Since March 2009, when Sr. Martha Park Byongsuk first came to the Bus-Park slum of Pokhara, Nepal, life has improved for its impoverished residents. Byongsuk and fellow sisters have connected them with medical care; they also have launched St. Paul's Happy Home, a place for children to go after school, eat a meal, bathe and study.

At a recent visit to a botanical garden I saw two trees that are a living witness to me of my need for a deeper awakening to the cycles of life and my awe at a very inscrutable process: the co-dependent evolution of life and death which is in me, my church, my country and my world.

The crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane bound for Nairobi, Kenya, killed 157 people, including Our Lady of the Angels Sr. Florence Wangari, Mariannhill Fr. George Mukua Kageche, and four Ethiopian staff working with Catholic Relief Services.

From Where I Stand: There are some things that simply must be borne. There are some mountains in life that must be climbed but can only be climbed one boulder, one level at a time. 

Notes from the Field - I've been reflecting on the stimuli that shape my headspace as we approach the 63rd U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, with its focus on public infrastructure.

After Francis' admission of the issue of clergy abuse of nuns, Catholics are urging him to act firmly against abusers, especially in India, where supporters of a nun who has accused a bishop of rape find themselves censured by church authorities.

The sister from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in Indiana explains how the idea to offer a retreat for mothers originated at a family Thanksgiving — and why we should all act more like the alpacas at the sisters' eco center.

Though he is soaked in blood, carrying a cross, being jeered at, falling and beaten till he stands again, instinctively I know who he is — the lovely child I delivered.  

I didn't know how to "declutter" a part of my mind and heart for God, so I just kept praying for help, beginning every morning by asking God to make me aware of the needs of those around me.

The commission's 63rd annual session at the United Nations comes at a critical moment in the history of women's rights and gender equality, say Catholic sisters who plan to participate in the March 11-22 events.