Join us in Prayer: Prayer for MIA

Editor: We know from Catherine McAuley's own letters, as well as those of Clare Moore, one of the first Mercy Sisters, that before important events — such as the founding of a new convent — Catherine would pray the two Thirty Days Prayers — one to Jesus the other to Mary — every day for a month with the members of these new Mercy communities.

For many months now we in the Mercy family have been 'on pilgrimage' to the first Mercy convent at Baggot Street, planning to come together in person and online for a week of celebration. We have been sharing from our collective memory the stories from the birth of the dream for an international Mercy centre to its completion, continuing each week through Mercy E-news to marvel at the extent and impact of the global outreach from this first House of Mercy.

Monday, 25 August marks 30 days until these communal celebrations begin. To prepare together for this special week in the life of Mercy we, the 7,516 Sisters of Mercy, 4,830 associates, 74 women in the formation/incorporation process, an estimated 250,000 staff, countless friends, family, volunteers, students, alumnae... are all invited to participate in 30 days of prayer (25 August - 23 September), using the newly composed 'Prayer for MIA', written for use on this occasion (and beyond) by Mary Wickham rsm (ISMAPNG).

As we pray this prayer, wherever we are, let us be united in our concern for one another and for a world 'in need of God's compassion and mercy'. (MIA Vision Statement).

Messages to:
Mary Reynolds rsm - Executive Director MIA
Mary Wickham rsm (ISMAPNG)

Image: Pat McDermott rsm, Institute President and MIA Board Chair (front, far right) with three leadership teams of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas: Institute Leadership Team; Caribbean, Central America and South America (CCASA), and West Midwest (WMW). .