175 Years of Mercy in the United States

Vision in Action

Christmas Greetings Mary Louise Petro rsm

President, MIA Members

Christmas Greetings

Mercy Global Presence has been a focus this year for all members of our Mercy world. As we move towards the celebration of this beautiful Christmas season, let us gather into our thoughts each corner of the world where Mercy has a presence– the Presence of the Child Emmanuel. Let us send our blessings of Healing and Love to those whose lives we tend…

As We Celebrate Christmas Denise Fox rsm

Chair, MIA Board

As We Celebrate Christmas

…As we celebrate Christmas, may we be strengthened by our immersion in the Mystery of the birth of the Christ child to give expression to Mercy in our diversity and in what we hold in common, treasuring our Mercy global presence…

A Christmas Wish Mary Reynolds rsm

CEO MIA

A Christmas Wish

As you celebrate Christmas, may you be cheerful and happy animating all around you.

In all your tripping about and busy preparations, may your heart remain centered in God.

May many little cheering things come your way and may peace be in your heart…

Christmas Greetings from the Mercy World

Greetings

Christmas Greetings from the Mercy World

Christmas Greetings from Mercy Congregations and Institutes, Mercy Communities, Sisters, Associates and partners-in-Mercy across the Mercy world are linked to this item.

Messages to: the Editor

Do check out the homepage of our website to see MIC with Christmas lights a-blazing and the star of wonder over head.
You may need to refresh the page in your browser.

MIA Ministry Position: Leader Administration & Finance

MIA

MIA Ministry Position: Leader Administration & Finance

An opportunity will become available in the latter part of 2019 for appointment to the role of Leader of Administration and Finance.

The position will be based in Dublin with, initially, a 3 year contract.

The successful candidate will:

-be able to demonstrate an understanding of Mercy International Association
-have experience in personnel and financial management
-possess well developed interpersonal and organisational skills
-be proficient with Word and Excel, accounting and payroll software packages

The role is supported by a facility manager and a part-time accountancy resource person.

Indications of interest are now invited for this post. The recruitment process to fill the post will commence early in 2019.

Contact: Mary Reynolds rsm - CEO MIA

MIA Prayer Intention: Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All People

Prayer

MIA Prayer Intention: Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All People

Extreme weather events, terrorism, refugee crises, hunger & malnutrition, political unrest, governments in chaos…many of the issues the world has faced this year will require international co-operation and global development in 2019 and beyond if there is to be resolution .

As we each listen again at Christmas to the Angels proclaiming ‘peace’ and ‘goodwill’, let us pray for these words to be written on our hearts and evident in our actions throughout the coming year, and in the hearts and actions of all who hear the Christmas story.

Post a prayer in our online chapel.
Messages to: Mary Reynolds rsm - CEO MIA

Carol Singing in the Baggot Street Chapel

Events & Programmes

Carol Singing in the Baggot Street Chapel

There was a wonderful turn out for the Christmas Carols (and songs) with the Celtic Choristers in the Baggot Street Chapel last week. The repertoire included well-known and well-loved favourites such as ‘Silent Night’ and’ O Holy Night’, as well as ‘White Christmas’ and ‘Jingle Bells’. €700 was raised. As the photo shows, the setting was atmospheric and contributed greatly to the success of the evening. Mulled wine (non-alcoholic!) and minced pies were served afterwards.
It is hoped that Carol singing in the Baggot Street Chapel will become an annual event.

Messages to: Emma Horgan - Development Officer

Mercy eNews: Important Information

Communication

Mercy eNews: Important Information

Thank you to all our contributors for news items, greetings, the longform articles and suggestions of resources, all of which have helped build the global Mercy community online. Thank you to our readers for your support, encouragement and feedback.

All issues of MercyeNews for this year have been archived online and are linked to this item.

The first issue of Mercy E-News for 2019 will be published on Wednesday, 23 January. Please send your contributions for the first issue of Mercy News to the Editor by Friday, 18 January.

Messages to: the Editor

Letters Were Written: Trees Now Planted

Canonisation Cause

Letters Were Written: Trees Now Planted

In 2015/2016 during the Jubilee Year of Mercy thousands of letters were written and sent to Pope Francis , thanking him for the gift of the Jubilee year of Mercy…

Heart-warming letters were sent in from all the continents, from women and men, young and old. In a letter sent in to Pope Francis introducing a three hundred page book (compiled from a randomly picked ten percent of all the letters sent in) a promise was made that trees would be planted in order to compensate for the paper used in writing the letters…

On Monday, December 3rd that promised was fulfilled…

Members' News

Climate Change is Fundamentally a Moral Issue

Degradation of Earth

Climate Change is Fundamentally a Moral Issue

‘…We write from a faith perspective. Inspired by the leadership of Pope Francis expressed in his ecological encyclical Laudato Si, which he addressed to all the peoples of the world, we believe that all are stewards of the Earth with a duty of care. Many of our religious congregations are working in countries where climate change has already caused destruction through droughts, typhoons and rising seas...’

