Sisters of Mercy Newfoundland Recognised as a Blue Community
L-R: Andrea Furlong, Diane Smyth. Image: Sam McLeish, The Telegram
Editor: On Friday, 19 October, Ms. Andrea Furlong, Interim Chief Executive of the Council of Canadians, presented the Congregation with a certificate as a Blue Community, the 20th group in Canada to commit to the honoring and protection of water, and one of only 47 groups yet to do so worldwide. The presentation took place at McAuley Convent, St John’s…
Messages to: Sisters of Mercy Newfoundland
L-R: Andrea Furlong, Diane Smyth. Image: Sam McLeish, The Telegram
MIA Vision in Action
Prayer
MIA Prayer Intention: All Saints, 1 November
In *Gaudete et Exsultate* (GE 3-9), Pope Francis teaches us that the Saints now in God’s presence likely include people we know who ‘amid their faults and failings…kept moving forward and proved pleasing to the Lord’ .
Ordinary men and women whom he calls, ‘the saints “next door”’, people living in our midst, reflect God’s presence by the very witness of their lives.
Let us pray that we might be encouraged by their example, strengthened by their accompaniment, and ‘spurred on by the signs of holiness that the Lord shows us through the humblest members of that people’.
prayer
MIA Prayer Intention: All Souls, 2 November
Our families, relatives, community members and friends who have gone before us ‘preserve their bonds of love and communion with us’. (GE 3) and are never far from us.
Let us pray:
May all who mourn be comforted today in the knowledge that those who are dear to them ‘rest in the sleep of peace’ (EP 1).
May all who have preceded us in death and all who sleep in Christ, ‘enjoy for ever the fullness of your glory’ (EP 3).
May those who die today be welcomed ‘into the light of your face’ (EP 2).
Season of Mercy
Remembrance Day at Baggot Street
Mass will be celebrated at 2pm on Sunday, 11 November at MIC to recall the anniversary of the death of Catherine McAuley and to remember all those who have walked the path of Mercy. It will be followed by a ‘Good Cup of Tea’ in the Dining Room.
The flyer and Mass booklet are linked to this item.
RSVP by 7 November by phone
(01) 661 8061, email or book in using Eventbrite.
Messages to: Madeleine O’Hanlon - Receptionist
All are invited to send in the names of those who have died in the past year so that they can be remembered in a special way at this Mass. At the end of Mass the scroll of names will be placed at Catherine’s grave.
Members' News
North Sydney
'I'm Not Going to Stop': Schoolgirl Conservationist Inspires Passionate Debate
‘Sophia Skarparis has a message for politicians…
*"We are the generation that will be active,"* Miss Skarparis said. *"This youth and this generation are so serious about caring for our common home ... I am not going to stop."*
The Year 10 student from Sydney's Monte Sant'Angelo Mercy College secured the Australian Geographic Society award - presented on Friday night [26 October]- for her bag-the-ban petition that topped 12,000 signatures. That tally was enough to force a debate on Thursday in State Parliament���.’
Source: Sydney Morning Herald.
Messages to Sophia Skarparis
By Martin Falbisoner - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0
Americas
2018 Midterm Election Voter Guide: A Call to Holiness
Editor: The United States mid-term elections will be held next Tuesday, 6 November. ‘Since our last national election, we have witnessed growing political divides, widening economic disparity, and increased instances of targeted discrimination across the country,’ write the Sisters of Mercy.
A coalition of Catholic organisations, including the Sisters of Mercy’s Extended Justice Team, has created and endorsed a voter guide to help voters in the election preparation process.
The guide may be of broader interest and use as the issues it addresses—such as Immigration and Refugees, The Environment —and the questions it offers for reflection, can be applied more broadly.
Messages to: Institute Justice Team
ISMAPNG
Bathurst Refugees Building a New Life in the Country – in a New Country
‘Not every new Australian trying to make a life in regional NSW has a Catholic nun with 60 years' experience with migrants and refugees looking out for them, demanding employers read a resume and “tormenting” people to grant an interview.
Desperate to stop a young Sri Lankan family from leaving Bathurst because they can’t find jobs, 83-year-old Sister of Mercy nun Bernie Evens drove 22-year-old Devarani Rajalingam to a job interview an hour away last Friday.
Ms Rajalingam will need a driver’s licence if she gets the job, so Sr Bernie is teaching her to drive…’
Source: Western Advocate
Messages to: Bernie Evens rsm
Mercy Matters
Reflection
Brides of the Well
Water is becoming a private privilege rather than a community resource. Although a fictional story, *Brides of the Well*, a short animation, is based on the very real, interlinked issues of poverty, lack of access to water and child marriage.
Technical Tip
How To Do Passwords Right In 2018
‘The best passwords are impossible to forget but very difficult to guess.’
Organisations
Mercy Education System of the Americas
MESA is an international Mercy education system organized under the Public Juridic Person of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. It holds a delegated governance role and service role for each Mercy education ministry individually and the system communally.
