Members of the MIA-Global Action working group on Opposing Human Trafficking from Australia, Ireland and America met via conference call on 3 October.

Reports from members were circulated prior to the call providing the opportunity to share initiatives and best practice and to alert the group to concerns and emerging issues. The reports are linked to this item.

Messages to: Denise Boyle fmdm - Team Leader MIA-MGA

All members of the Mercy family are invited to join on 12 October in praying the prayer that was specially composed for MIA: Prayer for Mercy International Association/ Oración de la AIM’ 

Together, let us '[re] commit ourselves to preserving the best of the past, fostering the best of the present and shaping the best for the future'.

Post your own Prayer or Reflection in our online Chapel

Messages to: Mary Reynolds rsm - Executive Director MIA

We pray with the people of northern California, victims this week of wildfires. We are especially mindful of  the relatives of the 15 deceased, of  the 100+ missing and the more than 200, 000 who have had to evacuate their homes and businesses and cities.

The losses and damages to structures and properties, landmarks and landscapes is heart-breaking for those effected, particularly in  the renowned wine country where so many people have enjoyed touring and where the biggest fires are raging.

Post your own Prayer or Reflection in our online Chapel

Messages to: Mary Reynolds rsm - Executive Director MIA

As a Mercy Community, we pray with those in need of physical healing through the intercession of Catherine McAuley.

God of love and mercy, touch with your healing power and restore to full health: Theo Malone, Kathleen Bradley Smith, Peter O'Reilly, Diane Love, Siobhan Cleary, Rachelle Harper,  and all whose names are on our prayer list.

We ask this with confidence through the intercession of Venerable Catherine McAuley. Amen.

Messages to: the Vice postulators

Editor: 11 October marks the fifth anniversary of the International Day of the Girl. The theme of this year's celebrations - 'EmPOWER girls: emergency response and resilience planning' - highlights complex global challenges that disproportionately effect women and girls: forced displacement, climate change and violent extremism.

In the Report of the Secretary General to UNICEF, 'The Girl Child', supplied by Deirdre Mullan rsm, the situation of the girl child worldwide is presented: 'girls everywhere still face significant deprivations and inequalities as a result of persistent gender discrimination. Further disadvantages based on age, poverty, disability, location, race, ethnicity and migration status compound the barriers girls face to building fulfilling futures for themselves and to making contributions to their communities and societies'.

Download the report here (4 pps;PDF)

Messages to: Deirdre Mullan rsm - Partnering Religious Congregations with UNICEF

'The Mercy Center for Spiritual life  at Salve Regina University organized a United in Mercy rally that took place outside McAuley Hall on September 14th.

The event was presented for students and faculty to join together to project a unified voice against intolerance, bigotry, racism, and violence. Members of the Salve community took the opportunity to speak about what it means to be united in mercy...

University President Sister Jane Gerety...offered her own interpretation of what it means to be united in mercy, which is to “love in the face of need.”'

Source: Mosaic

View the video clip here (02:21)

Messages to: Jane Gerety rsm

Following recent climate disasters, Hurricanes Harvey and Irma and the earthquake in Mexico, members of the U.S. Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking (USACHT) believed it would be helpful to share a module entitled “Human Trafficking and Environmental Refugees” for reflection and discussion. The module, written by  Jeanne Christensen rsm, Board Member, U.S. Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking, can be downloaded here (2 pps; PDF).

Messages to: Jeanne Christensen rsm

The Sisters of Mercy North Sydney Mercy Day celebrations for 2017 were held at Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College, North Sydney, on 15 September, 2017.

The highlight video of the Mercy Day celebrations linked to this item shows the spirit of Mercy at Monte (04:03).

Messages to: Loreto Conroy rsm - Congregation Leader

Maria College’s 2017 Mercy Week celebration began on September 18, 2017 at 9am EST with an unveiling ceremony of a bronze sculpture in the likeness of Catherine McAuley, the first sister of Mercy, created by artist, Marie Henderson rsm.

Maria President Dr. Thomas Gamble warmly welcomed those gathered in Fitzgerald Court in Marian Hall, a historic space whose stained glass windows were once part of the Monastery of the Immaculate Conception and former residence of the cloistered Dominican Sisters.  Gail Waring rsm, chair of the Maria Board of Trustees, then offered a prayer followed by the unveiling of the bronze likeness of Catherine...

Read the Report on Mercy Week at Maria College New York (PDF).

Messages to: Beth Wales - Chief Marketing and Communications Officer

Image: Bust of Catherine in alcove flagged by quotes from 'The Spirit of the Institute' and 'The Door of Mercy'

We, Sisters of Mercy Parramatta Congregation, have committed ourselves in our Chapter Statement to "to enjoy and celebrate Earth’s beauty and bounty and her many species...to honour our duty to love and care for her and add to her well-being wherever possible".

We have resolved "to live simply, in a way that takes into account the fragility of Mother Earth"  and to "protect the rights of the natural world and make practical efforts to stem the hurtful effects of climate change, pollution and the ‘throw away’ mentality."

Messages to: Maria Lawton rsm - Congregation Leadership Team

Wirelessly beam movies, TV shows, web videos, and photos from your laptop to your HDTV.

Souce: Intel

1962: Argentina became part of Detroit province

Contribute a fact about the Story of the Sisters of Mercy in your congregation or institute to our online archive

'Catherine was an ardent peace-maker – an ecumenical person in a period of bigotry.'

- M Florence Sullivan

Mount de Sales is committed to continuing the vision of the Sisters of Mercy, who founded the school in 1876. An independent, Catholic, college prep school, the Academy enjoys a rich heritage of providing spiritual growth opportunities and challenging academic programs within an environment based on Christ-like action, Gospel values, and service to others.

“Compassion is a sentiment that gets involved, it is a sentiment of the heart, of the viscera, it involves the whole person. It’s not the same as “pain,” or of [saying] “How sad, poor people!”: No, it’s not the same... It is “suffering with.” This is compassion. The Lord is involved in the lives of a widow, of an orphan. ... For Him, that widow and that dead orphan were more important than the crowds He was speaking to and that were following Him. The Lord, with His compassion, was involved in this case...”

'The increasing wealth of the mega rich and the growing divide between rich and poor, particularly in the developing world, are challenging us all to consider our attitudes to the planet’s resources. Today’s gospel brings a warning....''

Read the Reflection on the Gospel by Veronica Lawson rsm (ISMAPNG)

Listen to the Gospel read by Fr Eamonn O'Connor (Ireland)