On this great feast we rejoice in the message of the angles: Peace to God’s people on earth! Our spirits and hearts long for that peace as we struggle to bring and find peace in the midst of war, displacement of peoples, oppression of the vulnerable- especially women and children, rape of the earth and many and varied forms of injustice.

Conscious of our call, each of the Mercy families worldwide has committed to be instruments of peace to God’s people and channels of God’s Mercy to a suffering world. In this season that celebrates Emmanuel – God with us- let us ponder the commitments we have made and ask for a renewed energy in making these commitments a reality in our world

Messages to Mary Reynolds rsm - Executive Director MIA

There are three reports newly posted online:

Report no 1: Update on Haiti. 2010 has been a challenging year on many fronts. On January 12, we had the major earthquake which hit Haiti. My final and main reflection from MGC is an update from a UN briefing given by the Secretary General on the Situation in Haiti.

Report no 2 : What happened in Copenhagen and The Way Forward is from the UN Climate Conference

Report no 3 is a Position paper on Poverty and Climate Change which my working group is presenting to the upcoming commissions in 2011.

Messages to Deirdre Mullan rsm - Director MGC

 MIA is currently recruiting for two positions:

1. Assistant Director Global Action
2. Mercy International Centre Volunteer

Eligible persons, both lay and religious, are welcome to apply.

Messages to Mary Reynolds rsm - Executive Director MIA
 

An invitation is extended to all members of the Mercy network - Sisters, Associates, Colleagues, Family and Friends - to post Christmas Greetings on the mercyworld.org website, a practice now in its ninth year.

Christmas Greetings can be posted directly onto the new Mercy site up to and including on Christmas Day. Many Sisters, Associates and Friends have already posted greetings. You can read these simply by clicking on the leaves on the Mercy tree.

Seventy-one greetings have already been posted.

To post your greeting, click here and follow the prompts.

Messages to Communications
 

This past week world attention has been focussed on Christmas Island, a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean located about 2,600 kilometres north-west of mainland Australia. On December 15th  at least 50 asylum seekers were drowned while attempting to land on the Island by boat during weather that has been described as cyclonic.

December 2010 marks the first anniversary since the Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia formed a partnership with Jesuit Refugee Service Australia to provide pastoral services for the many asylum seekers living in detention on Christmas Island. A report of that initiative was published in Mercy E-News edition 347 and can be accessed here.

Messages to Mary Kay Dobrovolny rsm - Assistant Director heritage & Spirituality
 

In 2011, the Brisbane Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy will celebrate 150 years of ministry in Queensland. As part of their sesquicentenary celebrations, the congregation will host a conference from September 21-23, 2011 entitled “The Challenges of Living Mercy”.

Keynote speakers: Caitlin Conneely rsm  (September 21) “Challenges from our Tradition”.
                                   Deirdre Mullan rsm      (September 22) “Challenges from our World”. 
                                   Peta Goldburg rsm      (September 23) “Challenges for the Future”.

A call for workshop and seminar abstracts will be made in February 2011. The organisers invite you to consider what you or your colleagues have to offer to the wider Mercy community.

Messages to Andrew Beiers - Project Officer Living Mercy 150 Years

The December edition of LISTEN, the theological journal of the Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia, is out now. In a liberal sense of the term, this issue of LISTEN is about ‘culture’.Contributors include: Nerida Tinkler rsm, Patricia Fox rsm, Caroline Ryan rsm among others. The full list of contributors is available here.

In light of the fact that the Institute is soon to be dissolved, the Institute Plenary Council has decided that there will be one more edition of LISTEN.

This final bumper edition will be published in July 2011. Its theme will be broadly about religious life.

Contributions are invited for consideration by April 29, 2011.

Messages to Caroline Ryan rsm - Editor

Sincere congratulations are offered to Sr Laurentia Roche, Mercy Hospital, Cork, who received an honorary MSc from UCC on 7th December 2010.

In her citation Professor Geraldine McCarthy recalled Sr Laurentia's 50 years of unstinting service concluding 'Today we come together to salute and honour a remarkable career, or perhaps several careers, all achieved by a single unique individual; that of a nurse, an educator, an organiser, a health care pioneer and a real champion for the nursing and medical professions and hospital services that we enjoy today. In doing so we also recognise and appreciate, in this same individual, all of the characteristics of the caring professional that we all strive to emulate...'

Messages to Sr Laurentia c/- Ailish O'Brien rsm - Communications Co-ordinator

For those times when you’re struggling to adapt to change or feel overwhelmed by the thought of diving into the brave new world of information technology, the following story provides some inspiration.

At 102 years of age, Melbourne Sister of Mercy, Mary Mildred O’Brien, has recently been updating her IT skills.

Messages to Sr Mildred O'Brien rsm

The timing of the most recent Mercywords e-Journal with its reflection on Reconfiguring in Australia means that opportunities for response are limited.

However, a few Sisters have written briefly about their own perspectives on Reconfiguring.

Messages to contact@mercy.org.au

Maureen Limer rsm writes:

'The atmosphere is electric these days in Sudan. Everyone in the South is focused on Referendum Day – 9th January 2010 – as the most important date ever in their country’s history. Despite the secrecy of the vote, it is NO SECRET that 95 percent of Southerners are determined to vote for the separation of the South from the North of Sudan; from Arab domination and exploitation. 

Many obstacles lie in the way...

WHILE RENEWING YOUR PRAYERS FOR PEACE IN SUDAN,
PLEASE REMEMBER A FEW EXTRA ONES……………..
FOR OUR PATIENCE.

Messages to Maureen Limer rsm
 

The Sisters of Mercy are present in Ethiopia with the ministry of Sr. Rosario Staunton, a member of the Institute of Our Lady of Mercy, Great Britain. Rosario ministers at Samara University where she has been involved in the development and delivery of education courses.

Messages to Mary Kay Dobrovolny rsm - Assistant Director Heritage & Spirituality

1843: Foundation to Pittsburgh from Carlow - M Frances Warde

'In the calm of the cave a new Light shone upon the earth. The Word became flesh and Glory shone across the world giving new hope to all God’s people'.

Prayer Service for Christmas 2010 created by Kathleen Murphy rsm

Thank you to Sr Rita Duignan for her Christmas poem

MERCY ASSOCIATES are groups of lay people who work with the Sisters of Mercy in the spirit of their foundress, Catherine McAuley.
 

The Christmas story told using all possible forms of digital communication.

Remember to turn your speakers on.