Fact
On This Day
1866: Foundation to Bathurst, NSW, Australia from Charleville, Co. Cork
1866: Foundation to Nashville, Tennessee From Rhode Island - M Clare McMahon
Contribute a fact from the story of your Mercy congregation, institute or federation, to our online archive.
From cover of Crualaoich’s book. Artwork by Katherine Beug. http://katherineboucherbeug.com/
International Days
Samhain (Hallowe'en), 31 October
In Ireland, Samhain, (October 31st) today’s Hallowe’en, is traditionally associated with the figure of the Cailleach, whose traditions are beautifully recovered in Gearóid Ó Crualaoich’s book, *The Book of the Cailleach.*
Along with her daughters, the cailleacha, sometimes known as goddesses, the Cailleach, dropping huge boulders from her cloak created the world — mountains, rivers, wells, and megalithic sites such as the Hill of the Witch at Lough Crew…. The imagery of Great Creatrix is now represented as a terrifying Witch on her broomstick. Why?
Resource
The Practical Sayings
A selection of the sayings of Catherine McAuley (1778-1841), including a reprint of the 1868 publication of her ‘Practical Sayings’ by Mary Clare Moore, London.
With a new preface, introduction and appendix by Mary C. Sullivan rsm (Americas).
An important publication for every Mercy library.
Available from the MIC Gift Shop. €4.00 plus postage
Our New Website
library
Use the Library
The Library section provides access to all the resources on our website, including some of the ‘Further Resources’ included each week in MercyeNews.
Resources can be searched for by format (e.g. video), and by topic (e.g Catherine).
One resource is featured in the Library each week and the latest three resources added to the Library appear on the homepage.
If you can’t find what you are looking for, ask the librarian!
Meet the Directors of MIA
There are 9 members of the MIA Board and the Company Secretary, Mary Reynolds rsm, CEO MIA.
Learn who they are and find out their particular skills and experiences.
The Board will meet in Dublin this coming weekend, 2-3 November. Please keep them and their deliberations in your prayers.
Catherine
Take a Tour of Catherine's Dublin
Discover the story of Catherine McAuley by exploring this virtual tour of Dublin. The tour visits many landmarks of importance in the life of Catherine and the history of the Sisters of Mercy. Historical photos are interspersed with contemporary images.
The Dublin tour commences at Baggot Street and concludes at Prospect Cemetery (Glasnevin), burial place of Catherine’s nephews, Robert and James.
Resources
Worth Reading
It’s Getting Harder to Talk About God
The decline in our spiritual vocabulary has many real-world consequences.
Read the NY Times opinion pieceWorth Reading
Women Are the Secret Weapon for Better Water Management
According to global estimates from UN Water, water projects become six to seven times more effective when women participate.
Read the article
Worth Watching
'Litany of the Saints' by John Becker
For the Feast of All Saints, 1 November
'All you holy men & women pray for us'Worth Reading
Redrawing the Map: How the World’s Climate Zones Are Shifting
‘Rising global temperatures are altering climatic zones around the planet, with consequences for food and water security, local economies, and public health. Here’s a stark look at some of the distinct features that are already on the move.’
Read the ArticleWorth Reading
European Parliament Approves Sweeping Ban on Single-use plastics
Under the proposed directive, items such as plastic straws, cotton swabs, disposable plastic plates and cutlery would be banned by 2021, and 90% of plastic bottles recycled by 2025.’
Read the articleWorth Reading
Saving the World, One Meaningless Buzzword at a Time
‘How corporations, activists, and politicians turned the language of human rights into meaningless babble.’
Read the ArticleWorth Knowing
Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC)
A new version of the Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC) has been released, now featuring data on over 90,000 cases of human trafficking and new data visualization tools. CTDC is the first global data hub on human trafficking, with data contributed by organizations from around the world.
Visit the websiteWorth Reading
Joint Statement on Climate Justice by Bishops' Conferences
The presidents of Bishops’ Conferences on every continent have called on politicians to work towards an ambitious implementation of the Paris Agreement. They ask for COP24 to prove a milestone in the path set out in 2015 in Paris.
Read the StatementWorth Playing
Nowhere to Call Home
Nowhere to Call Home explores the human issues around climate change and forced migration. Photographic and filmed portraits of climate refugees from Bangladesh and Sami people from the Arctic, whose way of life is threatened by climate change, have been captured by the Environmental Justice Foundation, with their stories told as audio dramatisations by playwright Ursula Rani Sarma.
LIsten to the storiesWorth Knowing
Letter from the Synod Fathers to Young People
In a letter addressed to young people of the whole world, the Synod Fathers invite the young to “be a brighter future”.
Read the letterSend suggestions and contributions for the Worth Section 2018 to The Editor
The Bottom Line
‘How rapidly the days, weeks, and months are passing. Another month ended, that seemed but a few days begun. If we have not forfeited the friendship of almighty God, but have been trying to love Him more and more, and to serve Him faithfully, then they were blessed days for us…’
Catherine McAuley, Letter to Mary de Sales White, February 28, 1841
Mercy eNews
The online newsletter of Mercy International Association is published weekly, 48 weeks each year and distributed to subscribers via email.