Elaine Jahrsdoerfer is a member of the Amityville Dominican Sisters. She holds a master's degree in liturgical studies from the University of Notre Dame. She has been a pastoral liturgist in parishes for 35 years, served a term in congregational leadership and presently is the liturgist for her congregation.
Notes from the Field - Welcoming the stranger, building connections, celebrating differences and discovering commonalities — these are the gifts which, having been blessed with in Chile, I hope to offer all whom I encounter in the future.
"Prophets are called to be faithful, not successful, and so are those who preach truth today."
Three friends walked 335 miles in 25 days to experience the spirit of the journey of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, who arrived in America in 1818 to establish schools with the Society of the Sacred Heart.
GSR Today: On my visits over the years to Myanmar, I have seen the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions grow past political challenges and become more involved in development projects for women: Farming, training of young women in computer skills, tailoring and other income generation skills.
Families in Riimenze, South Sudan, were displaced in late 2016 and early 2017 as fighting between government soldiers and rebels escalated.
Sr. Lucy Thorson joined Sisters of Our Lady of Sion when she was 19 after she finished high school. She saw the congregation as an opportunity to get out into the world, and its base in Jewish history and Jewish-Christian relations became the path she followed through her career and life.
Preaching truth is needed now as much as it was in the time of the ancient biblical prophets who had to deal with many of the same political, social, economic and religious challenges that people face today in a 21st-century world.
"Truth becomes an action word in Jesus where we see a God who shows love through healing and teaching, inclusion, forgiveness, nonviolence and faithfulness. When we experience these qualities in ourselves or others, we experience God. This is my standard for knowing truth. When I see God, I see truth."
GSR Today - The Dilley Pro Bono Project files a lawsuit challenging a new Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy that restricts legal services. Meanwhile, Guatemalan mine opponents win a legal victory in Canada.