"Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven."

See for Yourself - The second most popular book in the world after the Bible is The Diary of Anne Frank. Her writings, though, weren’t published until eight years after the diary was found in the secret hiding place by Miep Gies, a loyal friend to Otto Frank (her father) and the others who hid in the upper room of the Amsterdam office building for 25 months.

“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”

“We speak of the great deep as a reserved or wisdom that we believe can be accessed by living a life of contemplation.”

GSR Today - Last week, finally, all eyes were on the refugee crisis caused by instability in Syria that has been going on for years. “Europe is being tested as it has not been tested since the Second World War," said Lord Jonathan Sacks of the United Kingdom.

Nuns on the Bus starts its 2015 tour this week with a route that passes through "deep red and purple states" on the way to Washington, D.C. The sisters' Sept. 10-24 tour coincides with Pope Francis' Sept. 22-24 visit to Washington. In response to the pope's call for transforming politics for the common good, the sisters will highlight economic inequality and cuts in health care and education that they say not only disproportionately affect those dependent on government assistance, but also exhibit a disregard for their struggles and exacerbate the growing gap between the rich and poor.

During a Prayer of the Faithful at a Eucharistic celebration, I heard for the first time what I considered a strange prayer intention: “For those looking for the fruit of the womb . . . .” I was startled by the intention, surprised because I was oblivious to the magnitude of the problem that has brought the prayer request to a public forum.

"Let us become the first generation that decides to be the last that sees empty classrooms, lost childhoods, and wasted potentials."

Like many students and teachers around the country, I recently started a new school year. As this new year began to feel imminent, I looked back on my experience of teaching, so far. I hesitate to admit that I haven’t always loved teaching. Sure, when I started this important ministry eight years ago, I loved it. I was full of passion and energy and idealism. I was going to change the world, one willing student at a time. Somewhere along the way, however, I felt my passion for the ministry wane.