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'Everything is Connected': Celebrate Laudato Si' Week, 16-24 May
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Editor: The MIA Vision commits us to ‘solidarity with the oppressed and to the protection of our Common Home’. It encompasses a key insight of Laudato Si’ — ‘everything is connected’—which forms the theme of this year’s global celebrations (16-24 May) on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of this encyclical letter. Dated Pentecost Sunday, 24 May 2015, Laudato Si’ was released on 18 June 2015. As an international partner of Laudato Si’ Week, MIA is part of the ‘global web of solidarity’ committed to building a better world together.
This week is a perfect opportunity to read the inspirational text again and to reflect on our call to foster integral ecology and the common good. There are a number of resources available to assist our reflections- see ‘Read More’ (below). In addition, we have in our online Library a collection of multimedia resources published in 2015/16 to mark the release of the encyclical - see ‘Resources for Engaging with Laudato Si’’ (below).
Vision in Action
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Photo by Tori Nefores on UnsplashPrayer
MIA Prayer Intention: 16 May, International Day of Living Together in Peace
This week, as we begin the celebrations for the fifth anniversary of Laudato Si’, let us do so with peace in our hearts. Let us pray the Peace prayer attributed to St Francis that we may live in peace with ourselves, each other and the human and other than human community.
Post your prayer in our online chapel
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Church Center - location of MGA OfficeMGA
Two Opportunities to Contribute to MIA’s Global Justice Ministry
Mercy Global Action is pleased to announce two opportunities to contribute to MIA’s Global Justice Ministry. To further enhance the work of Mercy Global Action, we are seeking applications for two challenging and exciting positions:
For further information, please see the position descriptions.
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Events & Programmes
May Virtual Tours Continue
Tour dates for the rest of May are arranged for 20, 21 and now 27 May. We invite you to book in for yourself, your community or ministry.
Contact Sr Anna if you are interested in organising a special tour for your school, university, staff or community group.
Members' News
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Americas
Congress Urged to Address Needs of Minorities in New Pandemic Relief Bill
‘The needs of poor and minority communities that face greater health risks from pollution and economic disparities deserve to be addressed in any future federal pandemic relief package, dozens of religious communities and Catholic advocates said in a letter to members of Congress drafted by the leadership team of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.
Source: Catholic News Service (CNS)
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The Congregation
The Mercy Girl Effect and Pope Francis
Every year for the past 25 years, the Mercy Girl Effect (formally the Mercy Secondary Leadership Conference) has met during the last 3 days of June for our annual conference. This year because of the Covid-19 pandemic we have had to cancel our gathering but our Laudato Tree Project launched at last year’s conference grows on.
On Sunday May 10, 2020 Pope Francis made specific mention of our efforts as part of the Great Green Wall initiative during the Regina Caeli address…
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Photo by Dimitry Anikin on UnsplashISMAPNG
Allowing the Moon- Covid-19 and the Celtic
Mary Wickham rsm reflects on some of the insights that the Celtic spirit can offer us in the context of Covid-19. She shares ancient and contemporary sources in this "Virtual Pilgrimage."
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ISMAPNG
140 Years of the Sisters in South Australia
Sunday, May 3, was the 140th anniversary of the establishment of the Sisters of Mercy in South Australia.
Originally a physical celebration was planned, however the restrictions caused by COVID-19 meant that a new way had to be found to mark the occasion.
The story in word, image and video of the 24 original Sisters of Mercy who arrived in Adelaide on May 3 1880 from Argentina is told on the institute website
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Salthill Co. GalwayThe Congregation
A Reflection
My story is a unique one; it surely resonates in every human heart at this demanding time in our history. It is a story similar to the stories of floods, famine, wars, plagues and so many other visitations of hardship that have walked the paths of ancient times.
