Category: Church

In Memory of Padre Victor

Posted on by Diane Smyth

On September 29, 2010 Feast of the Archangels Michael, Raphael and Gabriel and birthday of Venerable Catherine McAuley, Padre Victor was buried in the garden of his parish church in Reque, Peru.

Three days earlier, after weeks of serious illness and hospitalization, Padre Victor made his final life’s journey surrounded by loving prayer, song and attentiveness, hope and patient waiting of his people. Victor was much loved. He dedicated his life to being the padre to his parishioners and their families. He loved his life, his faith and his church and his God. He lived the joy of the gospel and stood strong in the face of injustice- he was fierce advocate for his people and cared not only for their souls but also for their dignity and rights. Padre Victor was a strong man yet sickness was stronger and defeated him, in body, but not in spirit nor in the legacy that he leaves to those who knew him. Padre Victor will not be forgotten.

Padres Emigido and Lucho have shared so much of life with Victor from their young days. The three were lovingly known as the three amigos. In speaking of Victor throughout the days before the funeral they stressed over and over his gift of love of life, his “Alegria” which he passed on to all, his total dedication to the people especially the “más pobres”, his untiring service not only to his parish, but nationally, to the whole diocese. There was lots of great singing led by Reque Parish choir, lots of clapping in the midst of the reflection, etc.

The funeral was an especially blessed moment. There were crowds in the thousands in the plaza where the funeral took place. The altar was set in the door of the church facing the plaza. The Bishop officiated with fifty-two priests attending. Among the priests were Eugene Roy from Ontario and Jose Alverez Calderon, a great liberation Theologian based in Lima. There was extensive lay participation in the Mass. After Mass, the body of Padre Victor was brought in procession around the plaza with a special ceremony in front of the Municipal building. His body was then taken to the garden in front of the church where Victor is now buried. There is a small plaque marking his burial place, but a bigger monument is being planned for. Words used to describe Victor were “the saint of Reque,” “our joyful, happy saint in heaven,” and “the alma (spirit) of catechesis familiar. ”Victor was known and loved by many Sisters of Mercy of Newfoundland and by some of the priests who worked with him in Peru. He is sorely missed.

Tu nos has muerto; viveras en nuestros corozones y te recordaremos

 

Pope’s July Prayer Intention: ‘For the elderly’

Posted on by Diane Smyth

Pope Francis has dedicated the month of July to prayer for the Elderly of our world, and urges everyone to pray for the elderly “who represent the roots and memory of a people” so that they may be “teachers of tenderness”.

Let us hold in our prayers the elderly among us, those elderly who are known to us, the elderly residents of St Patrick’s Mercy Home and the many elderly people who find themselves in living in poverty and loneliness and who are often exploited by those closest to them.

Post your prayer intention here in our online chapel

Join the Mercy World in Prayer on the Second Anniversary of Laudato Si’

Posted on by Diane Smyth

To mark the second anniversary of the release by Pope Francis of his encyclical letter Laudato Si’, Sisters of Mercy across the globe have committed to 9 Days of Prayer and reflection using the Prayer for our Earth.

The 9 Days of Prayer will commence on Saturday, 10 June and conclude on Sunday 18 June, the actual anniversary of the document’s release. It is one outcome of the Mercy International Reflection Process where we listened attentively to ‘the cry of Earth and the cry of the Poor’.

Resources for the 9 Days of Prayer include:

a reflective logo

the prayer sheet

a poster

reflection pages with additional resources for each of the 9 Days.

 

Access all the resources here and join us in prayer for Earth and the Earth community.

Human Solidarity: June Prayer Intention of Pope Francis

Posted on by Diane Smyth

We are all invited to join with Pope Francis and his worldwide prayer network in praying this month’s intention: Human Solidarity.

‘That the aged, marginalized, and those who have no one may find–even within the huge cities of the world–opportunities for encounter and solidarity.’

 

Forthcoming Papal Prayer Intentions:

Pope Francis’ remaining prayer intentions for 2016 will include: greater respect for  indigenous peoples; helping sports contribute to peace; encouraging journalists to respect truth and be more ethical; greater support for countries that take in refugees; and an end to the use of child soldiers.

Pope’s Intentions for 2016

Post your prayer in the Baggot Street Chapel

Mercy Pilgrimage to Rome 1-4 April 2016

Posted on by Diane Smyth

The Spirit of Mercy and Hospitality

The “Rome” component of the Year of Mercy pilgrimage for Sisters of Mercy, Associates and Partners in Ministry began Friday evening, April 1, with the sharing of a meal together in an Italian restaurant near St. Peter’s Square.   The 39 pilgrims from around the world had settled into their accommodations in various residences near the square and enjoyed this first gathering of the whole group.

