Hearts Caught Off Guard and Blown Open: The Mercy … · 2017. 7. 26. · shelter. Sister Laureen Fitzgerald of Albany, New York, was recognized as president emerita at Maria College

JULY | AUGUST 2017 Bimonthly publication for sisters, associates and companions of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas

Hearts Caught Off Guard and Blown Open:

The Mercy International Reflection Process in Retrospect and Process

also in this issue:Attraction and Delight:

What is it about Doors? A Reflection on the Apostolic

Year of the Novitiate

F E A T U R E S

5 HeartsCaughtOffGuardandBlownOpen:The Mercy International Reflection Process in Retrospect and Process

By Sister Elaine M. Wainwright

10 AttractionandDelight:WhatisitaboutDoors?A Reflection on the Apostolic Year of the Novitiate

By Sister Megan Brown

C O L U M N S

4 Justice|A Call from the Ancestors: Struggling for Life in Panama and for All of Earth

By Jean Stokan, Institute Justice Team

15 SpecialContent|The Marie Chin, RSM, Mercy Legacy Award By Sister Rita Parks

D E P A R T M E N T S

2 CommunityUpdate Compiled by Mercy Communicators

J U L Y | A U G U S T 2 0 1 7

Table of Contents

BIMONTHLY PUBLICATION FOR SISTERS, ASSOCIATES AND COMPANIONS OF THE INSTITUTE OF THE SISTERS OF MERCY OF THE AMERICAS

PublisherInstitute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas 8380 Colesville Road, #300 Silver Spring, Maryland 20910-6264 tel 301.587.0423 [email protected]

Editor Lauren Albright [email protected]

Design and Production RoundPeg

TranslationMany thanks to our translators!

Advisory BoardSisters Anne Curtis, Camille D’Arienzo, Kathleen Erickson, Diane Guerin, Patricia Kenny and Pat Talone. Anne Boyle, Sue Carroll, Liz Dossa, Elizabeth MacNeal, Beth Thompson and Cathy Walsh.

Articles or portions thereof are protected by copyright laws and therefore cannot be reproduced or reprinted without the permission of ¡Viva! Mercy and/or the author.

Visit www.sistersofmercy.org for highlighted articles from this publication.

¡Viva!Mercy is printed on acid free, elemental chlorine-free paper containing 50 percent recycled content including 15 percent post consumer waste.

The butterfly is one of the symbols that emerged from the Mercy International Reflection Process. The butterfly reminds us not only of transformation, but also of the concept of “the butterfly effect”—even small causes can have large effects. Read more on page 5.

page 10page 5

J U LY | A U G U S T 2 0 17 ¡Viva! Mercy 1

DearSisters,Associates,CompanionsandMercyVolunteers,

“Light precedes every transition. Whether at the end of a tunnel, through a crack in the door or the flash of an idea, it is always there, heralding a new beginning.”

—TeresaTsalaky

Wewritetoyouonabeautifullylight-fullandfloweringdayin

Mayknowingthatyouwillactuallybereadingthissometimein

mid-July.TheChapterexperiencewillbeoverwhenyouread

this,buthopefullythedeeperexperienceandoutcomewilllinger

inourheartsfarbeyondthose10days.

AllofusareintransitionhavingreceivedanewChapterdirection

andhavingelectedanewInstituteLeadershipTeam.Thefive

ofuswhoareendingourtermareseeingaglowinglightbeaming

throughacrackinthedoorthatstillstandsajar.Thelightof

gratitudeandgracethathasledusthroughthesesixyears—yourprayers,your

encouragement,yourchallenges,yourengagements,alongwithyourfears,yourgriefs,

yourfrustrations—werethejoysandsorrowsmingledthatboundustogether!Each

engagementwithyouinvitedustopayattentiontothelightofwisdomthatyou

offeredandimpelledustobethelightofmercytooursufferingworldalongwith

you.Thankyou!

WeresonatewithSisterMaryWickham’swordswhensheremindsus,“Wewill

notclosetheDoorofMercy.”ItisinourverynatureaswomenandmenofMercy

alwaystokeepthedoorofMercyopenforallwhowishtoknowandbethelight.

Togetherwithournewleadership,“wewillholdthedoorajar”asweembraceour

Chapter2017directionandcommittolivemorefullyourMercylife.

Blessingstoeachofyou!

InMercy,

From the Institute Leadership Team

The InsTITuTe LeadershIp Team (STANDING) SISTERS PAT MCDERMOTT,

MARY PAT GARVIN, EILEEN CAMPBELL;

(SEATED) SISTERS ANNE CURTIS AND

DEBORAH TROILLETT

Community Update

2 ¡Viva! Mercy J U LY | A U G U S T 2 0 17

C O M P I L E D B Y M E R C Y C O M M U N I C A T O R S

SOUTH CENTRAL

THE COMMUNITY HELDsixSpringGatheringsduringMayinNorthCarolina,GuamandJamaica.Sistersmettopray,considertheirrelationshipsthroughthelensofgovernance,respondtotheplightofimmigrants,lookatwaystogrowincareforoneanother,andsharewisdomwithdelegatesinpreparationforthe2017InstituteChapter.

SisterAidanDonaldson,oldestlivingSisterofMercyintheworld,celebratedher90-yearJubileeonMarch25atConventofMercyinMobile,Alabama.SisterAidan’s109thbirthdayisAugust20.BorninIreland,shearrivedinMobilein1927,wheresheministeredineducationforsome50yearsbeforetransitioningtopastoralministry.

NORTHEAST

ONE SISTER WORKEDinasoupkitchen;theotherservedasacollegepresident.BothwomenwererecentlyhonoredforbeingMercy.