In my ‘cocooning’ days two images come to mind so powerfully that I feel compelled to share them…
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Americas
Mercy Focus on Haiti Makes a Go of Hen House Project
In 2013, the agronomy team at Mercy Focus on Haiti (MFOH)—an initiative of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas in Gros Morne, Haiti—began working to carry out that dream of raising hens. Raising their own hens would not only provide the community with sustainable food sources but would help to develop a microeconomy that provides women a source of income to lift themselves out of the cycle of poverty…
Mercy Matters
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Technical Tip
How to use a mouse with your iPad or iPhone
‘With the announcement of iOS 13 and iPadOS 13, Apple surprised the world by adding support for mice. Mouse support is included in iOS 13 for iPhone. It will arrive on iPads with iPadOS 13, scheduled for September 24…’
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Gospel
6th Sunday in Easter, Year A
John 14:15-21
'Those who defend themselves in court run the risk of being outsmarted by clever and sometimes unscrupulous adversaries. It is never a good idea to be too self-reliant even in a country with a basically sound legal system such as ours. Today’s gospel implies that the disciples need a defense attorney or lawyer. Jesus has acted in that capacity for them in their struggles with the anti-gospel forces arrayed against them...'
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Fact
On This Day
1864: Marble altar at Baggot St consecrated by Bishop Quinn, Bathurst (Australia)
1887: Death of Mother Angela Gilsenan, Foundress of Barnsley, South Yorkshire
Contribute a fact from the story of your Mercy congregation, institute or federation, to our online archive.
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Resource
Bright Wings Dappled Things
‘The world is charged with the grandeur of God’ wrote Gerard Manley Hopkins in one of his most popular and well-known poems, ‘God’s Grandeur’. This sonnet is included in ‘Bright Wings Dappled Things’, the book of commentaries by Hopkins scholar, Jo O’Donohue rsm (The Congregation) and accompanied by a selection of photographs by Francis Browne sj.
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Resource
How to Organize a Meeting or a Course with ZOOM: Technical and Facilitation Tools
A recording of the UISG webinar held on 7 May 2020.
The powerpoint can be downloaded here
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Resource
UISG Webinars: Re-imagining the Future: Religious Life in the United States and Europe
Religious Life in the United States: 12 May
(Your Time Here)
Religious Life of Men & Women in Europe: 15 May (Your Time Here)
Registration is not required.
To participate in one or both webinars, please click on the following Zoom link at the appointed time: bit.ly/RLinEuropeUSA
Further Resources
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Worth Reading
Irish Return an Old Favor, Helping Native Americans Battling the Virus
‘In 1847 the Choctaw people sent $170 to help during the potato famine. Irish donors are citing that gesture as they help two tribes during the Covid-19 pandemic….’
Image:
Photo of Kindred Spirits sculpture, Midleton, County Cork. CC BY-SA 4.0
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Worth Reading
Laudato si’ and Covid-19: Can praises still be sung in a strange land?
‘Covid-19 is teaching the human race important lessons that it first learnt in the crucible of its early emergence in deep time. Our lives are entangled with each other and with other species and this is the source of both our unique strength but also our vulnerability. We will best honour those who have suffered and died by learning to take our interconnectedness with God, each other, and other creatures much more seriously. Further, even the deepest and darkest suffering is not beyond the reach of God’s mercy and grace, thus providing an occasion for change and renewal.’
Image: Matt Seymour on Unsplash
Read the article here)
Worth Watching
Natascha McElhone at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Natascha McElhone reads a passage about 'Trees' by Herman Hesse, at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in Episode 4 of ‘Wander’ - a series of walks through beautiful spaces designed ‘to bring a bit of creative inspiration, escapism’.
Watch the video here)
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Worth Reading
COVID-19 & Brazil
The Brazilian Bishops' statement on The COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on the population and the rainforest
Sebastião Salgado's ‘We are on the eve of a 'genocide': Brazil urged to save Amazon tribes from Covid-19’
An open letter published in The Guardian on the 3rd May, Salgado is both a Brazilian and one of the world's leading photojournalists.
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Worth Watching
The Great Realisation
‘A vision for the future post-covid that is more attuned to our aspirations than the world we lived in pre-Lockdown’
Watch this powerful video hereSend suggestions and contributions for the ‘Worth’ Section 2020 to: The Editor
The Bottom Line
‘Though we live in a world that dreams of ending
that always seems about to give in
something that will not acknowledge conclusion
insists that we forever begin.’ Read 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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