The next day they gathered early in the morning to walk the pilgrims’ way to St. Peter’s Basilica with prayer and reflection at significant stops along the way.  They gathered again in the early afternoon to get a good seat for the vigil of Divine Mercy at which the Pope presided.  Thousands of participants were able to listen to the testamonials, enjoy interpretative dance and join in the prayer and song of the ritual which was based on five moments of readings, prayer, chanting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ErlZcAkIJU

Photos from L’Osservatore Romano

On Sunday the group met at 6:30 a.m. so that they could find a place to sit together for the Eucharistic liturgy that would begin at 10:30!  Getting beside the barricade was the best place to get close to Pope Francis when he goes out among the people!  The group was able to claim a few rows of chairs in the front center section. Because of this members of the group had a close of view of Pope Francis as he passed by in his jeep.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBGZl5KqvGw

Tea at Mater Dei

In the afternoon the group was invited to tea at Mater Dei, the house of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God in Piazza di Spagna.  Participants found their way to the convent where they enjoyed a good cup of tea!  Some said it was the best they had since coming to Italy.   (It takes the Irish to make a good cup of tea! – editor’s bias!)  The sisters were delighted that the Mercy contingent could come and welcomed all of them warmly.

This gathering was a significant event because of the connection of the Mater Dei Sisters with Mercy.  Those who gathered had the opportunity to visit the special room that was used by the Foundress of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God when she was in Rome and which has a display of items used by her personally and for prayer and ministry.

 

 

Sister Francesca serves a good cup of tea

Brief Historical Background

Frances Margaret Taylor was born in 1832 in London, daughter of a Church of England minister. Seeking a way to express her deep faith, a faith that did not seem to be met in her own church, she joined the Roman Catholic Church and in subsequent years went on to found a religious order that would respond to the needs of the poor in London.  After detailed investigation of other religious orders and how they were responding to the cry of the poor and under advice if her spiritual mentors Fanny Taylor (a prolific writer by this time) founded the Poor Servants of the Mother of God in 1869.  She took the name Mary Magdalen of the Sacred Heart. September 24, Feast of Our Lady of Mercy, is held as the beginning of the new Congregation. (See biography and rich and detailed history written by Francis Charles Devas, sj.

One more significant historical connection with the Sisters of Mercy is that Miss Fanny Taylor nursed with Sisters of Mercy in the Crimea and credits her deepened faith and her vocation to their example and to the faith of the Irish Catholic soldiers that they nursed together. (Her book Irish Homes and Irish Hearts is on-line https://archive.org/details/irishhomesirishh00tayl ). Another of her books published in 1862 devotes a chapter to the Sisters of Mercy beginning on page 210 https://archive.org/details/ReligiousOrders .  Other books are linked here: Taylor, Mary Magdalen, 1832-1900.

This Mercy Sunday was indeed special as bread was broken in St. Peter’s Square in the morning with Pope Francis presiding and a “good cup of tea” was shared with kindred ‘mercy’ folks in the afternoon.

God’s mercy and God’s sense of unity work in mysterious ways!

Closing Ritual

On Monday morning the Mercy pilgrims met in the small and beautiful church of Santa Prudenziana which is one of the oldest churches in Rome.  There is found the large painted image of Mary, Mother of Mercy in one of the side altars.  A copy of this image of Marywas sent to  the House of Mercy at Baggot Street by Pope Leo Xlll in 1890 and still hangs in the chapel there.  The group gathered before the image to pray in gratitude for the needs of the world and commited themselves to be guardians of the doors of Mercy to those in need.  the group sang the sucipe in English and Spanish.  The group from Aotearoa New Zealand sang a beautiful hymn in Maori language. The pilgrims sang the Hail Holy Queen and extended to each other an Irish Blessing.

This gathering marked the formal end of the Mercy pilgrimage.

Gratitude

Sincere gratitude is extended to Mary Reynolds rsm for having facilitated the details and format of the pilgrimage.  Gratitude is offered to those who led the components of the preparation and orientation of the pilgrims at Mercy International Centre before they left for Rome.  Thanks are given to Brenda Dolphin rsm who collaborated with Mary and others to ensure that the local logistics in Rome were in place- accommodations, the gathering meal, transportation, etc.  Deep gratitude is offered to the Mercy congregations and facilities who supported and encouraged the piligmage and the pilgrims.  It was a world-wide Mercy event that will not be easily forgotten and that will bring many blessings to the Mercy world.

