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'Auschwitz: A Reflection' by Carol Rittner rsm
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The entrance of the notorious Auschwitz II-Birkenau in Oswiecim, Poland
Editor: For a little over 40 years, Carol Rittner rsm has taught and written about the Holocaust ‘in the hope that my efforts will contribute to the efforts of others who also are trying to get people to think about how we relate to Jews and Judaism, to those who are not "us" so that when we are faced with having to help, we do not avert our eyes or turn our backs but reach out and help’. At our invitation she has provided the following reflection commemorating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
January 27, 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp. Auschwitz was not just one camp. It was a complex of camps that included a concentration camp, killing center, and forced-labor camps. It was located 37 miles west of Krakow (Cracow), near the pre-World War II German-Polish border…
Photo credit: iStock. Editorial Use
The entrance of the notorious Auschwitz II-Birkenau in Oswiecim, Poland
Vision in Action
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Prayer
MIA Prayer intention: World Day for Consecrated Life
On this day of prayer for women and men in consecrated life, we give thanks for all Sisters of Mercy and the witness they give by their lives in a world so in need of God’s compassion and consolation. May they be blessed and strengthened in their fidelity to living the gospel. We pray with those discerning their call to religious life, those who have recently made first vows or been finally professed. We remember with gratitude and affection those Sisters of Mercy we knew who are now enjoying their eternal reward.
Post your prayer in our online chapel
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Events & Programmes
Young Mercy Leaders (aged 18+) Pilgrimage 2020: Important Information
The fifth biannual pilgrimage for young Mercy Leaders aged 18+ will take place in Dublin from 28-31 July 2020. Participants are now asked to complete the online registration form.
Early bird registration is available at €250 until 17 March 2020 after which date the cost will be €280.
The Programme Description and other Information is linked to this item.
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MGA
What Lies Ahead for COP 26...
MIA Mercy Global Action is committed to increased action and urgency as we prepare for the Paris Agreement to come into force later this year at COP 26 in Glasgow. The year 2020 and this next decade provides various opportunities for increased action as we approach major milestones such as the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis’ Encyclical Laudato Si’ and the Paris Agreement, as well as the 50th celebration of Earth Day….
Members' News
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Americas
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas 2020 Statement on Nonviolence
As 2020 begins, the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas reaffirm our commitment to engage actively our Critical Concerns through the lens of nonviolence. End-of-the-year acts of hatred and violence in New York and Texas and the escalating conflict between the U.S. and Iran remind us how important this approach is. It is impossible to separate the issue of violence from our attentiveness to (the)Earth, Women, Immigration and Racism that make up the critical concerns of our congregation…
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Holocaust-era violins on display at Mercy High School. (Gabriel Greschler)Americas
Holocaust-era violins visit S.F. Catholic School
‘All were silent in the gymnasium at San Francisco’s all-girls Mercy High School while renowned violinist Hannah Tarley tuned her instrument… a meticulously restored instrument originally owned by Feivel Wininger of Romania, who played at weddings and on holidays in exchange for food to help his family members survive the Holocaust.
Now, it was being heard again 75 years later in San Francisco…
Her act on Jan. 21 was part of the Violins of Hope tour, an eight-week Bay Area program that is honoring Holocaust-era violins restored by Israeli luthiers Amnon and Avshi Weinstein…’
Source: The Jewish News of Northern California
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The Congregation
Choral Success For Schools In Northern Province
We had double reasons to celebrate music achievements of schools both North and South. Beyond borders, beyond Brexit, beyond boundaries, the universal experience of the creative and expressive engagement in choral singing conjured up a magical memory of the tradition of music making in our Mercy schools where we had inculcated a love of singing. School Choirs from Our Lady’s Secondary School in Castleblaney, Co Monaghan and Thornhill College, Derry, both achieved national prestigious awards for choral excellence…
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Americas
All Mercy Hospitals Rank Among World’s Most Technologically Advanced
Mercy, one of the largest Catholic health systems in the U.S., has earned Stage 7 certification from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) for all 28 of its inpatient hospitals and critical access locations, placing them among the world’s most technologically advanced health care facilities of their kind.
