"I want you to imagine a generation that has been damned, imagine children deprived of a world without war, imagine a community where human beings are slaves to fellow beings and where disease and hunger are the order of the day. That is the future we warned you of in 92 and that future, is today."

If you want to know what the youth and children of today, who are our hope for tomorrow, had to say to the Rio + 20 delegates and Heads of State, you cannot miss the closing statement that Kyle Gracey delivered at Rio + 20 on behalf of the Major Group For Children and Youth. The statement is linked to this item.

Messages to: Aine O'Connor rsm - MGA Co-ordinator at the UN

Please join with us and with each other in praying for this week's intention:

That there be an end to bloodshed in Syria and for the safety of her citizens.

Messages to: Mary Reynolds rsm - Executive Director MIA

...Why do I now, personally, pray that Catherine McAuley will be canonized? I pray for this grace because I want our Church, when it pictures itself as holy, to see this woman, bent, with merciful intent, to human need and suffering. I want our Church, when it reflects on its holiness to see this woman – a gentle, humble, honest, respectful, and challenging leader. I want our Church, when it looks at its holiness, to see this faith filled woman who clung to her belief in it when it supported her and when it didn’t, who drew sustenance from it, who trusted its representatives, who chose to find the meaning of her life in it and who passionately passed on this belief, this fidelity.

I pray for this Cause because I want our Church, in seeking an image for its holiness, to see the face of Catherine McAuley. I pray for her canonization, not because Catherine needs the official recognition to prove her sanctity but because our Church sorely needs her witness...

- Sheila Carney rsm.  Read complete article here.

Prayers are asked for all those whose names are on the MIA prayer list, and, in particular, Margaret Tierney.

Messages to:
Anne Hannon rsm - Vice postulator Europe and Africa
Sheila Carney rsm - Vice postulator Americas
Mary Duffy rsm - Vice postulator Australia, New Zealand, Philippines

Mercy International Association co- sponsored an important side event at Rio + 20 with the Temple of Understanding and several other interfaith and religious organizations.

An illustrated report is linked to this item.

New report on the Rights of Nature insists:

"Rights of Nature is System Change... It is time for new thinking, new direction, and new actions." To read why and to learn more, click here to download the pdf.

Messages to: Aine O'Connor rsm - MGA Co-ordinator at the UN

Editor: On February 6, 2006, Sisters Mary, Breda and Martha were missioned to Addo, South Africa in a ceremony at Handsworth Convent. In her reflection at the Missioning Ceremony, Philomena Bowers rsm, then Congregational Leader said:

With Catherine and our ancestors in Mercy we share in the dance of life. We have our own part, our own steps - sometimes alone, sometimes in partnership. But we do not own the dance. We have not designed it. The God of the Dance has been there before us and will be there after us. So we need not be anxious about its continuance. This is not our responsibility. Our responsibility is to join the dance.

In the past 6 years we have reported on a number of developments from the Mercy foundation in Addo.

In an article newly posted on the Union website and linked to this item,  we read of the recent opening of the beautiful new building called Indawo Yencebe ‘Place of Mercy’, constructed alongside the Crèche ‘Place of Hope’ which was opened in July 2011.

Messages to: Sisters Breda, Martha and Mary

"The Congregational Chapter is a special instrument of unity and renewal and is an important means of fostering our mercy charism." (Const. 104)

Delegates from across the seven provinces will be gathering in Galway, Ireland, from July 9 - 20, 2012 to continue the process of our Chapter year. Since October 2012, this process has been punctuated by inter-provincial gatherings and strengthened by concentrated efforts on local conversations. These conversations are fed by themes amalgamated from the responses of 1,400 Sisters to the question: "What do we need to be talking about as a Congregation?"

The fruits of these conversations will help shape this continued process of renewal and the discernment of a new leadership team. We invite and welcome your prayerful support.

Messages to: Susan de Guide rsm - Congregation Leadership Team

Editor: Michael Gordon writes on faith and values for The Charlotte Observer. He is a past student of Jeanne Marie Kienast rsm who was his school principal. On hearing of her retirement from her current ministry as pastoral associate at St Matthew Catholic Church, Charlotte, NC,  he went to interview her, and reported:

'...Sixty-seven years ago this month, Jeanne Marie walked into a Belmont convent to join the Sisters of Mercy.

