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Mercy Global Presence Emerging
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For surely I know the plans I have for you . . . to give you a future with hope. Jer 29:11
Chimes ~ single gong ~ ripple of a stream ~ meadow ~ morning dew ~ earth after rain ~ shimmering blue/green/purple ~ rainbow ~ spectrum with black and brown and white ~ open arms ~ bird in flight ~ dew drop ~ covenant ~ welcome ~ joy – with these images, the participants at Wellsprings 2018 evoked the sound, sight, smell, shape and promise of Mercy Global Presence! More effectively than any words, these images remind us as Sisters of Mercy, Associates in Mercy and partners in Mercy that Mercy Global Presence is joy-filled, intimate, challenging and life-giving even as we struggle to describe or even recognize it in our midst. How can we find the words, the language or the theology to articulate something so precious? Yet we must find new words, new language and new theology if we are to allow this gift to emerge among us and around us in our own places, in our countries and on Earth…
MIA Vision in Action
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International Days
Greetings for St Patrick's Day
Guímís Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig ar Shiúracha na Trócaire ar fud an domhain ar Lá Fhéile Naomh Pádraig…
We send to each of you greetings for St Patrick’s Day.
Messages to: Mary Reynolds rsm - CEO MIA
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Global Action
Mercy Global Action Office Moves to New York.
On March 1st, the Mercy Global Action office transferred from Dublin to New York.
The vision underpinning this transfer is that a consolidated office in New York will facilitate MIA in positioning itself as a change maker for global justice, not only at the United Nations, but through its work in local communities, nations and regions throughout the world…
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Prayer
MIA Prayer intention: Peace in Syria
15 March marks the 8th anniversary of the beginning of the Syrian war…
Join us in praying for an end to the violence, suffering and destruction this war is inflicting on the people of Syria and their country. Join us in praying for peace, for community and for the harmony of fellowship.
Post a prayer in our online chapel.
Messages to: Mary Reynolds rsm - CEO
New Film: 'In God Alone' - the Story of Catherine McAuley
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Catherine
Title of Film: 'In God Alone'
Some people have asked us about the title of the new film on Catherine’s life. Here’s the back story:
When Fr Armstrong was advising Catherine about the challenges that would face her in many quarters, particularly the Church, he counselled her: ‘Put your trust in no man but in God alone’.
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Catherine
View 'In God Alone'
Haven’t viewed the new film yet? Wondering how to locate it and watch it full screen?
The quickest access point is from the landing page in the Catherine section on our site:
Click on the button View the Film on the film panel. This will take you to the special film page. At the bottom of that page, click on Watch the Film, or for Spanish subtitles, click on the button Ver Película. These options allow you to watch the film full screen.
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Catherine
Share Your Response to 'In God Alone'
We are delighted by the feedback in response to the new film on Catherine’s life, with messages online from Sisters and partners-in-Mercy in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Newfoundland and the United States. We’d love to hear from you!
Read others’ feedback and post your response online here
Messages to: Anna Nicholls rsm - Team Leader Heritage & Spirituality
Members' News
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Americas
Union County St. Patrick's Day Parade 2019 Grand Marshal Sister Percylee Hart, rsm
Union Catholic [High School] Principal Sister Percylee Hart, rsm, has been named Grand Marshal of the 2019 Union County St. Patrick's Day Parade…
Her maternal grandfather, John Smith, was born and raised in County Sligo. He immigrated from Ireland to the U.S. in the late 1800's where he found work in the Armory, traveling across the country. Sister's paternal grandmother is also of Irish descent…
Messages to: Percylee Hart rsm
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Aotearoa New Zealand
Transformed in the Struggle: Scripture with Kathleen Rushton rsm
Kathleen Rushton’s reading of Luke 9:28-36 highlights the commitment that Jesus, and all disciples, give to understanding God’s mission in the world. Sr Kathleen writes: ‘As disciples, we might reflect on our participation in God’s mission. What sustains us in tough times? How do we keep our commitment to mission fresh? How do we learn about new directions in God’s mission?’
Messages to: Kathleen Rushton rsm
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ISMAPNG
Ursula Gilbert rsm- A Pilgrimage through the ‘North East’
Editor: Many in the Mercy world know the name ‘Ursula Gilbert’.
Sr Ursula was on the first team at Mercy International Centre, from 1994-1996. But you may not know her life story. In this video, Sr Ursula shares with us her love of the country where she grew up in north-eastern Victoria, Australia.
Messages to: Ursula Gilbert rsm
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The Congregation
Mercy From Age To Age
Early in 2018 the Sisters became aware that Sr. Consilio of Cuan Mhuire [Mary’s Harbour]Trust [Ireland's largest voluntary provider of Addiction Treatment Services and Residential Rehabilitation] was looking for premises in the Downpatrick area to extend her provision for those coping with addictions. A decision was made to give the Downpatrick convent to this cause…
Messages to: Sisters of Mercy Northern Province
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ISMAPNG
Mercy Connect Program Supports Passionate Refugees
Editor: Mercy Connect recruits, trains and supports volunteers to assist school students and their families settle in Australia. After training, the volunteers offer guidance to students as they settle into the Australian school system.
