Gratitude can call us back to our values. When we gather this week, do we give thanks for material goods, privilege, or power? Generally, no. We give thanks for opportunities received, love shown, relationships grown. We may give thanks for material "enoughness," but probably not for excess. This tells us something.

Benedictine Sr. Joan Chittister began her talk to the NCR 50th anniversary conference in typical Chittister style: With a quote from French philosopher Albert Camus, a quote from English poet John Dryden and joke about a duck who walks into an Irish pub.

Three Stats and a Map - For the past  decade, the World Economic Forum has compiled an annual report tracking the gap between men and women around the globe, looking at everything from health, education and economic opportunity to politics, earnings and life expectancy.

“God has called you to give your whole self to him, including your tendency to fail. And, God cannot fail.”

Maryknoll Lay Missioners celebrated its 40th anniversary in August. It began as a collaborative effort of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers and Maryknoll Sisters, but became a separate organization in 1994. Since 1975, more than 700 Catholics have served as Maryknoll lay missioners in Africa, Asia and the Americas. The current class ranges in age from 23 to 60 and reflects the organization's historical composition of single men and women, couples and families.

Notes from the Field - Every little thing that these children think or do has an impact in their life. I like to think they are building a house, and I'm there to guide them. To build the house, you must start from the bottom and work your way up. My students are just beginning to install the bricks.

The other day, I had occasion to find my mother's holy card, the kind that funeral parlors provide to those who attend wakes and funerals to comfort the family. The card dragged up a flood of memories and regrets, but little comfort.

GSR Today - Journalists like to talk to academic experts because academic experts are smart. However, journalists have a tendency to rely too much on these academic experts. The thing is, people have a right to speak for themselves.

What kind of energy are we putting into the universal web of life in our sphere of influence even as world leaders struggle with what to do about ISIS? Does it mimic in even a small way the energy of ISIS? Or is it an energy which creates space for new possibilities?

Dominican Sr. Margaret Mayce of Amityville, New York, has made peace and justice issues the focus of her life and work since becoming a sister in 1975 at the age of 24. For the past seven years, she has served as a representative of the Dominican Leadership Conference nongovernmental organization at the United Nations.