When I began the Institute for Communal Contemplation and Dialogue (ICCD) I consciously chose to focus on contemplation as a communal experience. Having been influenced by Constance Fitzgerald’s article, “Impasse and the Dark Night,” I instinctively knew that our time in the evolutionary journey required of us ways to share our experience of contemplation and the wisdom and insights that emerge. I felt our historical time invites us to socialize our learnings so as to discover together the next steps on the journey.

From A Nun's Life podcasts - What you don't want to hear when telling people you might become a nun – "Maybe you're being brainwashed!" Discernment and opinions of others is a fitting topic for National Vocation Awareness Week.

Power of Sisterhood: Women Religious Tell the Story of the Apostolic Visitation was initiated by a group of women religious who were the elected leaders of their communities during the Apostolic Visitation. They recognized the importance of capturing and telling the story from the perspective of the women who experienced it. In 2010, with the assistance of Margaret Cain McCarthy, Ph.D., they designed and conducted a qualitative and quantitative survey of presidents or major superiors whose communities had undergone the visitation. A review of the whole book can be read here.

There are many places where the curse of existence seems to outweigh the blessing of life. The mining sector of the Democratic Republic of Congo is such a place. I have been in Kolwezi, a mining area in south Katanga Province, DRC, in the past and returned there in August. Knowing what to expect did not soften the reality of the harsh and perilous existence there. In fact, the contrast between what our abundant world promises and the reality of children with no promise seemed more callous than earlier times.

Missionary nuns help shorthanded diocese minister to poor Filipino families - Sr. Bernadette de Silva Wijeyeratne came to the Philippines 23 years ago through the mission program of the Sri Lanka province of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Bordeaux. Sr. De Silva, as neighbors and friends now call her, knew bitter civil war and deep poverty in Sri Lanka. Still, living among poor families in Sorsogon province is full of demands.

GSR Today - There is a new consciousness evolving as we recognize that we are a global community of religious, so that even as we sit together in our local congregational gatherings, we are not alone with our questions. Instead, we share this space with sisters and others globally. This solidarity became evident in 2009 when the visitation of United States congregations was initiated.

" . . . when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;  blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. . . ."

Election Day is tomorrow, and NETWORK's Nuns on the Bus is wrapping up their tour with a final burst of Go Vote energy. There is an 8 a.m. press conference polling day kick-off at Citizen Action of Wisconsin, then stick around Milwaukee giving voters rides to the polls.

A different way to run a governing body - While I myself know some amazing sisters who take incredible risks inspired by the Gospel on behalf of people on the margins, I’m not sure if “independent” is the word I’d use to describe what would be different if Catholic sisters were in charge. Instead, the word that comes to me is “interdependent.”

Sr. Barbara Brillant, a Franciscan Missionary of Mary, is writing occasional updates on her work in Liberia for the Huffington Post. She has a unique perspective on the situation – she has been in Liberia for 37 years. In “All Hell Has Broken Loose in Liberia,” she writes about the resilience of the Liberian people, who have survived a 14-year civil war. But Ebola threatens to undo all that has been rebuilt: “During the war, you could at least hear the bullets, and you knew when to duck. Ebola is different. It's a silent killer that can spread without people even knowing.”