Extract from the letter written and signed by members of a number of religious congregations in Ireland, including Sheila Curran rsm, published 14 December in the ‘Irish Times’ newspaper and linked to this item.

Messages to: Sheila Curran rsm - Justice Co-ordinator, Association of Leaders of Missionaries and Religious of Ireland (AMRI)

Sisters of Mercy Help Push Canadian Mining Giant to Abandon Operations Image: Courtesy Western Sahara Research Watch

Newfoundland

Sisters of Mercy Help Push Canadian Mining Giant to Abandon Operations

‘After years of lobbying by a small community of Catholic sisters from eastern Canada, the world’s largest producer of potash is abandoning mining operations in territory south of Morocco…

[Sr Elizabeth] Davis stresses the intervention by her congregation was not the only factor, or perhaps even the major one, in the Nutrient decision. But others have expressed admiration for how the sisters galvanized support for their cause…’

Source: The Catholic Register

Messages to: Sisters of Mercy

HARK! Mercy puts Mental health and social service providers on the same channel Stock Image

Americas

HARK! Mercy puts Mental health and social service providers on the same channel

A homeless veteran struggling with substance dependence may not have the energy or resources to coordinate social and medical services that could open a path back to mental health, economic stability and sobriety. Likewise, the parents of a child with mental illness or developmental delays may be confounded by a lack of coordination among schools, social service providers and medical providers.

A partnership between Mercy Northwest Arkansas and the Endeavor Foundation is using a technology platform to dismantle those obstacles to coordinated care and ensure that individuals and families don't get lost in a disconnected system…

Dignity Health receives grants from U.S. Department of Justice for Human Trafficking Response Programs

Americas

Dignity Health receives grants from U.S. Department of Justice for Human Trafficking Response Programs

Dignity Health, one the nation’s largest health systems, has received two federal grants totaling more than $1.5 million from the United States Department of Justice that will help the health system expand human trafficking response programs and services.

Messages to: Chad Burns - Media Inquiries Dignity Health

Chapter of Elections

Philippines

Chapter of Elections

The Chapter of Elections will take place on Sunday, 30 December 2018.

Please keep the Religious Sisters of Mercy Philippines in your prayers.

Messages to: Sisters of Mercy

Jesus Comes Bringing Peace: Scripture with Kathleen Rushton rsm Image: Jane Maisey rsj

Aotearoa New Zealand

Jesus Comes Bringing Peace: Scripture with Kathleen Rushton rsm

Kathleen Rushton rsm draws attention to how the story of Jesus’s birth in Luke 2:1-20 challenges our domesticated Christmas images and ideas. Sr Kathleen writes, ‘Heaven and Earth come together in this birth. These cosmological spheres, known to Luke’s readers, are affected and come together. The whole inhabited creation is involved…’

The latest article and a PDF of the 11 articles published this year are linked to this item and in the Library..

Messages to: Kathleen Rushton rsm

Editor: We are grateful to Ann Gilroy rsj, Editor of Tui Motu Interislands magazine for permission to reproduce Sr Kathleen’s monthly reflections. Support Tui Motu

Cork Hospital Bids Farewell to the Last of Mercy Sisters

The Congregation

Cork Hospital Bids Farewell to the Last of Mercy Sisters

‘STAFF at one of Cork's busiest hospitals marked the end of an era today [ 12 December] with a farewell gesture for the last Mercy nuns working there…
Mercy CEO, Sandra Daly also paid tribute to the order's legacy. "Mercy is not only the name of this hospital; it is its chief characteristic," she said…

"The Sisters have demonstrated to us that we must sustain a culture which provides a compassionate and dignified place where our collective values and respect prevail. This is a key strength of this hospital, as we continue to strive to create the space in which, to nurture the skills that keep core values at the centre of all evidence-based medicine."…’

Source: Evening Echo

Messages to: Srs Laurentia and Concepta c/- Sr Laurentia

Great Britain

Editor: In Mercy eNews Issue #798 (21 November 2018), we featured the release of the report Threads of Solidarity by the Arise Foundation, highlighting the anti-slavery commitment of religious women and men in the UK.