WhenNewHampshire’sSisterEileenBradyretiredonMarch31after24yearsasasocialworkerattheNashuaSoupKitchen&Shelter,whereshewasknownforherpoliticaladvocacy,shemadethelocalnewsandenjoyedaretirementpartyattheshelter.SisterLaureenFitzgeraldofAlbany,NewYork,wasrecognizedaspresidentemeritaatMariaCollegeonMay3.ShehadservedMariaasvicepresident,academicdeanandpresidentfor38yearsbeforeretiringin2012.

Sister Patricia Anne Baca (seated, far left) will make her first profession of vows in St. Louis on July 29. With her are (from left, standing) mem-bers of the Community Leadership Team (CLT), Sisters Pat Coward, Linda Falquette, Jane Hotstream and Mary Rose Bumpus; (seated) Sister Jill Weber, incorporation minister, and CLT member Sister Debbie Kern.

CARIBBEAN, CENTRAL AMERICA, SOUTH AMERICA

AT THEIR RECENT assembly,CCASAsistersvotedtoreducetheirCommunityLeadershipTeamfromfourmemberstothree.InMaythenewlyelectedTeam—SistersJulieMatthews,LilianSilvaandAngelinaMitre—metwiththeoutgoingmembers—MasbelyDelCid,EstelaGomezandPatriciaMulderick—to

preparefortheJuly1transition.SisterPatriciaMulderickwillbemovingtoGuyanainNovembertotakeupherroleasnoviceministerfortheCaribbean.

CCASAsistersandassociatescontinuetooffertheQuaker-developedprogram,AlternativestoViolence.WorkshopshavebeenheldinArgentina,HondurasandPanamaforsisters,associatesandcollaborators.InJulytheprogram,ledbySistersCristinaMiraandBlancaQuintanaandAssociatesMonicaMaherandKottyRamirez,isbeingofferedinPeru.

Inspiredbythesuccessoflastyear´sCCASAvolunteerprograminColón,Panama,applicationsarebeingacceptedforthenextopportunity.Durationandlocationwillbedecidedbasedontheageandexperienceofthosevolunteering.

The new CCASA Leadership Team, (from left) Sisters Lilian Silva, Julie Matthews and Angelina Mitre.

Women of Mercy who honored Sister Laureen Fitzgerald include (front row, from left) Sisters Jean Roche, Victoria Battell, Jacqueline Marie Kieslich, Sheila Christensen, Rosemary Sgroi, Marge Halpin and Joyce Ross; (second row, from left) Gail Waring, Barbara Dudley, Helen Charles, Ellen Boyle, Ginny Sposito, Jeanne Conley, and Mary Ann LoGiudice; and (third row, from left) Jane Somerville, Rose Hobbs, Pat Newell, Mary Fraser, Kathleen Pritty, Pat Houlihan, Donna Conroy, and Jean McGinty. Credit: Maria College.

3J U LY | A U G U S T 2 0 17 ¡Viva! Mercy

MID-ATLANTIC

AS THE SPONSORED schools intheMid-AtlanticCommunitypreparetobecomepartoftheMercyEducationSystemoftheAmericas(MESA)thissummer,theMid-AtlanticCommunityLeadershipTeamheldeducationalritualsfortheirsevenhighschoolsandthreeelementaryschools.Inthesecere-moniesofthanksgivingandtransition,representativesfromeachschoolpresentedabriefhistoryoftheirplaceoflearningfollowedbyamodern-dayreflectionbyCatherineMcAuleywrittenbySisterReneeYannandnarratedbyamemberoftheleadershipteam.Next,teammembersandtheschool’spresidentsandboardchairssignedacovenantbetweenMESAandtheschooldefiningrelationships,governanceandaccountabilitytoensurethattheMercycharismandmissioncontinuesintothefuture.ThereflectionfromCatherine

McAuleychallengeseacheducatorto“trustthischange,itwillbringanewgraceandanewcall.Itisthenextimaginationofmercy,andyouareitsarchitects!Befaithfulandbeblessed.BeMercyintheworld!”

WEST MIDWEST

2017 HAS BEENayearofrecognition.Sistershonoredtodateinclude:♦Chicago’sBrotherDavid

DarstCenterrecognizedSisterJoyCloughforherleadership.

♦ SisterMargaretFarley,Guilford,Connecticut,receivedthe2017AnnO’HaraGraffMemorialAward,presentedbytheCatholicTheologicalSocietyofAmerica.

♦ SisterCaniceJohnsonwasrecognizedposthumouslybyMercyEducationProject,Detroit,Michigan.Shewasfounderofthe25-year-oldministry.

♦ SisterRuthMutchlerwaspresentedTheCommittedHeartAwardforherdedicationtoMargaret’sVillage,ahomelessshelteronthesouthsideofChicago,Illinois.

♦ SisterJoanMargretSchwager,Joplin,Missouri,wasafinalistforthelocalChamberofCommerce’sGoldenAppleAwardrecognizingeducators.

♦ UniversityofDetroitMercyhonoredalumnaSisterMauritaSengelaub,FarmingtonHills,Michigan,forheraccomplishmentsatitsAnnualSpiritAwardsDinner.

NEW YORK PENNSYLVANIA WEST

SISTER COLLEEN O’TOOLEreceivedapprovalfromtheInstituteLeadershipTeam(ILT)toprofesstemporaryvowsonJuly22duringtheTheologyofaMercifulHeartgatheringinErie,Pennsylvania.

MembersoftheNyPaWTransitionalCoordinatingTeam(TCT)andILTjoinedNyPaWsistersinBuffalo,NewYork,andErie,Pennsylvania,forCommunitymeetingsinJanuary.ConsultationsontheproposedInstituteGovernanceModelwereheldinPittsburgh,Pennsylvania,onApril28andRochester,NewYork,onMay6.

SisterJennyWilsonparticipatedinaFacebookLiveinterviewfromNativityMiguelMiddleSchoolinBuffalowheresheteaches.Jenny’sinterviewaswellasothervocationvideosareavailableonlineatbit.ly/vocationvideos.