Contact: dsmyth@sistersofmercynf.org

Opening of Our Holy Doors

Posted on by Diane Smyth

On Sunday, December 13, 2015 Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of the Cathedral of Rome. In Dublin on that same Day, during Foundation Day celebrations, the red Doors of Mercy International Centre were opened.

The Leadership Team Newfoundland invited every local community or Sister living alone and every place of ministry, on or near December 12, to name their Holy Door of Mercy, to celebrate its opening and to place on it a symbol. The Team made a composite of all our Holy Doors in Newfoundland and Peru as a reminder of the privilege we have in being doorkeepers and guardians of the in-between places of Mercy in our world.

Attached are the components (four panels) of our Collage for the Opening of our Holy Doors of Mercy. Sisters, Associates and Partners in Mercy have received the actual Collage which is in a larger size and which opens to be able to stand up on prayer tables or other special places.

An explanation of the doors on the panels can be found in the accompanying Notes here (PDF) . These Notes appear on the back panel of the collage.

FRONT of Collage

INSIDE of Collage

Will we as doorkeepers hold wide the door to invite those who are hungry, thirsty, imprisoned, sick, strange, or naked to come in to find Mercy? ¿Mantendrán ustedes como guardianas, la puerta abierta para invitar a quienes tienen hambre o sed, a las personas prisioneras, a quienes están enfermas, forasteras o desnudas, a entrar y encontrar Misericordia?

 

¿Vigilarán ustedes como guardianas de la puerta nuestras «salidas y regresos» (Salmo 121, 8) al arriesgarnos a esta nueva forma de ver Misericordia y ser Misericordia en tiempos que pueden ser tan aterradores y desalentadores?
Will we as doorkeepers guard our “going out and our coming in” (Ps 121:8) as we dare this new way of seeing Mercy and being Mercy in times that can be so fearful and discouraging?

SIDE PANELS

Since the making of this composite many other Associates and Partners in Mercy either as groups or as individuals continue to create symbolic doors for not only opening the Holy Doors but even more for living the Mercy that comes into and goes out through these doors.

Messages to: Elizabeth Marrie rsm – Leadership Team

Opening the Year of Mercy in St John’s

Posted on by Diane Smyth

The Holy Door of Mercy of the Archdiocese of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador was opened at the Eucharistic Liturgy celebrating Mary, December 8 at 7:00 p.m.

Archbishop Martin Currie knocked on the door with the request that it be opened. Many priests, Archbisbop Emeritus, Alphonsus Penney, men, women, youth and children participated in the celebration. Sister Rosemary Ryan was server and Elizabeth Marrie did the second reading.

The Holy Door faces the Gathering Place, a ministry of the Presentation and Mercy Sisters established for the poor, homeless and others seeking nourishment of body, mind and spirit, and those calling forth a response mandated by the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Holy door also looks out over the entrance to St. John’s Harbour and the hills surrounding the city – the beauty of nature in its majesty and simplicity. It is through this harbour that the first three Sisters of Mercy, Ursula Frayne, Rose Lynch and Francis Creedon, arrived from Baggot Street on June 3, 1842.

Many Sisters of Mercy and their associates, family and friends participated in the historic event – the proclamation of the opening of the Jubilee Year of Mercy and the opening of the Holy Door of Mercy. This will indeed be a special year, rich in mercy.

 

The Pontifical Mission Societies

Posted on by Diane Smyth

Sister Rosemary Ryan has been on the road these past few Sundays speaking before 16 Masses in 5 parish churches.  The reason for her presence was to explain the role of the Pontifical Mission Societies to the parishioners.

At the request of Archbishop Martin Currie she accepted the position of Diocesan Director for the Pontifical Mission Societies for the Archdiocese of St. John’s.

Sunday, Oct. 19, 2014, was Mission Sunday and the collection taken up was for the Missionary activity of the world.  Parishioners were asked to pray for the missions and to be generous with their donation. This collection is taken up in every Catholic Parish around the world, even in the developing countries, as we all have the responsibility for the missionary activity of the Church.

All monies collected must be sent to the Pontifical Mission Society for the benefit of the parishes in the developing countries.  Nothing can be kept for the needs of the home parish.

Monies donated by Canadian Dioceses are used to support projects in India and Africa while monies from some European countries are used in Latin America.  Rosemary compared the work of the Pontifical Mission Societies with the Sisters of Mercy missionary work in Peru.  So many of the projects being done in India and Africa are so similar with what is happening in Peru.

Praise was given for the generosity of the three Newfoundland Dioceses which contributed close to $30,000 last year.

Rosemary is willing to speak to any parish group or club to explain the work of the Pontifical Mission Societies.  She can be contacted at rryan@bellaliant.com or by phoning (709)753-8030