GSR Today - In the weeks leading up to the Synod, it became clear that many people simply wanted to be heard. The fact that they were – including 14 married couples who spoke directly to the gathering – was in itself a bit surprising.

Like their foremothers who never gave up their traditional social status nor accepted the low social position accorded them in the new colonial order, like courageous traditional African women who never shied away from pursing social justice, African Catholic nuns – “the sisters” – are active in their various congregations to ensure social justice for all.

In the sprawling city of Detroit, which is regarded as the harbinger of post-industrial, urban America, live women religious, firmly planted, articulating a Catholic presence in a place of drastic transitions. No longer in the convents of their youth, the women endure with their neighbors the vicissitudes of a habitat where crime and abandoned properties are givens and well-functioning municipal services are not – and they are rebuilding church communities to serve as anchors of revitalization.

This summer in all of its glory I attended two weddings. One was my brother’s and the other, two friends’ of long standing. All four are regular church goers. One attends Mass daily at the hospital where she works; two sing in their Catholic church choir. St. Paul’s hymn on love featured prominently at both weddings. Love hopes all things, believes all things, endures all things. Love rejoices in the truth. Both couples lit a unity candle. As the flame blazed, we prayed that God would bless all those we love, would fill our hearts with gratitude and sustain us in joy.

From A Nun's Life podcasts - Acceptance, encouragement, challenge – and adventure – are some of the reasons why Srs. Michele Fisher and Michael Marie Franzek enjoy being Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth.

During the 1950s, the Anglican sisters of St. Raymond Nonnatus ran a midwifery service and clinic out of their convent in the Poplar section of London's East End.  Working alongside them were young women who were trained nurses and qualified midwives. "Call the Midwife," a BBC dramatic series, is based on the stirring and candid memoirs of nurse Jennifer Lee Worth (1935-2011). 

GSR Today - The Huffington Post earlier this month published some beautiful pictures of women religious taken by photographer Craig Buchan in Edinburgh, Scotland. We reached out to Buchan by email and asked if we could share some of his work here. He eagerly gave us permission. 

"Jesus’ whole life, his way of dealing with the poor, his actions, his integrity, his simple daily acts of generosity, and finally his complete self-giving, is precious and reveals the mystery of his divine life. . . ."

Surely, the convent must be a safe haven from the ills of the world, a place one can enter to escape, an escape from hard life decisions and transitions – that’s what my reporter friend seemed to be saying. In reality, though, religious life and the formation of young women religious is a mirror of our times. 

Sr. Tesa Fitzgerald has garnered lots of praise for her work helping mothers with reentry after prision. Now, her organization, Hour Children, has been honored with a grant from the Opus Prize Foundation.