PHILIPPINES

SISTER NANCY HOFFoftheTCTandSistersPatriciaMcDermottandDeborahTroillettoftheILTtraveledtothePhilippinesfromApril18-26toattendthefinalprofessionofSisterKristineViolangoandtomeetwithPhilippinesisters, whoarecelebrating60yearsasacommunity.

Sister Lisa Gambacorto (front, left), the directress of Mount Saint Mary Academy in Watchung, New Jersey, and board chair Elizabeth Weiler, Esq. (front, right) accept a commemorative plaque from the Mid-Atlantic Community Leadership Team: (back row, from left) Sisters Patricia Vetrano, Patricia Lapczynski, Alicia Zapata and Kathleen Keenan. Not pictured is CLT member Sister Patricia Smith. Photo by Michelle Daino.

A new Chicago teaching and learning center serving ex-offenders was named for Sister Susan Sanders (right) a member of the Community Leadership Team. She mentored founder Daniel Geiter, Ed.D. (left) while he was a student at Saint Xavier University. Credit: Matt Marton Photography.

Sister Kristine Violango speaks at her final profession of vows in the Philippines on April 22.


A Call from the Ancestors: Struggling for Life in Panama and for All of Earth

J U S T I C E

To all whodaretodrawnear,FirstNationspeoplesacrosstheglobeofferwisdom and a spirituality rooted inprofoundreverenceforthesacrednessofEarth.

In Laudato Si’, PopeFrancis warns against “thedisappearance of a culture”and asserts that indigenouscommunities should be the“principaldialoguepartners”whenso-called“development”projects are undertaken;if there is to be any hopethatwecanreversethefastpaceofecologicaldestructiontakingplaceacrossourglobe,weneedtolistenclosely.

WhenPanamanianMercySister Edia “Tita” Lopezstarted her ministry in thewesternpartofthecountry,shebeganbylisteningtotheindigenous peoples andwas drawn into what hasnow become their decades-long struggle for life.Theirland, waterways and culture werebeing devastated by hydroelectricdam construction. She attendeddialogue sessions, often requiredbefore a government or businessundertakes infrastructure projects inindigenousterritories.

Local communities voiced theiropposition, but the construction wentforward. They pursued lawsuitsand mobilized protests, sometimesencamped as human roadblocksforweeksatatime,yetthebulldozerscame in. Protestors have been killed

or wounded by security forces,and many leaders put in jail. Damconstructionandminingprojectshavedisplaced people and also destroyedhomes,ancientsacredsites,faunaand

vegetation,andthelivelihoodoffishingtribes. As with community groupsin other countries where govern-ments ignore theirwishesandattackprotestors,theindigenousinPanamahavepursuedinternationalmechanisms,suchastheInter-AmericanCommissionforHumanRights(IAHCR),toelevatetheircasesforrecourse.

Tita’s ministry in Panama wasfeatured in a series of articles inGlobal Sisters Report. The articlesillustratehowindigenouscommunitiesare fighting for their culture’s very

existence, and how Mercy has alsoaccompanied them with advocacythrough the IACHR process inWashington,D.C.

In Western economies, the profitmotive has become a “god,”reducingnaturetoacommodity.Indigenouspeoplesare resistingthese threats for thesakeofnotonlytheirlandandwater,butforthesakeofusallwhodependonEarth,our“commonhome,”forsustenance.

Mercy has accompaniedtheir struggles, including theStanding Rock Sioux in NorthDakota, the Lenca in HondurasandtheLumadinthePhilippines.Being present like Sister Tita—and lending solidarity to grass-roots movements on the frontlines of protest—matters, as itlendsprotection.

Reflecting on our complicity,both individual and societal,as Mercy has done as part ofpreparationfortheSixthInstitute

Chapter, also matters for chartinglifestyles in just relationship with allofcreation.

Our Mercy faith call invites usto continue reflecting on theserealities. Indigenous communitieshave helped us wake up to theurgencies; as Tita stated, “If we areto accompany the poorest, we mustbe prepared to accompany them inresistance.” The fate of this SacredEarthisinallourhands.

—By Jean Stokan, Institute Justice Team

Links to GlobalSistersReport articles about Tita’s ministry are available at bit.ly/TitaArticles. Shared with permission fromGlobalSistersReport.

Ngäbe indigenous leader resisting removal from land for dam

project in Western Panama, May 2016. Credit: Hugo Verga

for Alianza para la Conservación y el Desarrollo.

The Mercy International Reflection Process in

Retrospect and Prospect

Hearts Caught Off Guard

& Blown Open:

By Sister Elaine M. Wainwright, RSM

Top: The MIRP group in Chimbote, Peru, poses for a picture. Bottom: A group in Argentina visited a house made of recyclable materials

as part of their engagement with the Mercy International Reflection Process.


ThegatheringincludedthecoordinatorsoftheMercyInternational Reflection Process (MIRP), one from eachInstitute or Congregation; the MIRP Guiding Team—AnneWalsh,MIAcommunicationsdirector,SisterHelenDivineyandmyself;aswellasSisterElizabethDavis,therepresentative of the Mercy International Association(MIA)members,andSisterMaryReynolds,MIAExecutiveDirector.

ThewordsofthefinallinesofSeamusHeaney’spoem“Postscript”infusedtheweek:

… You are neither here nor there,A hurry through which known and strange things passAs big soft buffetings come at the car sidewaysAnd catch the heart off guard and blow it openThesewordscapturethespiritthatwasleadingthegroup

throughnotonlywhathadbeendiscoveredbyengagingin theprocess,butalsowhatwasbeing revealed—acallnamedinthereviewprocessas“MercyGlobalPresence.”

This article invites you to reflect upon the profoundrichesthatemergedinlocalgroupsofsistersandpartnersinMercyscatteredacrosstheworldwhoengagedinMIRP.These,intheirturn,willopenadooronwhatisbeckon-ingbeyondthisphaseofMIRP,towhatisbeingrevealed.

