As I walk the woods and enjoy the autumn beauty of the elm and maple trees, I especially admire the sturdy evergreen cedars, the "pioneer trees" that begin growing first. Here at Cedars of Peace, they simply stand, their green boughs a contrast to the other trees of the forest.

GSR Today: When I met Aayda Merhej a year ago, she struggled with the day-to-day agonies that exacted a toll on many Syrian refugees in Lebanon. "We're just trying to survive right now," she told me.

Founded as Our Lady of Angels in 1965 by the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, Neumann University maintains its Franciscan identity. Sr. Patricia Hutchison is director of the Neumann Institute for Franciscan Studies, which has a central role in crafting a curriculum that incorporates a perspective that is uniquely Franciscan.

When Catholic women religious launched colleges in the 19th and 20th centuries, they helped change the face of American higher education for a new generation. Now, they are addressing how to ensure that they have created a distinctive religious heritage that endures — even when they may not be around to nurture it.

Related: At Neumann University: Tea and Franciscan identity

"Tell me what you pay attention to and I will tell you who you are."

"We really set out on an adventure to see how many international sisters we could find," says lead author Sr. Mary Johnson. The study found more than 4,000 in the U.S. — "part of the global sisterhood."

I'm what you might call a cradle Catholic. I grew up in the "Catholic ghetto" on the south side of Indianapolis. Everyone I knew, aside from a few Asians and adopted kids at my school, was white and Catholic. My senior year of high school, I experienced a significant holy disruption to the bubble of white privilege in which I lived — a holy disruption that continues to shape my journey today.

See for Yourself - The familiar phrase, "Seventy is the sum of our years or 80 if we are strong" from Psalm 90 echoes in my head as a look at the life-size standing cardboard Pope Francis in a corner in my office.

"All men were made by the same Great Spirit Chief. They are all brothers. The earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it. You might as well expect all rivers to run backward as that any man who was born a free man should be contented penned up and denied liberty to go where he pleases."