This Lenten season felt as though it stretched longer than six weeks for me, and perhaps for you, too. Lent has always been a time of sacrifice and penitential practices, a time of “giving up” or fasting from something, a time of uniting ourselves with the sufferings of Jesus. I don’t know about you, but I felt ready to move from a sober and somber Lent to the joys and hopes of Easter. I looked forward to reflecting on the Scriptures of the Easter season.

GSR Today - Catholic opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement grows; there is hope for changing India's culture to make it safer for women; an update from Solidarity with South Sudan looks at the future of the children whose lives have been permanently disrupted.

The era of the classic family farm is long gone, but for more than 130 years one constant in the small city of Concordia, Kansas, has been the Sisters of St. Joseph. In the last seven years, they’ve redoubled their dedication to the city, and the 28 or so sisters who are still in active ministry are creating new and innovative ministries for the 5,400 people who live there. They are, in a word, good neighbors.

"This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad."

"Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."

From a Nun's Life podcasts - When praying the rosary during Lent, should you pray only the Sorrowful Mysteries?

"He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners. . . ."

I pulled into the empty church parking lot a few minutes early as the fresh daylight bathed the world anew. I stepped out of the car and stretched, grateful for the warmth after a long and fickle winter. Standing there, I wondered what the coming hours would bring. Today, I would drive a Guatemalan woman and her young daughter to immigration court in Cleveland, about four hours away. The social worker had told me that this would be the woman’s third trip to immigration court since arriving to the U.S. in November 2014.

The last nuns of Beuerberg Abbey have left. The monastery, founded in 1121, today stands empty in the snowy landscape of the Alpine foothills. "Oh, this is not the end! On the contrary," said Sr. Maria Lioba Zezulka, prioress of the Visitandine order, flashing a smile. "This is a new beginning on several wonderful levels! And not just for the refugees who may soon have a home within these walls." Zezulka and the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising have worked a deal to house refugees in the abbey. They hope that, within a few months, families from Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, Afghanistan and other conflict zones can find a home here.

See for Yourself - It’s health fair day at the mall and I quickly glance at the gentleman and his booth – a local funeral home. “Yes, I’m preplanned,” I reply.