We start subtracting, preparing our lives for the point opposite of our birth point on the diamond. We become reflective about all sorts of things, including spiritual readiness for the narrow gate — as the gate was narrow when we began.

Sisters in Vietnam counteract the country's massive use of pesticides and herbicides by educating farmers about health risks. Sisters from different congregations teach farmer groups and parishes how to grow organic food such as vegetables, fruits and beans. The tactics keep local farmers running a sustainable livelihood, while providing more organic crops for communities, and decreasing the amount of pesticides used in the region.

National Catholic Reporter: Pope Francis' Laudato Si' positioned the church to be a prominent voice on climate change. But despite that energy, there's still a feeling that Catholics have the potential to do more.

Sr. Christine Imbali of the Assumption Sisters of Eldoret, in western Kenya, has been working to help low-income women and families end their reliance on her small community of Catholic religious women and other charitable groups. Instead of a charity, she wants to give families in the country's fifth-largest city the option to be self-sustaining and to contribute an important aspect of a healthy city — nutrition. Her idea: chickens.

Residents of a Boston rooming house run by an order of Catholic nuns earned a short-term victory last week when the owners agreed to suspend eviction proceedings against the few older women left in the building, pending a state inquiry into allegations of age discrimination.

Pope Francis has asked an Italian nun, who has been on the frontlines in the fight against human trafficking, to write this year's Way of the Cross meditations.

From A Nun's Life podcasts - In this random nun clip, Sister Maxine and Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon are joined by special guests: freshmen and sophomore students.

Horizons - In reading about our community's founder, Mother Theodore, what I observe in her interplay of real risk and humor is a lightness and freedom of heart that only comes from deep faith. I've come to the conclusion that we may need humor in these times more than ever.

It is a period of transformation in the nation's capital, but Catholic social justice organizations across the area have shown decades of dedication to cause and adaptability. Leaders of these organizations describe a diverse and vibrant D.C.-area Catholic community made of many different groups working in conjunction and collaboration.

The book contains the many voices of international sisters and their experiences in the U.S., and allows them to be heard and seen in a collective way.