This is the story of Sr Flo rsj (a Mercy Connect volunteer), two passionate car-loving sixth -grade Sudanese boys, Tito and Garang, and their dreams…
Messages to Mercy Works
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Americas
Mission Peer Review at the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, Connecticut
The purpose of the Mission Peer Review visit is to engage in dialogue with the University community about the strength of the Catholic identity and Mercy mission as expressed by the University. The University submitted an in-depth Self-study that explored how mission and identify are interwoven throughout the programs, policies, and practices; CMHE [Conference for Mercy Higher Education] then commissioned a four-member team to engage in conversations across the campus over a three-day period of time…
Messages to: Moya K Dittmeier - Executive Director CMHE
Mercy Matters
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Resource
MESA New Mercy Leader program
The New Mercy Leader Orientation Program is a two-year program offered online for new administrators and board chairs throughout the Mercy Education System of the Americas (MESA).
While developed for MESA, much of the content has broad application eg ‘Servant Leadership’ and ‘Ethical Decision-Making’.
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MIRP
Fr Denis Edwards RIP
News has reached us of the sudden death last week of Fr Denis Edwards, Australian priest, Professor of Theology, Author and Teacher. His name will be familiar to participants in MIRP as Denis graciously agreed to be interviewed for the VOICES project. His interview can be watched online here. The series can be viewed here.
May Denis rest in peace
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Tech Tip
Your iPhone keeps a detailed list of every location you frequent — here's how to delete your history and shut the feature off for good
- ' Apple keeps a detailed, itemized list of every location you've been with your iPhone.
- The feature is found deep inside your iPhone's settings, where you can find specific addresses of places you go, how often you visit places, and when you visited each location…’
Source: Business Insider
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Gospel
17 March 2019. 2nd Sunday of Lent Year C
Luke 9:28-36
'Last week, the wilderness was a character in the gospel reading. This week, we find a mountain and a cloud featuring in the narrative. These other-than-human characters and the prophets of old (Moses and Elijah) link Luke’s story of Jesus to the Israelites’ covenant relationship with God. ...'
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Reflection
The Essential During Lent
‘Lent, therefore, invites us to focus, first of all on the Almighty, in prayer, which frees us from that horizontal and mundane life where we find time for self but forget God. It then invites us to focus on others, with the charity that frees us from the vanity of acquiring and of thinking that things are only good if they are good for me. Finally, Lent invites us to look inside our heart, with fasting, which frees us from attachment to things and from the worldliness that numbs the heart. Prayer, charity, fasting: three investments for a treasure that endures.’
-Pope Francis, Homily on Ash Wednesday 2019
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Fact
On This Day
Nothing is recorded in our online archive as taking place on this day.
Contribute a fact from the story of your Mercy congregation, institute or federation, to our online archive.
Further Resources
Worth Reading
Holy work in a time of creative chaos
‘Leadership in a time of chaos has shown me the face of fidelity. I am learning to trust a bigger plan of which we are a part: It may be one step moving toward strengthening Earth community, moving away from factionalism, and doing the "great work" of raising evolutionary consciousness.’
Read the article hereWorth Watching
Psalm 8 - (Adonai, Adonenu) by Dan Forrest
Dan Forrest’s popular choir piece sung by the Calgary Girls Choir
Enjoy it hereWorth Reading
Stop Trafficking!
This issue (March 2019 Vol. 17 No. 03) highlights the National Center on Sexual Exploitation’s list of entities they deem worthy to name and shame.
Read the issue hereWorth Reading
Piling Up: How China’s Ban on Importing Waste Has Stalled Global Recycling
‘China’s decision to no longer be the dumping ground for the world’s recycled waste has left municipalities and waste companies from Australia to the U.S. scrambling for alternatives. But experts say it offers an opportunity to develop better solutions for a growing throwaway culture.’
Read the article hereWorth Reading
Gender and Environment Statistics: Unlocking Information for Action and Measuring the SDGs
‘This report seeks to provide a framework to measure the nexus between gender and the environment. It proposes 18 gender-environment indicators for inclusion in the wider set of gender indicators, across the focal areas of right to land, natural resources and biodiversity; access to food, energy, water and sanitation; climate change, sustainable production and consumption, and health; and women in environmental decision making at all levels'.’
Read the report hereWorth Watching
Brave Girl Rising
Written by poet laureate Warsan Shire, author of ‘Home’; performed by refugees and made in collaboration with refugees in one of the largest camps in the world. Released on International Women’s Day.
Watch the film hereWorth Reading
Pope Francis' Address to 'Religions and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Listening to the Cry of the Earth and of the Poor'
‘Any fruitful discussion of development, …should offer viable models of social integration and ecological conversion, because we cannot develop ourselves as human beings by fomenting increased inequality and degradation of the environment.’
Report: Francis urges personal conversion in implementing Sustainable Development Goals here
Read the Address hereSend suggestions and contributions for the ‘Worth’ Section 2019 to The Editor
The Bottom Line
‘We are poised right on the creative edge, right where the new action is happening. God's action, our action. A self-creating universe that is God's ecstasy, God standing — indeed, God dancing! — outside Godself, still doing the Godly things: being One, being Community, sharing being, indwelling, rejoicing, always being more.’
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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
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