Mercy International Centre invites volunteers to contribute to the hospitality offered to the many guests who visit Catherine's house.

In 2013 volunteers are needed from early July to the end of the year. Volunteers are welcomed for two months at least, but a longer stay would be preferred.

Details of the volunteer position are linked to this item.

Read about this year’s volunteers in the E-news of 25 July, Edition 472.

Messages to: Sylvia Williams rsm - Assistant Director Administration and Finance

On Sunday 7th October a group of enthusiastic people met to commence formal planning for the Young Mercy Leaders’ Pilgrimage to be held in Dublin, 16th – 19th July 2013.

Many ideas were shared and suggestions offered for Keynote Speakers and Workshop Presenters, prayer sessions, entertainment, processes, etc. Sub-committees were formed and commenced work.

We hope approximately 150 participants will come from secondary schools across the world. Participants in the inaugural pilgrimage in 2011 came from Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Great Britain and United States of America.

Reports of that inaugural pilgrimage and further details about how to book in for 2013 are linked to this item.

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

“The permanency of her work and the deeds she taught her Sisters to do are her constant canonization.”
Fr. Daniel Lord, “Is Mother McAuley a Saint?,” American Ecclesiastical Review, 92 (1935) 498-502

Prayers through the intercession of Venerable Catherine are requested for the intentions of: Stephanie and all those who have asked us for prayers.

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

During Mass in St Peter's Square on Sunday 7 October, marking the beginning of the Synod, Pope Benedict named two new Doctors of the Church, one of whom was the 12th-century German mystic Hildegard of Bingen, canonised earlier this year. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first indigenous North American saint, will be canonised later this month, as will Marianne Cope, a Sister of St Francis who ministered at Molokai.

MIA joins in the invitation to prayer to "invoke the Holy Spirit, so that he may inspire in the Church holy and courageous women, like St Hildegard of Bingen, [Kateri Tekakwitha, Marianne Cope, Catherine McAuley...] who, developing the gifts they have received from God, make their own special and valuable contribution to the spiritual development of our communities and of the Church in our time."

from Pope Benedict XVI’s reflections on St. Hildegard delivered during his general audiences September, 2010

Windsor was the venue for the annual gathering of the Mercy Leadership Teams from Great Britain and Ireland. The teams meet to share, discuss, reflect and celebrate our common Mercy Heritage.

This year the Conference was facilitated by Father Ronnie McAinsh CSSR who encouraged and challenged us to look at Religious Life,  both within a World setting and our present Mercy reality. Our days together were most enriching and informative. The informal sharing throughout the day was both challenging and encouraging.

Messages to: Kathleen Gooch rsm - Sisters of Mercy of the Union of Great Britain Leadership Team

Editor: Sisters of Mercy of the Union of Great Britain is this week's featured website

Editor: Each month the members of the International Canonisation Committee take it in turns to offer a reflection on aspects of Catherine's spirituality and ministry as a resource for E-News readers and mercyworld.org website visitors. Joy Clough rsm, the Director of Mission and Heritage at Saint Xavier University in Chicago, Illinois and editor of Intercessions of Mercy, has provided this month's reflection.

" Saint Catherine McAuley. Though believing the truth of that phase even as we pursue the cause of Catherine’s canonization, I find the words somewhat stiff and distancing. To so many of us she is simply and affectionately, Catherine. Yes, we love her accomplishments and admire her centeredness in God. Yet we also remember her struggles, enjoy her humor, and acknowledge her foibles. We connect with her as real, as human, as feminine, as somehow familiar..."

Messages to: Joy Clough rsm

Papatuanuku ki Taurangi (Earth Promise), an initiative of Nga Whaea Atawhai ó Aotearoa Sisters of Mercy New Zealand, seeks to offer a living model that bears witness to a healthy and sustainable ecological relationship with Earth and universe, and to explore another way of living as a religious community that speaks to the needs of this time.

NZ Gardener Magazine Awards has named Rosemary Revell rsm one of the three Mercies involved, as "Best Vege Gardener" for 2012. She is now one of 10 finalists for the overall prize of New Zealand's top gardener. This is decided by public vote.

Find out more about organic garden based on care for earth and community, and about Rosemary, in the article linked to this item.

Messages to: Rosemary Revell rsm

This issue focusses on a Mercy Day celebration that included the commissioning of Nga Rangatahi Atawhai - Mercy Young Adults.

