In this last in the series of reflections on the 2013 Mercy Global Action (MGA) Advocacy Experience at the UN, the focus is on the participants’ learnings for their ministry.

Advocacy for justice at the United Nations is advocacy in the spirit – the Spirit of God and the spirit of Mercy.

No one knows this better than those who continue to labor in the arena of advocacy to bring forth the voice of the voiceless, the cry of those who have been silenced by poverty, insecurity, marginalization, and exclusion...

Messages to: Rita Parks rsm

Prayers with the intercession of Venerable Catherine McAuley are asked for all whose names are in our hearts and on our prayer list, especially those whose names are newly added: Norman Usiak, Francine Alzate, Diego Tobon, Andrew Keogh, Ralph Willie, Julia, Jan McLean, Joyce Hanrahan.

Anne Hannon rsm - Vice postulator Europe and Africa
Sheila Carney rsm - Vice postulator Americas
Caroline Ryan rsm - Vice postulator Australia & PNG, Aotearoa New Zealand, Philippines

Let us respond to the call of the Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea and to the invitation of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart and hold in prayer the needs and concerns of all refugee peoples, particularly those 'who have been pushed to the edges and excluded from... Australia' over recent weeks.

Messages to: Mary Reynolds rsm - Executive Director MIA

Editor: In last week's Mercy E-news (Issue 525) the Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea (ISMAPNG) called for an end to the "inhumane treatment of asylum seekers", rejecting the Australian government’s decision to transport new arrivals to Papua New Guinea.

Tomorrow, 8 August, Feast Day of St Mary MacKillop, the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart invite all Australians and people of good will to join us in prayer as a sign of your solidarity with asylum seekers. Mary’s feast is an opportunity for all of us to engage in a communal prayer that will enable us to stand with those who have been pushed to the edges and excluded from our land, Australia.

Details of the prayer vigil, including a prayer you may wish to use, are linked to this item.

Messages to: Jan Barnett rsj - Josephite Justice Office

Mother of Mercy High School in Cincinnati, OH, USA has been spending our summer break competing in a national social media competition to try and win $10,000 for charity! Should we win the $10,000 we will donate it to Mercy Beyond Borders to help support educational scholarships for women and girls in Haiti and South Sudan.

Help us achieve our goal. Details are linked to this item.

Messages to: Jenny Kroner Jackson - Communications & PR Specialist Mother of Mercy High

The right to shelter is one of the most basic human rights. Mercy Law Resource Centre (MLRC) was set up in Cork St, Dublin in 2009 by the Sisters of Mercy, South Central Province. It is an independent law centre, registered charity and company limited by guarantee, which provides free legal advice, representation and befriending services to local authority tenants and people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless in the areas of social housing and social welfare law...

In a detailed report posted on The Congregation's website we meet staff and volunteers and learn of the work they do to assist those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. We learn that demand for their work is growing...

Messages to: Caitriona O'Hara rsm - Volunteer Administrator

Editor: Mercy Law Centre is this week's featured Mercy website

Sister Catherine Ryan rsm, Congregation Leader of the Sisters of Mercy Parramatta, and Kerrie Walshaw, Chair of the OLMC Parramatta Board, have announced the appointment of Mr Stephen Walsh as the new Principal of OLMC Parramatta. "We are confident that Stephen will bring to the role a deep faith, a strong understanding of and passion for the education of girls and a commitment to the mission of the Sisters of Mercy..."

Messages to: Christine Pace - OLMC Communications Officer

Editor: In Issue 516 (May 29) we linked to a report in the Warrnambool, Victoria, paper, The Standard. The paper carried an interview with Eliza Sully, 15, and Aylish Frusher, 16, students from Emmanuel College in Warrnambool, participants in the Young Mercy Leaders Pilgrimage, supported to do so by Emmanuel College and their local parishes of St Joseph’s and Our Lady Help of Christians.

Last Sunday Eliza gave her report to her parish. That account gives witness to the impact this experience of global Mercy had on Eliza. Read Eliza's report here.

Messages to: Eliza Sully c/- John O'Sullivan (Teacher)

Editor: Over recent issues we have published some key dates. Here they are again for those who may not have noted them:

Mercy Network on Aging (MNOA) USA 2013
Conference: 26 - 28 September, 2013
Brochure: Download it here
Contact: Antoinette Manley rsm

Mercy Secondary Education USA 2013
XX11 Conference: 11 - 12 October, 2013
Hosted by St Vincent's Academy, Savannah, Georgia
Brochure: Download it here
Contact: Corinne Raven rsm

MIA Dates 2014
Wellspring: 1 - 28 June, 2014.
Young Mercy Leaders (College and University): 5- 8 August, 2014. Flyer: Download it here
Come Home to Catherine: 6-12 July and 17 - 23 August, 2014. Presenters: Anne Reid and Áine Barrins rsm
Catherine and the Mission of Mercy: 20 - 26 July, 2014. Presenter: Mary Trainer (Americas)
Contact: Mary Kay Dobrovolny rsm - Assistant Director Heritage & Spirituality

No event of particular significance is recorded in the "Mercy Through the Years Calendar" as having taken place on 7 August. We know, however, that the Works of Mercy continued to be carried out and so we remember on this day Catherine and all our Sisters, Associates and Co-workers who have given their lives in service to others.

We invite contributions for this date to be be added to the mercyworld.org online calendar.
Submit your dates online here

In her review of 'Called to Serve' in the current issue of America, Camille D'Arienzo rsm labels Margaret M. McGuinness’s book ' a comprehensive biography of religious life as a significant life form in the building of the United States'.

Mercy Sisters are just part of this rich and scholarly work. 'This book chronicles the lives, triumphs and tragedies of thousands of women religious who began serving their church and its people in 1727, when the first band arrived in the New World.'

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Mercy Law Resource Centre provides free legal advice and representation, in an accessible way, to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in the areas of Social Housing and Social Welfare Law.

Tips to keep your Mac fresh and organised.

Source: Macworld