Friday she retired.

In the decades between, she dedicated a life, a mind and a heart to students and families of all kinds, to the homeless, to the elderly, to the hungry...

Now 85, she hopes to write as she awaits God’s next move.

“What am I proudest of?” she asks, then pauses, as if pride must first be put in its place. “That I belong to a community that continues to be concerned for people who are voiceless and, in most instances, invisiible."

Does she have any regrets? “That I didn’t do more,” she answers. “Then again, it’s not over.”...'

Source: Charlotteobservor.com

Messages to: Jeanne Marie Kienast rsm

For eleven years Aloyse Gerhardstein rsm has guided students from Mercy Montessori Cincinnatti on their National History Day journey to the national competition level. This year Mercy Montessori projects won individual (2nd) and group acclaim (4th) at the University of Maryland national finals from among the 2,800 students from every state of the Union, including Washington, D.C., Guam, Department of Defense Schools in Europe and International Schools in Asia. Over 600,000 students had participated nationwide at the regional and state levels of competition.
 
Buses Are A Comin’: The Story of the Freedom Rides was a nine month project by Isaiah Reaves who was accompanied to Maryland by his grandmother who participated in the freedom rides during the American Civil Rights Movement.

Source: Cincinnati.com

Messages to: Aloyse Gerhardstein rsm

June 28, 2012 – The leadership team of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas supported the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and commends the Supreme Court for upholding this legislation which will provide 32 million uninsured Americans with access to affordable healthcare coverage...

For 160+ years in this country, the Sisters of Mercy have been providing health care to people from all walks of life. Our mission is to provide relief from suffering and care of life at all its stages, especially for those who are poor. We believe that health care is a human right. While we recognize that additional work is needed to achieve truly universal healthcare, the Affordable Care Act is important to bringing us closer to ensuring that everyone gets the health care they need in this country.

Messages to: Pat Kenny rsm - Institute Communications

Cuan Mhuire has treatment centres all around the country helping people recover from addiction. One of these centres, Cuan Mhuire Bruree, is in Limerick and is synonymous with Agnes Fitzgerald rsm. Miriam Gormally spoke with Agnes about the difficulties raised by addiction, how people cope and recover and whether there is a spiritual dimension to their healing.

Messages to: Agnes Fitzgerald rsm

Editor: Cuan Mhuire is this week's featured Mercy website

'...We are in San Martin de Porres, a very poor district of Lima, Peru, visiting the extraordinary work of two Australian Sisters of Mercy...archetypal of everyday Australian women — cheerful, frank and hardworking. Both in their late 60s, they have spent the last 17 years of their lives here in Peru, helping to improve the livelihoods of people who have adopted them into their community. This year, the district’s 10,000 homes will have running water and sanitation for the first time ever..'

Source: Crikey.com

Messages to:Joan Doyle rsm

Editor: Sisters of Mercy ministering in Peru belong to a number of different congregations: Great Britain Institute, ISMAPNG, Newfoundland, Americas, The Congregation. The project described in this article is a work of North Sydney Congregation.

How do we affirm and nurture Mercy’s identity, especially among newcomers appointed to lead or manage those ministries? What are the key mission tasks of those who take on these roles today? How much of Mercy’s story do they need to know, to fulfil these roles? And are these ministries Mercy or Catholic, or both?

The July issue of Imaging Mercy Today raises these questions and reflects on how mission is expressed across a variety of ministry settings.

Messages to Katrina Fabish rsm - Congregation Leaderhip Team

Notre Dame Institute of Education (NDIE), a teacher education facility, opened its doors in Karachi in 1991 with 17 students in the Bachelor of Education programme. The story of how NDIE came to be established can be accessed here.

Last year Margaret Madden rsm left her post as director of NDIE, confident that the local staff, trained by the Sisters of Mercy, would be able to run the Institute themselves.

This year she returned in her role as mentor to see how the college was faring under its new director, NDIE graduate Audrey Juma.

A report on her visit is linked to this item.

Messages to:
Ailsa McKinnon rsm AM - Executive Director Mercy Works Ltd

Last Sunday (July 1) was Canada Day, celebrated by the Sisters of Mercy of Newfoundland. We send greetings to all our sisters for Canada's 145th birthday!

