A little boy pulled from his pocket a treasure he had found in the garbage, a small dirty piece of red plastic. He said, “this is for you, if you look through this, everything is beautiful!” Sister Marj Crossman rsj recalls her first Christmas in Peru and the story about this most precious Christmas gift.

Pope Francis dedicated 2015 to the promotion of consecrated life, asking the Church's religious sisters, brothers, and priests to "wake up the world" with their testimony of faith, holiness, and hope. Sister Berneice Loch rsm, the president of Catholic Religious Australia, reflects on what that might mean.

My take on religious life, after living it for over 45 years, is so different from those early days where I was one of many, doing what many did, writes Sister Marie McAlister rsj.

When you hear the readings of this wonderful festival of Advent and Christmas, ask yourself – what gospel are you hearing and what message does the evangelist have to proclaim to you today? Sister Ellen Royan rsj guides us through the rich tapestry of the Infancy narratives in the gospels.

Jesuit Refugee Service Australia (JRS) is opening a Parramatta drop-in centre in 2015 to support asylum seekers on bridging visas. This project has become a reality through the help of the Parramatta Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of Charity, the Holy Spirit Sisters, the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, and the efforts of Volunteer Coordinator Sister Margaret Guy rsc, writes Maeve Brown.

Religious sisters, brothers and priests continue to bring gifts of reflection and pause to the church in a digital world besieged by distraction and increasing anxiety, writes Giselle Lapitan.

The Year of Consecrated Life offers a wonderful opportunity to look back on the different ways religious women and men have served Queensland - and continue to do so - by watching a DVD set produced last year.

The Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea (ISMAPNG) invite you to join them in prayer on the eve of the commencement of the Year of Consecrated Life.

What if the Year of Consecrated Life ushers in a new graced time for religious, a kairos time, a time of vitality, hope and vision, a time that addresses the cries of a twenty first century world? This is one of the many possibilities that Sister Sue McGuiness rsj recently hoped for the Josephites, and we at CRA echo these hopes for the benefit of all religious.

Sister Mary Lotton nds has come full circle in her 50th year as a Sister of Our Lady of Sion in the Diocese of Sale, Victoria. Colin Coomber writes about the roots of her vocation and her passion for Jewish-Christian relations, a cornerstone of the Sion charism.

Presentation Sister Suzanne Gentle, Co-ordinator of Centacare Community Connections Cannon Hill in Brisbane was recently interviewed with Nirosha Ponnuthurai, an asylum seeker from Sri Lanki on 96.5 FM radio station in Queensland.

Brisbane’s discalced Carmelite community of contemplative women remembered the 500th birthday of their order’s founder, St Teresa of Avila, last week, reports The Catholic Leader.

Sister Maria Goretti used to program robots and design smart phone games before she gave up a booming career in computer science and a relationship for a life of service as a Sister of St Paul de Chartres, writes Emilie Ng.

In 2002, the Ministers of the Infirm, affectionately known throughout the world as the Camillians, arrived in the Diocese of Parramatta to serve the sick and suffering as chaplains in hospitals across the Diocese. The recent launch of the Lay Camillian family demonstrates the enduring influence of the life, work and ministry of their founder St Camillus. 

Franciscan Friar Benignus Clowes' spirituality and his struggle with bipolar mood disorder has given him a very personal experience of the importance of pain and suffering as a path to joy, writes Peter Bugden.

The growing partnership between lay people and religious institutions has brought renewed vitality to Catholic mission and a strong assurance that the work of religious congregations is moving forward into the future. Giselle Lapitan looks back to the stories of lay speakers in the 2014 National Assembly and shares their insights on mission and governance.

Sister Elaine Morzone mfic and Mary Schwartz were invited by the parishioners of St Mary’s Cunnamulla to provide formation for the Parish Pastoral Council and workshops in the ministries of funerals and communion to the sick and housebound. Mary Schwartz recounts their journey and introduces the places and good people who continue the Gospel message in the far west of the Toowoomba diocese.

Carmelite Fathers Angelino Dos Santos and Martinho Da Costa became the first East Timorese Carmelites to have done their entire Carmelite formation and preparation for priesthood after East Timor became part of the Carmelites’ Australian Province in 2001.

Meditation is a journey inwards to the divine indwelling, rather than a resting place. It is still and silent, exteriorly, but can lead to some very uncomfortable places, interiorly, writes Sister Carmel Moore rsj.

Good Samaritan Sisters, Sarah Puls and Bernadette Corboy, reflect on what religious life means to them. They consider some of the questions for women today who might be thinking about religious life.

Scalabrinian Father Luis Viovicente's approach to his new role as parish priest of Seaton, South Australia is guided by the words of Moses at the burning bush: “Take off your sandals because you are on holy ground,” writes Jenny Brinkworth.

The National Covenant Document, a framework of relations between Australian Christian churches for co-operation and shared hopes, brings energy to mission, writes Dominican Sister Trish Madigan who grew up in a family of mixed Christian heritage.

Fr Thomas is currently engaged as the full-time Vocation Director for the province of Australia, actively promoting the Capuchin way of life as a vocation to be discerned by young Catholic men. In this article, Capuchin Father John Cooper shares Fr Thomas' vocation story.

How does a person know that they are successful in doing God's work? Does it matter? Columban Father Gary Walker reflects on the mysteries of faith and mission and on how God sees differently from us.

Sister Pat Bartley rsj looks back at 60 years of her vocation and finds that a phrase from among her Jubilee greetings encapsulates the joys and challenges in the story of her religious life.

Dominican Sister Helen Merrin loves the adventure, challenge and ability of the martial art 'karate' to still the mind and sharpen her focus, writes Debra Vermeer.

What do Uniting Church elders, workers from Catholic Centre Care, an Anglican priest and members of her parish, Aboriginal members from the Congress church and two Sisters of Mercy in Port Augusta have in common this Lenten season, asks Sister Anne Foale rsm?

Dominican Sister Diana Santleben of Penola House spoke to Trazia Akec of Newcastle, whose daughter Ayen Dong (pictured) was in South Sudan at the time of this writing and she shares with us this refugee family's story.

The priestly ministry and cycling passion of Fra Oscar Aguilera osm complement each other and goes beyond this Servite priest's fitness and health goals, writes Matthew Biddle.

What well-to-do young woman would have the courage to begin a new religious congregation that served Ireland's poor in their places of need? Sr Margaret Valentine rsc, Pastoral Co-ordinator of Myall Coast Parish, tells the story of the first congregation of religious women in Australia, the congregation to which she belongs.