Young Mercy Leaders Day Two Blog by Samantha O'Brien

Samantha O’Brien from Gwynedd Mercy University shares her thoughts and reflections from day two of the Young Mercy Leaders Programme in Catherine’s House in Baggot Street, Dublin.

Hello, again Mercy family! Day two of the YML programme has finished and I would like to talk about my day with you!

After yesterday’s exercise and an evening of rest, we all came back together connect and reconnect. The morning’s first activity was a challenge to see who can remember the most number of names of participants of the programme. While our host could name nine, another student named over 15! It was a great way to wake up our brains. I know that I am challenging myself to recall every person’s name by the end. I have been getting to know everyone and am not stuck with a particular group of people so I am confident I can make my way around and truly be able to know everyone.

We met in pairs to discuss what we learned about Catherine yesterday. I am grateful to have come with extensive knowledge of Catherine and the Sisters but of course learned a few things about her and the House yesterday. One fact was that Catherine adopted nine children!

We played a game of Catherine trivia! I felt like I was a fan competing to see who knew the most! Some questions were tough, but I got 11/10 correct answers! I earned a bonus point for recalling the date the House of Mercy opened. It was September 24th, 1927! Questions were included about her early life, some challenges, and the people that helped her on her journey. I would like to shoutout Drs. Kim Cooney and Wade Luquet of Gwynedd Mercy for preparing me well for this experience! I feel like I could write a 10-page paper about Catherine! I know there is plenty still for me to learn, and I am eager to see where the next two days of the programme will take me!

We talked about Mercy justice and our ability to focus on the least. We were led in reflection about the Beatitudes we possess as Mercy leaders. Some include being merciful, a peacemaker, or striving for purity of heart. We were challenged to look inside to see which describes our leadership styles and which ones we find most challenging. After a morning of self-reflection and testing our brains, we joined together in the Community Room for tea! I always get excited for this part of the day!

After tea, we participated in a workshop entitled, “What calls for our Merciful action today?” which was presented by MECPATHS, an organisation in Ireland that works in the world of human trafficking. It was very powerful and changed my perspective on how I view certain things, even places I frequently visit. As a social work major, I was unfortunately familiar with the content but was humbled listening to others’ reactions who had little to or no idea about trafficking.

We listened to stories about survivors, global and national statistics, and overall general information about trafficking. My biggest takeaway from this session was from a survivor’s reflection and she talked about her transition from victim to survivor, which I found very intriguing. I posed the question; how do we bridge the gap between victim and survivor? The answer: create safe spaces for them and allow them to be listened to.

We took time for lunch and concluded our afternoon by spending time with some Sisters of Mercy from Ireland and the US. We talked about discernment and how we can involve this in our everyday lives. We got to hear some of their stories which was described as “Sister Speed Dating”. It was very interesting because every story and journey was different! They travelled a lot, some to San Francisco for a time, and overall became immersed in the world of Catherine and now are bestowing those experiences onto us. I was in awe of their stories!

We ended the afternoon with a reflection by John O’Donohue, which allowed us time for silent meditation. I placed a particular focus on why I was given today.

Today was filled with many key takeaways. I learned the key to reflection is to repeat, and that peace making is an attitude of the heart. We do not necessarily get to see the whole picture of our lives. Only God does.

ENDS