Trains have always held an almost mystical fascination for me. I have often lived near railroad tracks. Growing up in a suburb of Chicago, I lived a block away from the Harrison Street "El" (the Chicago Transit Authority Elevated Line) which today purports to speed you to downtown Chicago in only 11 minutes.

In September 2014, three Xaverian sisters were murdered at their convent, despite having police protection, in the small country of Burundi, in central Africa. The murders remain unsolved, but the missionary order also remains dedicated to staying where they have served since 1964.

GSR Today - Publications just love to give readers a summer reading list, but my list is, ahem, slightly different than the usual light beach reading. Here are two very long stories you'll want to sit down and spend time with. And, unlike those beach reads, these may just change your perspective.

Shortly after Srs. Olga Raschietti, Lucia Pulici, and Bernardetta Boggian were killed, the Xaverian Missionaries of Mary issued a statement expressing gratitude to the women for "giving their lives to the end, and to all who sent messages of support and solidarity. Here are a few words about their lives. Related - Murders in Burundi: Missionary order reckons with killing of three sisters

"Keep your language. Love its sounds, its modulation, its rhythm. But try to march together with men of different languages, remote from your own, who wish like you for a more just and human world."

See for Yourself - Sitting across from my sister at a recent family gathering was a perfect location for me when her granddaughter climbed up on her lap clutching a "Curious George" book. We looked knowingly at each other as my sister situated little Samantha on her lap and pointed to the book.

The fifth annual Nuns on the Bus tour begins July 11. This year's theme is aimed at mending the gaps in U.S. society. The sisters will visit with people in 22 cities in 13 states and will be present in Cleveland, Ohio, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in time for both the Republican and Democratic national conventions.

On June 15, we gathered at the Cincinnati airport to begin a journey. Our group was comprised of 11 teachers and parish ministers from the Cincinnati archdiocese, traveling together to visit the villages from which our Guatemalan students and parishioners come.

As the Nuns on the Bus prepare to hit the road again, and as memories of the so-called Little Sisters of the Poor case before the Supreme Court remain fresh in American memories, it is tempting to regard the political activities of sisters as something modern and out of the ordinary. Nothing could be farther from the truth.