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Australia
New Report Gives Young People a Voice in Addressing WA’s Youth Suicide Rate
A major new report aimed at addressing the appalling 20-year high youth suicide rate in Western Australia has been released by MercyCare and its report partners.
Informing Youth Suicide Prevention for Western Australia report from Youth Mental Health Sub Network, chaired by MercyCare Family and Community Services Executive Director Lyn Millett and North Metropolitan Heath Service Youth Mental Health Director Warwick Smith, lays out a future blueprint for the State.
In Western Australia, suicide is the leading cause of death for young people aged 15 to 24 years…
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GB Institute
Institute of Our Lady of Mercy - New Website
It seems appropriate that we are launching our website in the ‘Year of the Word’ initiated by the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales. This is a year when we are encouraged to listen to the God who speaks. May we all hear our God who uses so many ways to speak to us.
Mercy Matters
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Digital Life
Hidden tricks you didn’t know your iPhone could do
‘Simple as Apple’s operating system seems, you can find plenty of advanced features hidden below its polished surface.’
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Resource
Scripture with Kathleen Rushton rsm:
2019 Compilation
Collected writings published in Tui Motu in 2019 (11 issues).
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Mosaic of the Presentation of Jesus at the temple in the Rosary Basilica at LourdesGospel
Presentation in the Temple, Year A
‘This year the Feast of the Presentation falls on a Sunday and takes precedence over the celebration of the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. We might ask why this feast is of such importance in the liturgical calendar…’
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Fact
On This Day
1923: Convent opened in Parkes, New South Wales
1923: Opening of Mercy Hospital, Young, New South Wales
1957: Foundation to Kunjingini, Papua New Guinea from Brisbane
Contribute a fact from the story of your Mercy congregation, institute or federation, to our online archive.
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Element from the Brigid window in the Baggot Street ChapelInternational Days
1 February: St Brigid's Day
St Brigid is one of the Patron Saints of the Sisters of Mercy (Familiar Instructions page 182) and one of the saints 'to whom Sisters of this religious Institute are recommended to have particular devotion' (Rule and Constitutions 16.3)
Happy St Brigid's Day to all members of the Mercy family!
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Resource
Mercy Moments
In preparation for celebrating the fifth anniversary of the publication of Laudato Si’, each month in their Mercy Moments one page reflection, Mercy Partners Queensland will focus on one of the Ten Green Commandments which sum up the main messages of the encyclical. These monthly reflections will be made available here in this Mercy Matters section.
Further Resources
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Worth Watching
Theme from Schindler's List
‘A story of courage that the world needs now more than ever'.’
Watch/listen here)
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Worth Watching
A Conversation with Ron Rolheiser, OMI
‘The seven ‘movements’ in the second half of life – movements of our hearts and spirits toward a new way of being.’
Read the text or listen to audio highlights
Listen to the interview)
Worth Reading
How young women religious are changing the church
‘… According to Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, 90 percent of Catholic sisters alive today are over the age of 60; most are closer to 80. The majority are white. Many younger religious sisters, who reflect the increasing diversity of the general population, have no peers in their home congregations…’
Read the article here)
Worth Reading
Send suggestions and contributions for the ‘Worth’ Section 2020 to: The Editor
The Bottom Line
‘All too often, language is used which turns disagreement into dehumanisation.
Words are used as badges of shame to mark others as enemies, to brand those who are different as somehow deviant.
All too often, virtue seems to be sought through verbal violence.
All too often, real violence ensues, and acts of unspeakable cruelty are still perpetrated around the world against people for reasons of their religion, their race or their beliefs.
Knowing, as we do, the darkness to which such behaviour leads, we must be vigilant in discerning these ever-changing threats; we must be fearless in confronting falsehoods and resolute in resisting words and acts of violence.’
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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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