In RetrospectIt was not only at the end of the Mercy InternationalReflection Process that hearts were caught off guard.Such an experience characterized its beginnings. TheTheological Advisory Group within MIA was planningduring2014foratheologicalreflectionprocessthatwouldenabletheMercyworldtoengagewiththeemergingcallof Earth and the sometimes tense relationship of thiscallwiththemoretraditionalcryofthepoortowhichmercyattends.

Two key moments, however, blew our hearts openalong this way. On April 11, 2015, Pope Francis pro-claimed2016asanextraordinaryJubileeofMercy.Itwasto open on December 8, 2015, and close on November20,2016, thevery timewewereplanningourreflectionprocess.Misericordiae Vultus took our breath away byarticulatinginnewandcompellinglanguagethatthecryofthepoorcallsforthmercy:

“FromtheheartoftheTrinity,fromthedepthsofthemystery of God, the great river of mercy wells up andoverflows unceasingly. It is a spring that will never rundry,nomatterhowmanypeopledrawfromit.Everytime

someone is in need, he or she can approach it, becausethemercyofGodneverends”(Misericordiae Vultus,25).

Butthatwasnotall:asecondmomentlikewisecaughtusoff-guard.ThepromulgationofLaudato Si’(datedMay24,2015)onJune18thatsameyearcapturedthereligiousimagination of the world with its foundational call tocareforourcommonhome,Earth.ThiswasanewcalltowhichweintheMercyworldwereseekingtolisten.

Mercy International Ref lection ProcessThe Mercy International Reflection Process provided aframework for partners in Mercy (including ministrypartnersandallwhoassociateunderthebannerofMercy)togetherwithsisterstoengagereflectively,evencontem-platively, on the twofold cry rising up from our world:thecryofEarthandthecryofthepoor.Thesecrieswererefractedthroughmanydifferentlensesassistersandasso-ciates, partners in mission and ministry, and colleaguesacross other Christian and religious traditions gatheredingroupsaroundtheMercyworld—approximately5,000participantsinall.

TheymetinSamoa,PapuaNewGuinea,AotearoaNewZealand, Australia and the Philippines; were scatteredacross the Americas from Peru to Newfoundland; andclusteredintheUnitedKingdomandIreland—welloverthe265formalgroups.Theynotonlyparticipatedintheprocessinformallybutaccompanieditinprayer.

The tool which provided the framework for suchdiverse groupings to engage ethically and theologicallywasatheologicalreflectionprocess.ThisisaprocessthatisinformedbyCardijnprinciples(see,judge,act)andhasbeendevelopedinliberationtheologiesacrossdecades.IthasbeenusedinMercycontextsbothlocallyandinterna-tionally,theBurlingameTheologicalReflectionconductedbytheMercyInternationalResearchCommissionin2007beingonesuchexample.(Thepapersthatformedthebasisofthisprocessin2007havebeenpublishedasFire Cast on the Earth—Kindling,editedbySisterMaryC.Sullivan).Aswithalltools,itwasrefinedinouruseofitandreflectiononthatuse.

Stage 1Asgroupsgatheredtobegintheprocess,theysharedtheirstoriesandnamedtheexperiencesthrough/towardwhichmercy was leading them in 2016. From the richness ofwhatwasshared,eachgroupsoughttofocustheirgazeon

During the last week of March 2017, a truly international gathering took place in Dublin to bring the Mercy International Reflection Process (MIRP) to a close and to review its unfolding across the Mercy world during the previous year.


oneparticularconcern.Thesearticulationswereasdiverseasthegroupsthemselves,butasfacilitatorsandcoordinatorsbroughttogetherthesefocusissues,theyformedintotwokeycategories:displacementofpeopleanddegradationofEarth.ThiswasnotsurprisinggiventhemovementoftheSpiritthatwaspalpableintheunfoldingoftheprocessandrefractedinthetwofoldcallofPopeFrancis:mercytothemostvulnerableandcareforadevastatedEarth.

Thedisplacedpeoplesthatcalledforthamercyresponseintheprocessincludedrefugeesandasylumseekers,thosetrafficked or homeless, those forced into migration as aresultofclimatechange;thosesufferingdomesticviolenceand the isolation of dementia. The groups focused ondegradationofEarthattendedtowater,fracking,garbageandpollution,withwaterbeingtheareaofthemostwide-spreadconcern.

Stage 2StageTwooftheprocessinvitedgroupstoplacetheirfocalissueinabroadercontext,attendingtosomeofthesocial,political, economic and environmental forces at work.Thissentparticipants insearchofsuchanalyses inlocalmedia, in articles short and long, in books dealing with

suchcurrentissuesandinarangeofYouTubevideosandother internet resources. Some groups brought in localexpertsintheirfocalareatoassistthemwiththeiranalysis.Thisanalysisstagecanbeachallengingoneintheprocesswhich groups can want to move across quickly. Onesignificant learning from thegroups’movement throughStages1and2wasthataclearfocusonandengagementwithagroup’skey issueand itscloseness to the livesofgroupparticipantscanprovideanimpetusforcarefulandengagedanalysis.

Stage 3It was with new lenses and new questions that partici-pants engaged wisdom traditions at Stage Three of theprocess. These traditions included our biblical, theologicaland spiritual heritage; our Mercy traditions as refractedthrough Catherine McAuley and women of Mercyinternationallyandacrossalmosttwocenturies;andnewunderstandingsof theuniverse.Therewas, therefore,anengagement of our wisdom traditions as diverse as thegroupsthemselves.

