Reflections and Responses to the Opening Event#1

September 23, 2014

Sharing Response to Opening Ritual Telling the Story from those present and those present online

Dear Mary

Loving congratulations on the formal opening of your week of celebrations. . What an inspiring celebration of Mercy! It was a wonderful evening and we were able to watch every minute of it thanks to the live streaming. I sat glued to the computer for two and half hours! You can rest well tonight knowing that all your efforts are very much appreciated.

May you be blessed in a special way tomorrow on Mercy Day and in the coming days.

Love and blessings,

Kathy Rule rsm
South Africa

Dear Mary and all

Congratulations! The first day of the MIA celebrations has been a great success. Really beautifully prepared by the Institute.
The live streaming worked very well for us here at the southern tip of Africa. We feel part of the events.
We look forward to following the programme over the next few days.

Best wishes
Sisters of the South African Province

5 Sisters gathered representing 3 Communities and 2 provinces.

Our response was one of delight, wonder and gratitude. The variety of colour, movement, symbols especially keys, music and singing captured our attention. There was a great reminder of our interconnectedness as a global entity and we were touched and inspired by the prayerful presence created.

Telling the story brought back memories, we affirmed the faith and courage of those pioneers and we reverenced the journey we had taken. Our eyes, ears and imaginations were opened in new ways by the Play-Back Drama and we affirmed the Sisters who shared their moments as well as the players who enaacted them. Bravo to the start of a wonderful week and thanks

Assumpta Wallace, Maud Cunniffe, Anna Haughian, Suzanne Ryder (phototographer) and Joan McManus
St Colmcille's Laytown Co. Meath, Ireland

A number of us have tuned into the livestream this afternoon and it is working like a charm. I love the variety of camera viewpoints, it adds to the production. So good to see Patricia and Monica and so many of the others that I know. Thank God it is all going so well.

Diane Smyth rsm
Newfoundland

Anna, a Sister from Aotearoa New Zealand, who is watching online as the sun is just starting to rise on Mercy Day says I feel humbled that I am part of this story that for so many years has brought hope to others by following in the pathway of the mercy of God. I look at the faces of people in the Chapel and recognise so may faces and know that Catherine would be smiling on us all

Anna Nicholls RSM

'Where there is a need, there is a speed and there is an answer'
The gift of the vigil of Mercy was to be connected through the Wonder of Technology to the Mercy Family World wide.
The dramatic presentation brought home the vision, the struggle, the grief, joy and the Hope for the future.
We were inspired and encouraged by the determination of the Mercy women who dreamed the impossible dream and had the commitment to see it through.
The keys unlocked the dream. We are again challenged to walk through the open door to our world in need of Mercy.

Acknowledgement to
Veronica O'Brien rsm communications office Northern Province for photograph and article from Sisters in Belfast .

Mary and team, Congratulations on opening celebration which we have just enjoyed. We appreciate all the work and organisation that has made this coming week possible. Happy Mercy Day and true to the Spirit of Catherine we have had the comfortable cup of tea and maybe a little stronger!!!!!!. Wishing you every blessing on the week ahead and we are delighted you have brought it to our sitting rooms.

United in Mercy and Prayer,
Sisters of Mercy
Yewston Estate
Nenagh

Today, we were drawn together by the spirit of Catherine McAuley. Old friendships were renewed and new connections were made. Through drama and storytelling, the founding of the MIA was experienced in a unique and memorable way by the many of us gathered from around the globe.
(Sr Anna Koeneman, Joanne Ng Murphy, Mary Rajca, Sue Mowbray, Carmel Crawford)
Australia and papua New Guinea

The atmosphere in MIC was one of buzzing excitement, anticipation and joy as Sisters, Associates and Partners in Ministry gathered. Friends who had not met for some years exchanged warm greetings. I was delighted to recognise people from faraway places, and of course those of us who came from the four corners of Ireland too!

It was an extraordinary moment when the ritual began – that moment when we realised that we were all gathered there in Catherine’s chapel and connected with our brothers and sisters in the Mercy family across the world, through the wonders of modern technology. But for me, the highlight of the evening was when we experienced the giftedness of the Playback group. They listened so attentively and respectfully to the moments, memories and stories that were shared. Then they gave back our own story to us with grace, dignity, humour and sheer genius and creativity. I was moved to tears a few times in the course of the evening. It’s been a while since that has happened. I had a sense of being part of something really special – part of the larger Mercy family, those present and those connected online. This was a very fitting way to celebrate the Vigil of Mercy Day, 2014.

Áine Barrins, RSM
Sisters of Mercy, Western Province, Irish Congregation

“We are very grateful to have been able to participate in today’s session. It was full of joy which was very visible in the happiness emulated by the sisters who had gathered in Dublin was certainly shared by us. The emphasis on our Mercy roots and the global group that we have become were very evident and we felt a part of it all.”