The news item by Luke de Pulford, Co-founder and Director of the Arise Foundation and Lynda Dearlove rsm MBE, CEO of women@thewell and Board Member of Arise, published in the Catholic Herald and linked here, builds on that report.

Messages to: Lynda Dearlove rsm MBE

Sister Brings Planetary Perspective to Planning Inquiry

ISMAPNG

Sister Brings Planetary Perspective to Planning Inquiry

Patricia Powell rsm OAM recently represented Rahamim Ecology Centre at the Independent Planning Commission public meeting in Mudgee, New South Wales during its determination of the Bylong Coal Project. This was an important meeting for the public to express their views on whether or not the Korean-based Kepco Coal Mine should go ahead in the Bylong Valley

Messages to: Patricia Powell rsm

Mercy Matters

23 December 2018. 4th Sunday of Advent Year C

Gospel

23 December 2018. 4th Sunday of Advent Year C

‘Advent is not a time of passive waiting. It is a time to ponder the various ways that God sustains life in its diverse forms. It is a time to become householders, like Elizabeth, who clear the paths and open our doors for the God of life to enter in…’

On This Day

Fact

On This Day

1914: Death of M Liguori Keenan at Carysfort, which she had purchased, Co Dublin

Contribute a fact from the story of your Mercy congregation, institute or federation, to our online archive.

30 December 2018. Feast of the Holy Family Year C

Gospel

30 December 2018. Feast of the Holy Family Year C

‘The time between Christmas and New Year is often family time, a good time to think about what family means. For many, it is a challenge to juggle the various family commitments. We do our best, and trust that everyone will understand the difficult choices that sometimes have to be made…’

Imagining the Nativity

Reflection

Imagining the Nativity

Contemplative Exercises (Audio) from Pray-as-you-go (Jesuits in Britain).

  1. Introduction
  2. The Visitation
  3. Joseph
  4. The Shepherds
  5. The Innkeeper’s Wife
  6. Mary & Jesus
  7. The Magi
Kairos Christmas Video

Resource

Kairos Christmas Video

Peace on Earth, goodwill to all.

The annual, reflective and challenging video from Kairos Canada

The O Antiphons

Resource

The O Antiphons

The "O Antiphons" accompany the Magnificat canticle of Evening Prayer during the last seven days of Advent. Performed here by Gloriae Dei Cantores (Singers to the Glory of God).

17 Dec: O Sapientia (O Wisdom)
18 Dec: O Adonai (O Adonai [Lord])
19 Dec: O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)
20 Dec: O Clavis David (O Key of David)
21 Dec: O Oriens (O Rising Sun)
22 Dec: O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations)
23 Dec: O Emmanuel (O Emmanuel)

Further Resources

Worth Watching

'O Holy Night'

Marc Martel sings ‘O Holy Night’, the well-known carol composed in French in 1847 and translated into English in 1855.

Listen here

Worth Reading

Rethinking global poverty reduction in 2019

‘The good news is that 2019 will start with the lowest prevalence of extreme poverty ever recorded in human history—less than 8 percent…The bad news, though, is that poverty reduction rates are expected to keep slowing down considerably over the next decade…’

Read the article here

Worth Reading

Bishops and Astronauts Gather in Washington to Remember Apollo 8

‘The mission, which lasted from Dec. 21 to Dec. 27, 1968, included an unusual religious element: As the trio of spacefarers [James Lovell, William Anders and Frank Borman] rounded the moon on Christmas Eve, they paused to read the first 10 verses from the Book of Genesis…

[Lovell] paused, then added: “In my mind, the answer was clear: God gave [hu]mankind a stage on which to perform. How the play ends is up to us.”’

Read the article & view the Space window here

Worth Knowing

At COP24, countries agree concrete way forward to bring the Paris climate deal to life

After two weeks of crunch negotiations – with overtime – the almost 200 parties gathered in Katowice, Poland, for the United Nations COP24 two-week climate change conference, adopted on Saturday a “robust” set of implementing guidelines for the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, aimed at keeping global warming well below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels.

Read the report from the UN

Send suggestions and contributions for the ‘Worth’ Section 2019 to The Editor

The Bottom Line

‘The stories of the first Christmas…offer the expansive vision of a God who loved the world & each person in it so much as to enter it as a little child dependent on other people’s love and respect. The story invites people to treat one another as precious & with respect for their inherent worth…
Christmas puts human beings first.’

Andrew Hamilton sj, Nauru Children: Why did we wait so long?, 3 November 2018

Mercy eNews

The online newsletter of Mercy International Association is published fortnightly, 24 weeks each year and distributed to subscribers via email.

For more information on the directors click here