Prayers through the intercession of Venerable Catherine McAuley are requested for the intentions of all those on the MIA Prayer list and, in particular, those whose intentions are newly added:

Nathan Doran, Jean Jeffries, Mark Brunning, Clara Del Santo, Elizabeth, Bill Flanagan, Anthony van Vuuren, Sr Joanna Marie Perry, Paul Aquilina, John and Srelienka Shoue

Editor: The pdf of the prayer list has been updated and can be accessed from the site at the top of the prayer page. As reported in Mercy E-News edition 439 ( 09 November 2011) this is to enable the list to be printed and placed in the Chapel, or on the Community noticeboard, or in a prayer book, or otherwise made available to those who cannot access these online. There are now 1051 names on the prayer list.

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 tenth 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.

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

Reports continue to flow in from those who held Good Cup of Tea Events.

deLourdes rsm writes from Lebanon that while the traditional drink there is Turkish coffee, a habit developed during the Ottoman occupation of four hundred years, on 11-11-2011 it was tea all round just for Catherine!

Ellen Fitzgerald rsm writes of the strategies employed to acquire particular items by the sixty sisters and associates who attended the first " White Elephant Silent Auction" in the history of Burlingame.
 
Valerie Allcock, Activity Co-ordinator, St Mary's Nursing Home, Derby, England, writes of the well supported event held there among the sisters.

All reports of events will be added to the website.

A report on the events held and donations received will be published in next week's E-News, as reported in  E-News issue 440 (16 November 2011).

Messages to Mary Reynolds rsm - Executive Director MIA

Human Trafficking is one of the most horrific crimes committed in our society today. It is illegal and criminal. Human beings are being bought and sold, often repeatedly, for profit. Human trafficking places persons in slavery or in slave-like conditions against their will. It is the second, after arms trading, most lucritive ‘business’ in the world. But Trafficking is a grave offence against the dignity of the human person and a serious violation of human rights.

Messages to Catherine Gibbons rsm

Sisters and Friends of Mercy resident in North America, Australia and New Zealand and all locations outside Europe, UK and Ireland are reminded of the 20% discount on the forthcoming biography if ordered prior to 31 December 2011.

Sisters and Friends of Mercy resident in Europe, UK and Ireland have until 30 April 2012 to secure their special offer from Four Courts Press Dublin ( €30 plus free postage or £27 plus free postage.

Order forms are linked to this item

The final edition of Mercy E-News for 2011 will be published on Wednesday, 22 December.

The first edition of Mercy E-News for 2012 will be published on Wednesday, 25 January.

Monday December 12 marked 180 years since the foundation of the Sisters of Mercy; 30 years since the foundation of the Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia in 1981 and the establishment and first day of the Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea.

Approximately 100 Sisters of Mercy and friends gathered at St. Joseph's Spirituality Centre, Baulkham Hills on the evening of Sunday December 11 to celebrate the launch of "The Land that I will show you: History of the Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia 1981- 2011", written by Dr. Berenice M. Kerr rsm.

A report on that gathering, including the Address by Dorothy Campion rsm, First President of the Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia, has been published on the Institute of Sisters of Mercy & Papua New Guinea (ISMAPNG) website.

Messages to Caroline Ryan rsm - Outgoing Institute Vice-President

Kathleen Murphy rsm (Brentfod, England) has prepared a Prayer Service for Christmas on the Flight into Egypt, concentrating on the joyful and celebratory dimension of it. She has offered it to readers of Mercy E-News for their personal and community use.

Access the Prayer Service here

Messages to Kathleen Murphy rsm

Editor: Sisters and Friends of Mercy are invited to share Prayer Services and other resources for Christmas. Send these to Mercy News for inclusion on the mercyworld.org website.

'Advent is about letting God come to us where we are, as we are. So, where are we? What are we experiencing? Are we walking in darkness? Does it seem like we are in a desert place? Does God seem to have to climb over a lot of obstacles to get through to us? Isaiah, John the Baptist (with locusts and wild honey on his breath), too, in the Advent readings will be good spiritual counselors to us that our struggles may open doors to Advent graces.'

Messages to Mary Frances Coleman rsm

Editor: A reminder of the invitation from the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas to share in the reflections they have posted online.

1874: Death in Bermondsey of Foundress M Clare Moore

A microsite telling the story of Mercy in Australia and PNG since the foundation of the Order in Dublin, is now online at this address: www.mercy.org.au

From it can be accessed the websites of the four independent congregations

Mercywords 9 is now available at http://www.mercywords.com/, focussing on the issue of education. Comments and reflections on the issues raised in the articles are welcome.

Is your wireless network running slow? Here are10 things in your home that might be killing your WiFi - including your Christmas lights.

Source: PC & Tech Authority