Issue 928

17 Aug 2021

Celebrating 20 Years of Mercy Enews

August 13, 2021 marked 20 years since Mercy eNews was first distributed. In these past two decades, MIA has published 928 issues via our website www.mercyworld.org.

Mercy International Association is grateful to each of you for twenty years of commitment to watching MIA grow, connecting with Mercy around the world, and engaging with the resources and stories we share here. MIA is eager to see where these next decades take Mercy eNews, and committed to continuing to grow our digital communications efforts. We are ever grateful for your continuous support of our Mercy mission!

MESSAGES TO: Heritage & Spirituality Team

Vision in Action

Global Action

Advocacy Workshop in Climate Justice and Water Review

Global Action

Advocacy Workshop in Climate Justice and Water Review

On Tuesday, August 3rd, the Mercy Global Action (MGA) team offered the second of three virtual advocacy workshops. Our second workshop was facilitated by Colleen Swain, MGA’s Leadership Development and Advocacy Associate, and focused on the topic of Climate Justice and Water, ahead of COP26.

MIA Prayer Intention: People of Afghanistan

Prayer

MIA Prayer Intention: People of Afghanistan

Mercy International Association joins in prayer and solidarity with the people of Afghanistan. We pray for the displaced that God will protect them on their journey. We pray for women that they find allies and advocates as they pave a new way forward. We pray for health care workers that they are filled with God's strength as they care for those with COVID in the midst of conflict. We pray for all those seeking dialogue that they may find wisdom in their words and the courage to authentically listen. May all those who seek comfort be consoled, and all those who seek peace be amplified. In the spirit of St. Francis we pray:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me bring love. Where there is offense, let me bring pardon. Where there is discord, let me bring union.

Americas

Mercy Focus on Haiti: Message for Prayer and Solidarity

Americas

Mercy Focus on Haiti: Message for Prayer and Solidarity

No doubt you have heard the sad news.

We are devastated by reports of the earthquake and aftershocks that struck Haiti. Again our Haitian sisters and brothers are suffering the tragedy of death and destruction. Please join us in prayer that they have strength and courage in responding to the many challenges of the moment, and in the days and months to come.

We’ve been able to contact our partners in Gros Morne, and, thanks be to God, they are safe. However, the nation is now bracing for the potential impact of tropical storm Grace. As we learn more about the devastation, we will understand how we can best respond.

May the voices of all of us rise in prayer and solidarity with the people of Haiti.

Americas

Back at the pulpit, Sister Barbara answers her call

Americas

Back at the pulpit, Sister Barbara answers her call

After a hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and working life experiences of loss, Sister Barbara Moore is back preaching from a pulpit once more.

“It is so good to be preaching in a church again,” Barbara said.

But this summer she has been sharing her reflections on Scripture in Presbyterian churches in the Rochester, New York, area where she lives.

She laments that she can no longer preach in Catholic churches as she did several years ago because of a rule that stipulates that only ordained clergy can preach during a Mass.

Now retired Bishop Matthew Clark of Rochester interpreted the rule differently and allowed laypersons, including women, to preach at Mass. That changed in 2014 when Bishop Salvatore Matano, as the new bishop of Rochester, ordered an end to lay preaching, citing a strict adherence to canon law…

Fact

On This Day

19 August 1841: Profession of M Julianna Hardman (Birmingham) and M Vincent Whitty (Brisbane).

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

Prayer

August Prayer for our Lady

The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas offer a pdf booklet with a Prayer for our Lady and her significance around the world.

prayer

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

“If we have trouble understanding and coming to terms with the teachings of Jesus in the gospel, then we can take some comfort from the reaction of the disciples in John’s community some decades after the death of Jesus.”

Worth Watching

A Major New UN Climate Report Issues a Code Red for Humanity

A new scientific report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns we are on a crash course towards catastrophe if global temperatures are allowed to rise.

Watch the Video

Worth Reading

Vatican Museums Collection: The Works of Mercy #4

Explore the masterpieces in the papal collections accompanied by the words of the Popes. Today, view The Works of Mercy #4.

Worth Reading

New Narratives | A Seat at the Table

Whether as community activists, NGO workers, or diplomats, most of us who support human rights are involved in putting stories out into the world. Discover the new guide to crafting effective human rights narratives at the UN!

Read the Guide

Worth Knowing

The science, the Paris Agreement, the political negotiations... there's a lot that needs to be explained. In each installment of this newsletter, we want to deliver the key information you need, to be an active participant in the battle to prevent global heating from destroying our world.

Members of Mercy

Members of Mercy International

Members of Mercy International Association share the passion of their foundress, Catherine McAuley, to bring mercy to people who are poor, sick and uneducated.