In order to enhance participation at this stage, MIAsupported the production of a set of video interviews

Focus VisionArticulation of the shared concern/s Articulation of thenew engagement

Stage 1Story/ExperienceSharing the Story andNaming Issues of Concern

Stage 2Broader ContextExploring the Broader Context of the Issues– the Social, Scientific, Environmental, Political,Cultural and Economic Spheres

Stage 3Wisdom/Tradition

Engaging anew with the Biblical, Theological,

Spiritual, Ecclesial andMercy Traditions

Stage 4Action

Planning New Actionto bring about Change

3Wisdom/Tradition

4Action

2BroaderContext

Story/Experience

1

© Mercy International Association www.mercyworld.org

Stages of the Process







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Stage 4Action


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called Voices which are available on the MIA website(www.mirpvoices.org).Participantscouldengagetheologianssuch as Sister Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ, and John Haughtwho study theology in light of the cry of Earth andour new understandings of the universe. Other voicesincludedSisterMaryC.SullivanwholistensanewtothetraditionsofCatherineMcAuley,ethicistSisterMargaretFarley,biblicalscholarSisterVeronicaLawsonandanumberofothers.Thevoiceshelpedtoinspirethegroupsandleadthemtonewwisdomandanewvision.

These new visions were recognized as “calls totransformation” informed by the previous three steps intheprocess.Oneexampleofsuchacallwasthis:toletGodembrace us in our humanness (with its uniqueness andourdiversity)inordertomoveustogreatercompassionforandsolidaritywithallcreationinourdailylife.Anothercallwasto“beacommunitywhichfeelsthepainofEarthandthecryofthepoorwithanewecologicalconsciousnessreflectedinattitudes,habits,structuresandactions.”

Stage 4At Stage Four in the process, the stage named simplyas “Action,” many new commitments were made: tomobilize our power internationally through MIA withrespect to refugees and efforts against human trafficking;to network with groups addressing climate change; andto encourage and promote individual and communal

wateruseandconservation.Thisistonamebutthree.Manyoftheactionswerelocalandthuswillengagepar-ticipants in their own contexts.Some groups, however, proposedactionsthatcouldinvolveMIAintothe future. One general exampleof such a proposal was this:“exercise leadershipbyenabling itsMercy network to work towardspositivechangeintheinterconnectedareasofdisplacementofpeoplesandthe degradation of Earth, which is‘ourcommonhome.’”

OutlookHaving engaged with and reflectedonthereportsprovidedbythe265groups, there was a recognition inthe group gathered in Dublin inMarch2017thatMIRPhadopenedup a new door on Mercy into thefuture. It affirmed that our heartscan be moved by urgent currentissues affecting the plight of thepoor and the plight of our endan-

gered Earth. It has provided us with one tool that canassistus towardaprofoundlymerciful response to suchplights.AswebecomemorefullytheMercyglobalpres-encethatwehaveglimpsed,wewilldevelopfurthertools.Weareonlyonthecuspofsomethingnew.

Heartshavebeencaughtoffguardand,inthatprocess,havebeenblownopenasMIRPhasunfolded.CommitmenttothecryofEarthandthecryofthedisplacedpoorhasbeenengagedanew,andthisissupportedbynewtheologiesandnewspiritualities.It isallthisthatwewilltakeintothefuturewhichwehavebutglimpsedtogether.

Sister Elaine Wainwright is a Sister of Mercy in the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea and is Professor Emerita in Theology at the University of Auckland. Her most recent publication is Habitat, Human andHoly:AnEco-RhetoricalReadingof theGospel

ofMatthew, which was published last year by Sheffield Phoenix Press. She was International Director of the Mercy International Reflection Process. You can contact her at [email protected].

The title of this article is a slight variation of and is informed by the last line of Seamus Heaney’s poem, “Postscript.” Read the poem in full at bit.ly/HeaneyPostscript.

View the final report of the Mercy International Reflection Process at bit.ly/MIRPfinalreport.

Pope Francis celebrates Mass in St. Peter’s Square for the feast of the Immaculate Conception and the opening of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, December 8, 2015. Credit: Daniel Ibandez, Catholic News Agency.

The Mercy International Reflection Process (MIRP) inspired participants around the Institute to respond to the “cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor” in many ways.

In Connecticut, participants in one group protested a water bottling plant; in St. Louis, Missouri, they led a retreat day on water that drew dozens of people; and in rural Kentucky, they reflected on consumerism through the lens of the litter they found on local roads. Participants in Belize City, Belize, decided to offer the Awakening the Dreamer workshop to staff at St. Catherine Academy. Members of a small group in Providence, Rhode Island, are learning more about white privilege and racism in their area. In Chimbote, Peru, they are helping to clean up the bay, which has been polluted by fish- processing plants.

These are just some of the actions coming out of about 30 small groups within the Institute—made up of sisters, associates, companions, coworkers and friends—that accepted Mercy International Association’s invitation to

participate in the process in the Jubilee Year of Mercy.The groups included one each in Argentina, Belize

and Guyana, and multiple groups in Rochester, New York; Farmington Hills, Michigan; and Hartford, Connecticut. Groups also formed in Burlingame, California; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Cincinnati; Chicago; Portland, Maine; Providence, Rhode Island; Silver Spring, Maryland; and at St. John’s University in New York City, New York.

Each of the groups was invited to choose an issue to analyze, pray and reflect on, and take action on over the year. Water was the most popular issue to explore, while other groups examined consumerism, immigration, nonviolence, sustainability and racism.

Members of the Mid-Atlantic Community followed a similar reflection process in preparation for their 2016 Assembly, and the fruits of their collective work also were woven into the fabric of the MIRP final report. Their reflections led them to an examen of their complicity in consumerism and a commitment to pray the mantra: “May I live gratefully and simply today.”