Today is Independence Day. As we wish all members of the Institute, Associates and friends of Mercy a very happy Fourth of July, we are mindful of all those American citizens suffering at this time the effects of the wildfires, violent storms and oppressive heat.

- Mary Reynolds rsm, Executive Director MIA

Messages to: Pat Kenny rsm - Institute Communications

The gold cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice has been awarded to Margaret Mary Jordan rsm in recognition of her lifetime’s dedication to witnessing to Christ, to services of the Church and the papacy, and her outstanding contribution to Catholic education.

On Sunday June 3, the papal nuncio for Ireland, Archbishop Charles Brown, presented the gold cross to Margaret Mary at 11.30am Mass in the Parish of Lisdoonvarna and Kilshanny.  Images from that event can be viewed here.

In honouring  Margaret Mary the Holy Father is implicitly expressing appreciation and gratitude for all the work done in the school by the Sisters of Mercy since the foundation of Mary Immaculate Secondary School, Lisdoonvarna in 1949. Margaret Mary was part of the founding group.

Messages to: Margaret Mary Jordan rsm c/- Ailish O'Brien rsm - Communications Co-ordinator

Editor: In 1972, at the request of Samoa’s Cardinal Pio, the (then) Auckland Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy established a house in Leulumoega village on the main island of Upolu. Initially they were asked to staff the new secondary school, Paul VI College, built following a visit by the Pope, and establish a village health clinic.

Nora O'Neill rsm, one of the Irish postulants who "went out to Auckland",  was among the pioneer group who went to Samoa. Nora returned to Ireland 50 years later and was delighted to be invited back recently to Aotearoa New Zealand for two celebrations, one in Auckland and the second in Samoa. The occasion was the forty years of Mercy ministry to the school and clinic in Samoa.

Nora's article is linked to this item.

Messages to: Nora O'Neill rsm c/- Ailish O'Brien rsm - Communications Co-ordinator

Mercy Works Ltd supports the local and overseas relief and development activities that are part of the vision and mission of the Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea. Mercy Works has had a presence in Timor for many years, concentrating its development support in Timor in the remote and mountainous area of Fohorem in the country’s south-west, near the West Timor border.

Supporting primary and secondary education initiatives and the professional development of teachers has been a major focus for the agency, but in recent years, Mercy Works has engaged in other community development and infrastructure projects in partnership with the local community and other groups in Australia.

In the latest issue of The Bilum, the magazine of Mercy Works, now online, Ann Thomson rsm writes of her reflections on moving to Fohorem, while Helen Nolen rsm expresses her hopes for her ministry in Maliana to where she has recently moved, the third largest town in Timor-Leste, close to the border with Indonesia.

Messages to:
Helen Nolen rsm
Ann Thomson rsm

Editor: Parliamentary elections will be held on July 7. Please join with the Timorese people in prayer for wise leadership. To download a prayer, click here.
 

1916: Union of Sisters of Mercy, Cloyne
2005: Mercy Sculpture Centre, in Melbourne, Australia, is officially opened - Sister Gael O'Leary

The Circle of Mercy is a collection of songs on Mercy themes which have been written by Mercy Sisters and Associates from different parts of the world.

These are songs about Catherine (Mother of Mercy; Suscipe of Catherine McAuley, Catalina McAuley) and songs about justice (Women Speak Justice); songs of the Mercy charism (Mercy Seed, Triple Amen) and songs of union (We Are One; Circle of Mercy), all available to be played on the mercyworld.org website.

Cuan Mhuire ( Harbour of Mary) is Ireland’s largest voluntary provider of Rehabilitation Treatment for individuals suffering from addiction and other related issues. Since its formation in 1966 by Sr. Consilio, Cuan Mhuire has treated over 75,000 people. Its main objective is the rehabilitation of persons suffering from alcohol, drug and gambling addictions.

The Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition winners are currently on display at the New York Hall of Science. This competition, in its ninth year, is a dynamic international photo competition which honors the world's most extraordinary microscope images and videos of biological subjects. 19 photos are linked to this item. The remainder can be accessed on the competition's website.

Source: Boston.com