead and see it done practically. The people who suffered so much are the very ones who can become teachers of peace."

Notes from the Field - Christmastime in the Holy Land for me was special this year. It included singing in concerts in Arabic, visiting the sisters in Cremisan, Bethlehem, and going to midnight Mass at the Nativity Church of Bethlehem. It was so special to be there that it took me one hour to pray one rosary.

I was fortunate to participate in "Nuns and Nones," an energetic gathering of women religious and millennials (nones being younger persons with no stated religious affiliation). Gathering on a Sunday afternoon, we learned that our agenda was to "hang out and see what happens." And so we did.

"The faith that assures me that creation and history are in God's hands and these hands transform death into life, hatred into forgiveness and darkness into life — this gives me hope. The faith that makes me see how people truly cooperate with God's action in the world through sincere love gives me hope."

Standing before 300 people who work for LGBT acceptance in their Christian churches, Mark Bowman opened the "Rolling the Stone Away" conference to remember the history of the LGBT movement and to look toward future needs. I had addressed other Christian churches occasionally, but most of my four decades in LGBT ministry was spent in Catholic circles. I had read about others who moved their denominations forward but had personally met very few.

Holy Cross Sr. Betsy Devasia has been working for the empowerment of women in northeastern India for nearly two decades. She began with economically poor neighbors of her convent in Guwahati, a major city in the northeastern Indian state of Assam. She then focused on school dropouts. She also reached out to widows, who face social discrimination. Today, hundreds of people have found a better life because of her service with the Women's Development Centre.

"As each day offers us a new beginning, may we graciously accept the invitation to live well. Remind us of the miracle of each moment and fan the fires of love and life in our being. Let your creative spirit foster hope in adversity and give new life to what is tired or torrid in our lives and world."