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The MIRP Guiding Team, coordinators and MIA leadership met in March 2017 in Dublin, Ireland, to bring the Mercy International Reflection Process to a close. Back row, from left: Anne Walsh (Guiding Team, International Communications Director); Sisters Sandra Lupi (Coordinator, Brisbane Congregation), Mary Reynolds (Executive Direc-tor MIA), Elizabeth Davis (Congregation Leader Newfoundland and MIRP Member Liaison), Teresa Anderson (Co-coordinator, Aotearoa New Zealand), Elaine Wainwright (Guiding Team, International Director); Sheila Curran (Coordinator, The Congregation) and Patricia McMahon (Coordinator, Great Britain Union); and Sisters Adele Howard (Coordinator, ISMAPNG) and Natalie Murphy (Co-coordinator, Aotearoa New Zealand). Front row, from left: Sister Elizabeth Marrie (Coordinator, Newfoundland); Marianne Comfort (Coordinator, Americas); and Sisters Valda Dickinson (Coordinator, Parramatta and North Sydney Congregations), Josephine Davies (Coordinator, Great Britain Institute) and Helen Diviney (Guiding Team, International Coordinator). Absent: Sisters Carmela Cabactulan (Coordinator, Philippines) and Kathleen Rushton (Process and Content Coordinator, Aotearoa New Zealand).

M IRP i n the Amer icasBY MARIANNE COMFORT, Institute Justice Team


ATTRACTION & DEL GHT

By Sister Megan Brown

A REFLECTION ON THE APOSTOLIC YEAR OF THE NOVITIATE


MaryAnnDoylehassomethingtosayaboutdoors:“TheConventwasthennearlyfinished.Duringthetimeofitsbeingbuilt,Isometimeswalkednearit,andfeltagreatattractiontoit.Ionceaskedthemanwhohadcareofittoallowmetoseeit,andwassodelightedthatIfixedmyhearton it. I was introduced to Revd. Mother. We were muchpleasedwitheachother.”1

Byherownadmission,MaryAnn“feltagreatattractiontoit”andwassodelightedthatshe“fixedherheartonit.”Her attraction and delight were about so much morethanabuilding. Inherwalkingbackand forth, inherdiscernment about where God was leading her, it wasthe building, a concrete sign, that caught her eye andcapturedherimagination!

Therestof thestory iswarmly familiar:OnSeptember24,1827,MaryAnnDoyleandhercompanionsopenedthedoor of 64A Baggot Street, and Mercy was poured anewontheworld.Howdidtheyopenthatfamousdoor—with

warmth, trepidation, enthusiasm,doubt?Most likely theyexperienced the nervousness of new beginnings and thegreathighhopesofdoingsomethingwonderfulforGodandthewomenseekingshelter.

There is a picture depicting a line from the Book ofRevelation—“Behold, I stand at the door and knock”—inwhichJesusstandsinfrontofadoorwithoutadoorknob.Theimplicationisthatthedoorcanonlybeopenedfromwithin.Howthedoorisopenedandwithwhatdispositionofheartisoursandoursalone.Jesuswaits.

opening doors to our apostolic novicesAnewmembercrossesmanythresholds,knocksonmanydoors. By the time she is ready to begin her apostolicnovitiate, she has been in formal relationship with theCommunity for at least two years before her EntranceCeremony. She has also spent at least two years as acandidate and lived one year in the canonical novitiate—

What is it about doors—opening, closing, squeaking, warping; protecting,

welcoming; locked, unlocked? What is it about stepping over thresholds—

going out, coming in? What is it about the very act of opening a door that

portrays one’s attitude to the one who knocks?

The welcoming communities of Joplin and St. Louis, Missouri. Back row, from left: Sisters Dianne Ferguson, Annette Seymour, Julie Brown, Agnes Brueggen, Joan Margaret Schwager and Patti Baca. Front row, from left: Marissa Butler and Sisters Angelene Schram and Jonella Rhoda. Marissa is a candidate living in Joplin with Julie, Joan Margaret and Angelene. Patti is an apostolic novice living in St. Louis with Dianne, Annette, Agnes and Jonella.

1 Sullivan. M. (1995). Catherine McAuley and the Tradition of Mercy. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press. 37.

altogether,atleastfiveyears!Imagineallthedoorsopeningandclosing,thenumberofthresholdscrossed.Ateachstepalongthewayshehasbeenwelcomedintocommunitybywomenwillingtoaccompanyheronherjourney.

The apostolic novitiate year is an important part of thewoman’s experience of community living. Having spentthe canonical year praying, studying and living incommunity, she is now ready to set her feet and herheart to community life and ministry with new eyes andnewunderstanding.AsFor the Love of Mercy states, “Thepurposeof this timeof greaterministerial involvement istoofferthenoviceanopportunityforfurtherintegrationofherownexperienceofGod,herself-knowledgeandpracticeof compassion in ministry. Sufficient time for thisisessentialinordertocontinueherdiscernmentandtopreparefor the profession of vows” (3-40). The members of thewelcoming community play an integral part in providinga context in which the apostolic novice can deepen herdiscernmentaboutprofessingvows.Itisoncemoreaboutdoors. Just asMaryAnnDoyleopened64ABaggotStreetand as Catherine herself opened countless doors acrossIreland and even one in England, so too the members ofourwelcomingcommunitiesopenthedoorsof their livestothenovice.

Duringthepast fewyears, theNewMembershipTeaminstituted the practice of asking for welcoming communitiesandministrieswillingtohostanapostolicnovice.Responsesto this request span the Institute from Sacramento,California, toCincinnati,Ohio.DoorsopenandheartsofMercy provide places in which the novice can learn by

livingasavowedmemberbeforeactuallyprofessingvows.

voices from both sides of the doorBeing a part of a welcoming community is a privilegeand a sacred trust. Listen to some of the comments ofprofessedmemberslivinginwelcomingcommunities:

♦ “I am inspired by their [new members’] desirefor God, their openness to engage, their desireto serve others, their courage to enter into thetransformativeprocessoflivingincommunity.”

