"If I can pause, like the hummingbirds that use the tiny perches on some of the feeders, I absorb more of what God has for me."

GSR Today - Trafficking victims live among us. They may grow our food, make our clothes, serve us in a restaurant, do our hair or nails, or build our electronic devices. Trafficking occurs in every state in every nation. The number of networks of sisters working against trafficking around the world is an impressive force, but the problem of trafficking is getting worse

I had the desire to carry Communion to the sick when I was 12. One evening, we saw our parish priest and sacristan on the road. The sacristan held an umbrella over the priest, although there was no sun or rain. Suddenly my elder sister whispered, "The priest is carrying Jesus," and knelt down. I followed her gesture. And, now, years later, I have the privilege of bringing Jesus to people, too.

The Life - Silence. Community. Nature. Prayer. Scripture. Music. Journaling. This month, the panelists share their own coping mechanisms for the stresses of their life and ministry. As religious deal with trauma globally, they have found ways to stay focused on their missions.

"For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future full of hope."

"She turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus" (John 20:14). Ahead of me going into the grocery store is a lady wearing a plaid skirt, a checked blouse, a cardigan full of holes, and bedroom slippers for shoes.

After seeing "Novitiate," I told the publicists it was bold, provocative and artistic, and it is. There is much in the film that has the ring of truth and a past reality. It is highly watchable. The scene that derailed me early on, however, was that a non-baptized person would be accepted into the postulancy like everyone else with no reference to baptism or the sacraments.

Cancer had not been in Sr. Marie Flowers' plan, but she accepted it with grace. "God must have a different plan for me. It's a new plan — an adventure. I love adventure!" She never lost the sense of the expansive possibility found in God.

"Might Jesus say of this situation that the kingdom of heaven is like a city overwhelmed with water? The first who come to help are the local neighbors — some white, some Hispanic, and some African-American. They get in their boats and search for those in need. He would say, 'These people who come to help others are my guests.'"

Good Shepherd Sr. Monique Tarabeh's visit home in July and August was gut-wrenching. Tarabeh grew up in Damascus, Syria, and her family still lives there despite the ongoing civil war that started in 2011. The conflict has killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced millions to flee to safety in other nations.