"Blessed are the women who join together with hearts and souls as one."

As a young college teacher, I taught the four cardinal virtues with gusto, convinced — as were the ancients — that human beings could, by practicing certain acts, make them second nature. Why would Christians add mercy to the great foursome of prudence, temperance, justice and fortitude?

GSR Today - The gruesome murder of four Missionaries of Charity nuns, together with 12 other people in Aden, Yemen, by unnamed assailants only points to the fact that the world we call our own is fast becoming a dangerous place for us to live.

"The worker must have bread, but she must have roses, too."

Three Stats and a Map - Last week, environmental activist Berta Caceres was killed in what has been identified as a politically motivated murder. Caceres gained international attention for her work to prevent the construction of a hydroelectric dam in Honduras that would have destroyed the homeland of several Lenca people.

Catholic women religious are on the front lines of immigration issues in the United States. Global Sisters Report held a video roundtable discussion with seven sisters who are working with families, advocating policy changes, raising awareness and helping "to change the issue from a legal issue to really a faith and moral issue."

A dozen women from around the world shared compelling and sometimes harrowing stories of their struggles for peace, education and equality during a Vatican event on International Women's Day, with some calling for better representation and women's leadership at the highest levels of the Catholic church. The event, organized as an opportunity for women to share their voices from the center of the church bureaucracy, was careful to skirt the issue of women's governance in the Catholic community, choosing to speak instead of women's capabilities to share leadership.

GSR Today - Here we highlight the ministry and mission of Catholic women religious every day, but as part of our coverage of National Catholic Sisters Week, we're focusing on four women who are on their journey to religious life. Please read their stories and share with others who may be considering such a path.

St. Joseph of Carondelet Sr. Mary Madonna Ashton is a 2016 National Women's History Project honoree, among other women who are being honored for their work in public service and government. Ashton was Minnesota's state commissioner of health for eight years during the time the department took on the tobacco industry, starting a nationwide trend.