♦“Welcominganewmemberintosharingourlivedlifeincommunitycallsone toadeepreflectiononourfaithfulness, toall thatwebelieveaboutourvowedlife and how we live it in word and deed, heartandsoul.”

Livinginawelcomingcommunityalsobringschallenges:♦ “The challenge comes in intentionally making the

efforttobepresentinpersondespitethedemandsofministryandavarietyofdifferentexperiences.”

♦ “Wecanget set inourways and so a challenge is toreallylistenandreplytotheirquestions.”

♦“Itisachallengetobehonestaboutexpectationstoanewmemberwhoselifeexperienceisculturallyandgenerationallydifferentfromourown.”

♦“Forme,thegiftsoutweighthechallenges.”The following samples of some comments from newer

memberspresenttheexperienceoftheapostolicyearfromtheirpoint-of-view:

♦ “Leaving the novitiate was a hard transition for mesince I had become accustomed to an environment


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Sister Susan Ruedy shared these photos from the welcoming community in Cincinnati, Ohio. From left:

1) The welcoming community gathers for a photo. Seated, from left: Sisters Cheryl Erb; Colleen O’Toole, an apostolic novice; and Claudia Cano. Standing, from left: Sisters Susan Ruedy and Doris Gottemoeller.

2) Susan (left) and Claudia check their backyard compost bin.

3) From left, Colleen, Doris, Cheryl and Claudia at the local zoo.

4) More fun at the zoo with Claudia, Doris and Colleen posing as meerkats next to Cheryl.

5) Colleen (left) and Doris work together on a puzzle, a favorite pastime.

6) Colleen (left) helps Susan with dinner.

of study, integration and intentional community.…Oneof thegreat giftswasmywelcominghousewhichprovidedmewithasafeplacetoprocessthistransitionaswellasthecommunalsupportIneededto work through the requirements of that yearofformation.”

♦ “The communitywelcomedmewarmly andensuredI was as prepared and supported as possibleforministry.”

♦“Myexperienceoftheapostolicyearhasbeenverylifeaffirming. … Living in community helps me refuelforwhatthenextdaymightbring.”

Moving into a new community is not without itschallenges, as each of us knows. For the newer member,community life can pose some significant challenges:loneliness, misunderstandings, difference in theologies,trying to fit in to an already established routine, newministry experiences and more. Newer membersyearn for a sense of belonging—an acceptance thatgoes beyond words to a stance of deep listeningandcompassion.

a transformative experienceInherbook Open the Door,JoyceRuppstates,“WhenIopenthedoorofmyhearttoGod,Idomorethansimplyextendasmileofrecognitionoranodofwelcome.Iopenmyselfto grow and change in ways I may never dream likely.”Rupp’s words describe the transformative experience ofthe members of a welcoming community. The growingand changing are mutually enriching for the novice and

fortheprofessedmembersofthecommunity.Asthenoviceexperiences the day-to-day realities of community life,prayer andministry, sheopensherheartmore andmoreto thecall toMercy.Likewise,membersof thewelcomingcommunity are challenged and stretched through wordanddeedtoprovideacontextforthenovicetodeepenherdiscernment.

Attraction and delight—Mary Ann’s openness to themovementofGodinherheartcalledhertoconversion.Thebricksandmortarof64ABaggotStreetbecamethecourageand compassion of her life. The door which welcomedpersons experiencing poverty is the same door, openedfrom within which embraces our novices. Conversion isrisky. Mary Ann knew it well. Catherine knew it well.Transformationispossible.OurInstituteknowsitwell.

Hurrah for new foundations! Hurrah for thathospitality of heart which continues to fling open thedoor of Mercy. Hurrah for each of us as we welcomenewermembers intoourmidst.Hurrahfornewlearningsand new opportunities. Hurrah for attractions anddelights! Hurrah for joys and sorrows intermingledand hearts centered on God who guides all ouropenings and closings. Hurrah for Jesus who patientlywaits with exquisite courtesy for doors to open.

Sister Megan Brown is an incorporation minister for the Mid-Atlantic Community. She also engages in the ministry of spiritual direction and retreat work. She can be contacted at [email protected].

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CCASA Community


the image of the door, both of our own hearts and the door that opens us to the lives of those with whom we minister, is an image that certainly captures the spirit of the apostolic novitiate experience. Perhaps the integration of the opening of those doors best describes the goal of the apostolic year … a journey that continues throughout the rest of our lives. The integration of “an ardent desire to unite oneself to God and to serve the poor,” in Catherine’s words of her time, call the apostolic novice to stretch herself in service to those in need and to see the face of God in those she meets. It is about opening the door and walking the streets, literally and figuratively. The integration of the apostolic experience is also a time of allowing those revelations of God to nourish her prayer and her community life as well as living in community in such a way that she can be nourished by the life of her sisters, their experiences, and their wisdom.

In our CCASA Community, the doors of our local communities are not numerous, which is not to say that it is a limitation. It calls us all to be welcoming and willing to share our lives in community with our newer members. Which means that it offers us all the opportunity and blessing of a more intentional integration also! A blessing indeed.

J U LY | A U G U S T 2 0 17 ¡Viva! Mercy

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ANNOUNCED AT THE SIXTH INSTITUTE CHAPTERJune 19, 2017 • Buffalo, New York

MERCY

LEGACY AWARD

By Sister Rita Parks

THE MARIE CHIN, RSM

T H E M A R I E C H I N , R S M , Mercy Legacy Awardwas established tocelebrate the 25thanniversaryofthefoundingof the Institute of theSisters of Mercy of theAmericas and named inhonor of Sister MarieChin. Marie served inleadershipfortheInstitute14years;shewasamem-ber of the first and sec-ond Institute LeadershipTeams and InstitutePresident from 1999-2005. The deep know-ing of God within herallowedMarietheuniquegiftofseeingandhonoringGod in the other.Throughout all of herministry, she recognizedand called forth theinherentgoodnessofothers.