Messages to: Katrina Fabish rsm - Communications Contact, Congregation Leadership Team

Editor: Stories and reports from Mercy Day celebrations have been compiled here. Without exception, reports identified the spirit of Mercy through celebration and service. We thank all our contributors and look forward to receiving even more contributions next year.

Clorinda, Formosa, Argentina is a border town where the trafficking of persons is a big, but often unacknowledged, concern. Estela Gomez rsm and Deborah Watson rsm, with their colleagues and the women who participate in their center, Ñande Roga Guazú, are involved in a campaign to raise public awareness around the issue. With a grant from the National Women's Council, a government agency, they were able to professionally create a 1 1/2 minute spot for use on the local TV channels. Clorinda is just 30 minutes. from Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, where Guaraní is one of the official languages. Many older people in our area speak only Guaraní; so the spot was made in both languages. The "'actors" are the women who form the core group of our center.

To watch the video, click here.

Thank you for your interest.

Messages to: Deborah Watson rsm

Editor: A reminder to all our readers that the MIA Opposing Human Trafficking microsite has resources to assist in educating about this issue, including a suggested process.MIA Members are committed to opposing trafficking of humans and have selected this topic as the particular focus of the Good Cup of Tea fundraising efforts in 2012.

For an additional video resource, available on the TED site, click here (script available)
 

On Monday August 6th 2012, seventeen volunteers from all over Ireland, including four Mercy Sisters – Anna Mai Middleton, Evelyn Horan, Gabriel Sweeney and Patricia O’ Donovan, met at Dublin Airport to start our journey to Kolkata with The Hope Foundation. A series of video clips: Departing for Kolkata, Volunteers Reflect on Their Experience,  Helping in Hope Foundation Projects, Volunteers Share Their Experiences and Mr Samiran Describes the Work of Hope Hospital,  newly posted on The Congregation's website, tell the story of their recent experiences.

Messages to: Anna Mai, Evelyn, Gabriel and Patricia c/- Ailish O'Brien rsm - Communications Co-ordinator

Mary Ryan rsm and Sheila O Gorman rsm from the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy in Ireland are part of APT – Act to Prevent Trafficking a faith-based non-governmental organisation working to end human trafficking, with a particular focus on those trafficked for sexual exploitation. In addition to awareness-raising initiatives, APT looks for effective legislation to prevent trafficking and provide better conditions of recovery for victims. APT has active links to similar groups at European and global level.

Mary and Sheila were part of a group from APT who made a submission on the publication of the ‘Discussion Document on Future Direction of Prostitution Legislation’ in Ireland. They argued that demand is the primary driving force behind sex trafficking. The way in which the state addresses the legal status of prostitution will have an enormous impact on efforts to curb trafficking. For this reason they recommended that the purchase of sex be criminalised.

To access the full submission, click here
 

Messages to: Sheila O Gorman rsm
                       Mary Ryan rsm

Oct. 1, 2012--Mercy Housing broke ground on a 60-unit senior community on the Mercy Auburn campus on a hot Sept. 27. Against the background of heavy equipment carving up the three-acre site, speakers were equally warm in their enthusiasm for the project designed to serve low income elderly six years in the making. Flutist Erik Olesen introduced the theme of the morning by playing an original piece, titled "Mercy."

Mercy Housing CEO Sister Lillian Murphy reflected on the difficulty of bringing funders, planners, government and sisters together. “Mercy Housing’s vision is to create a more humane world, alleviating poverty,” she said. “We do it by building housing for low and moderate income people. But you’ve got to have heart in this. You wouldn’t stay in [housing] if you didn’t. It’s too hard”...

Messages to:  Judith Frikker rsm - president of the Sisters of Mercy West Midwest
                        Lillian Murphy rsm - CEO Mercy Housing

1962: Argentina became part of Detroit province

Those who wish to purchase a copy of the 2013 Guide to the Morning and Evening Prayer ( 1 January 2013 - 31 December 2013) and have not placed an order previously, are invited to contact: Barbara McKenna rsm

We are women called to live the Gospel, inspired by our Foundress to make 'Mercy' the business of our lives, and challenged by our decision to have always a preferential option for the poor.

An explanation of the workings of Dropbox, a free (first 2GB of space is free) storage and transmission service.

Source: The Age