Three Stats and a Map - When it comes to countries' demographics, Geographical space does not correlate to population, income or power. Metrocosm has a great tool that uses data to show "big" based on a number of factors besides land mass.

From Eco Catholic on NCR - The pastoral letter, titled The Telling Takes Us Home, seeks to give this often-overlooked region a public voice with a universal echo.

"Everything is mercy; nothing is devoid of compassion."

"For Love Alone" is a newa documentary about Catholic sisters commissioned by the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, released in August as part of CMSWR's larger celebration of the Year of Consecrated Life. Clare Matthiass, a Franciscan Sister of the Renewal and CMSWR board member, was featured in the film and was one member of the committee of women religious who helped Grassroots Films shape the film's narrative arc.

GSR Today - Nearly two years ago, the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena, fleeing the so-called Islamic State group, left their hometown of Mosul and relocated to Iraqi Kurdistan. GSR has been following the sisters, and last week Prioress Sr. Maria Hanna penned a 2015 year-end recap, which seems appropriate to highlight here.

Even as a child, New Year's Eve has always been a time of reflection and remembrance. During my childhood, my parents always took my sister and I to a church service on December 31, and the sacred space, music, and silence always provided the backdrop for quiet remembrance and contemplation. I would stand at the cusp of the New Year, simultaneously reflecting on the past and wondering about the future. Although I no longer attend church services, this New Year's Eve took me again to that place of transition — suspended in time — looking backward and forward as midnight approached.

"It takes an 'emergency,' a break in our everyday consciousness, to become aware of what is always already there awaiting our response."

Those who work with Central Americans coming across the U.S.-Mexico border say the recent wave of federal raids to round up asylum-seekers for deportation is aimed at sending a message to other would-be immigrants: Don't come to the United States. On Jan. 2 and 3, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers conducted raids in Georgia, Texas and North Carolina, taking into custody 121 people to be processed for deportation.

Loreto Sr. Ephigenia Gachiri, 71, has traveled across rural Kenya for the past 16 years educating people about the dangers of FGM. She created ways to honor cultural tradition while protecting young girls from the harmful ceremony that is used to signal transition to adulthood. More than 130 million girls and women alive today have undergone the ceremonial cutting in the 29 countries where it is practiced, mostly in Africa and parts of the Arab world.

GSR Today - The Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary in Voinjama, Liberia, reported in their Christmas newsletter that they are currently waiting for their third Ebola-free declaration.