A new year. Ending the old year and welcoming in the new is surrounded by quite a ritual. We watch the bright silver ball drop in Times Square and we make New Year resolutions in hope of changing some of our behavior. We have a sense that the new year brings us another opportunity to try to be better. As I pause to reflect on this "transition" from an evolutionary lens I see some similarities.

Sr. Mary Jo Nelson's smile is infectious and, despite a rigorous travel schedule, so is her energy. In most normal circumstances, she'd be considering retirement, but like most women religious, the Our Lady of Victory Missionary sister feels like she's just hitting her stride.

Religious representatives in Vietnam promised to work to protect the environment and cope with climate change at a national conference that drew 400 participants in early December.

"A forest of ferns stand as witness like miniature Christmas trees. How does your life stand as witness to Jesus Christ?"

January begins with the feast of Mary, Mother of God. Often in my prayer at this time of the year I am drawn to a quote from the Dominican mystic, Meister Eckhart: "We are all meant to be mothers of God . . . for God is always needing to be born." But during this stage of my inter-mission with cancer, God has turned the image inside out for me.

GSR Today - Will 2016 be the year that peace finally comes to South Sudan? Despite a peace accord in place since August, other recent events make that seem doubtful. And yet there are still reasons to hope.

Bangladesh is a country often lauded by outsiders for its progressive policies towards women — at least on paper.

The country's 1972 constitution enshrines gender equality, and subsequent laws, such as a 2010 domestic violence prevention and protection act, are also on the books.

One touted point of pride is that women serve both as prime minister (Sheikh Hasina) and the leading opposition leader in the Bangladeshi parliament (Rowshan Ershad).

Holy Cross Sr. Maldeva Wolff established the first graduate theology school for women at Saint Mary's College while she was president there in 1943. In 1985, to honor Wolff, to spread her spirit, and to provide a forum for women's concerns, Saint Mary's initiated the Madeleva Lecture Series, an annual event that draws a prominent woman theologian to the campus to speak. In April 2000 the first 15 lecturers assembled at Saint Mary's and over three days drew up a 300-word manifesto, a "Charter for Women of Faith in the New Millennium."

“These are our sisters in whom we are well-pleased. May their efforts raise us all up to serve a new world with new and holy hearts.”