“Nodoubtsomeofyouwill be expecting me to give you … practical and specificinformationthatyoucanapplyinyourwork.…Ineedyoutoknowthat Idonothaveapracticalbone inmybody.Havingsaidthat…”

Having said that, Marie Chin would launch into afascinating story, replete with color, imagery, myth, andthemagicofwordsthatshecouldconjureupinpoeticorsymbolicfashiontospeakpracticalwisdomtotheearandheartofeachlistener.

Marie’s own story and call begins on the island ofJamaica. She was one of five children born of a ChinesefatherandaJamaicanmotherofmixeddescent.

Converted to Catholicism at the age of 10, Marierecalled that as a teenager she hoped that Jesus wouldappearandmakeeverythingclear. She said, “Iwaited inthe countryside of Jamaica where my parents lived andlaterinboardingschoolwiththeSistersofMercy.…TherewassomethingcallingmetorespondalthoughIwasnot

yetawareofwhatthatsomethingwas.Iwaited.Soonafterhighschool,IrespondedtothatsomethingandbecameaSisterofMercy.”

In1961,MariesubmittedherformalrequesttojointheKingstonnovitiate.Thewrittenapplicationprovidedspaceto“Describeanytradeorskillatwhichyouarequalified.”Herresponse:“Iplaythepiano.”

She began teaching at Alpha School, but her giftsbeyondpianoplayingweresoonevident.

Thewindof theSecondVaticanCouncilwasblowingaboutherearsandthefireofitsspirittookMariebeyondtheclassroom,beyondtheisland,toformativeexperiencesthat shaped her spirituality and her mission for therest of her life. Yet her roots and her heart remainedJamaicantothecore.

Time spent there was less than she wished, however,although through the years she did manage to serve asJamaica’sAreaCoordinator,asaspiritualdirectorforbothwomenandmen,andasformationminister,retreatleaderandVicarforReligiousfortheArchdioceseofKingston.

And then the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas calledMarietotheroleofcouncilor,thenvicepresidentandthenpresidentoftheInstitute.

Her response to that election in 1999 was: “Sacred is

thecall.Holyistheentrustment.Iamdeeplyhumbledbythatentrustment.…IwantyoutoknowthatIneedallofyoutojoinwithourGodtotransformourglobalworld.”

It was during those years of Institute service thatMarie’sstoriesbecameherhallmarkandhergift.Shegavethat gift humbly, generously, and lavishly to listenersaround the globe, sharing the gift of her stories andtherichnessofherspirituality.

Marie balanced contemplation with action. Before,

S P E C I A L C O N T E N T

The amazing power of the poor took hold of me – for the poor are powerful, you know.

- Sister Marie Chin


Top: A young Sister Marie Chin sharing her musical talent.

Bottom: Marie in Colón, Panama, with Sister Dina Altamiranda, surrounded by children.


during,andafterheryearsasInstitutePresident,sheshoweda special care for those in the minority. Coming fromaculture foreignto theUnitedStates,Mariecouldspeakinthevoiceofminorityculturesandlayouttheirworld-views, even as their words were drowned by the din ofloudervoicesandtheirperspectivesoftensweptawaybythe agenda of the majority. Hers was a voice gentle yetfirm, reasoned yet passionate, and above all, persistentand uncompromising. She spoke eloquently in twolanguages:thatofthevoicedandthatofthevoiceless.

TherealityofpovertycalledouttoMarie:

I, who had lived side by side with poverty in Jamaica had never seen poverty until I went to Peru. Every sense and sensibility of my being was assaulted. As I walked the barrios of Lima, met people who were desperately poor, held hands with consumptive children, sat in their hovels built on dung heaps, tried to talk to them in a foreign language, prayed with them daily at Eucharist, something began to move inside of me. … The

amazing power of the poor took hold of me – for the poor are powerful, you know. It is a myth to pretend they are not. I think this is why we are sometimes afraid to get too close to them. These “poor” people disarmed me; they sneaked under my defenses and showed me a face of God I had never seen before.

Being faithful to the spirit of Marie, the InstituteLeadership Team, over the next 25 years, will annuallyaward $25,000 to a Mercy ministry that serves thosewhoareeconomicallypoor.TheawardwillhonoraMercyministry that accompaniespeople in their education andspiritualformation.

The first award was presented on June 19, 2017, at the Sixth Institute Chapter, to the ministries of the Sisters of Mercy in Jamaica.

As part of the award presentation, the Chapter body celebrated the life of Sister Marie Chin with a video presentation. You can watch the video at bit.ly/MarieChinLegacy.

Marie received an honorary degree from Boston College in 2015.

The ministries of the Sisters of Mercy in Jamaica were the recipients of the first Marie Chin, RSM, Mercy Legacy Award. These ministries include Alpha Institute, where Sister Susan Frazer, pictured above, serves as CEO. Susan is also the local administrator of the Sisters of Mercy in Jamaica.

Marie meeting Pope Saint John Paul II.

S P E C I A L C O N T E N T

AUGUST 8-11Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) Assembly 2017Orlando, Florida Contact: Sister Grace Hartzog, [email protected]

OCTOBER 5-8Mercy Associate Leadership Council (MALC) ConferenceLatham, New YorkContact: Associate Ty [email protected]

OCTOBER 13-14Mercy Secondary Education ConferenceOmaha, NebraskaContact: Sister Corinne [email protected]

OCTOBER 20-22New Members WeekendSt. Louis, MissouriContact: Sister Cynthia [email protected]

OCTOBER 23-28Institute Leadership ConferenceFarmington Hills, MichiganContact: Sister Karen [email protected]

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Documents

Hearts Caught Off Guard and Blown Open: The Mercy … · 2017. 7. 26. · shelter. Sister Laureen Fitzgerald of Albany, New York, was recognized as president emerita at Maria College