Stop and think about what makes a person "authentic." Now, do the same with "spiritual." Finally, think of what characterizes a good "leader." Are there any traits in common? Keep them in mind as we explore scriptural passages about Mary.

Horizons - It's only natural for us to rejoice together, too. It's an element of our vocation. Francis tells us, "Wherever consecrated people are, there is always joy!" After the Giving Voice gathering ended and I reflected on the joy I experienced with other sisters, I was reminded of a game of catch.

From A Nun's Life podcasts - In this Random Nun Clip, Sister Maxine and guests look for the God moments in our busy day-to-day lives.

Dominican Sr. Mary Jo Sobieck might be the only Catholic sister to have both her own bobblehead and Topps baseball card. Now she might just win an ESPY for Best Viral Sports Moment. "It's kind of surreal. Wanting to grow up to be an athlete and then to know I'm going to be there in the midst of the greatest of this generation — it's going to be phenomenal."

From Where I Stand: By St. Benedict's 12th step of humility, we are meant to be able to blend into the world around us -- serene, contented, open -- too grounded interiorly to crave public approval.

Our Earth is burning. Our sacred "Sister Mother Earth who sustains and governs us" is on fire. We see the sacred spires of trees in the Amazon falling to fire, the baptismal fonts of rivers and lakes languishing in drought and pollution, the daily eucharistic altars of family tables in Honduras, Salvador and Guatemala empty of food for children, and we stand before the death beds of species becoming extinct as we act as hospice-midwives.

After I'd achieved a degree of financial comfort, I remember the shock when I first encountered children in a "poorer" area of the country who couldn't afford shoes, even meals. That may have been the first stirrings of the God-seed.

The Los Angeles-based playwright's latest work with History Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota, tells the true story of four biological sisters who all became Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and became celebrated fixtures in the St. Paul-Minneapolis peace community.

At a recent workshop on trends in child care, I was particularly interested in a collaborative of the Association of Religious in Uganda in response to their government's 2016 ruling that homes for children need a social worker on staff, to have established child-protection policies, and to meet certain child-care standards.