News & Events

Participate in the Season of Creation, 1 September - 4 October 2018

We will enjoy and celebrate
Earth's beauty and bounty and her
many species. We will honour our
duty to love and care for her and
add to her well-being wherever possible
(Chapter Statement)

In 2015 Pope Francis designated 1 September as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation in the Catholic Church, encouraging all members of the Catholic community to 'rediscover in our own rich spiritual patrimony [heritage] the deepest motivations for our concern for the care of creation'.

The Season of Creation offers us all a time for enjoyment of the beauty of our world and all its inhabitants, human and other-than-human.

Mercy International Association (MIA) of which Sisters of Mercy Parramatta Congregation is a member, has developed a number of resources, including a calendar and posters, that can be used to mark the Season of Creation. Access these here.

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Priests and their Pastoral Ministry: July Prayer Intention of Pope Francis

'We will share with others, including people of different faiths and no religious faith, the joys and struggles of this spiritual journey.' (Chapter Statement

We are all invited to join with Pope Francis and his worldwide prayer network in praying this month's intention: Priests and their Pastoral Ministry

That priests, who experience fatigue and loneliness in their pastoral work, may find help and comfort in their intimacy with the Lord and in their friendship with their brother priests.

Text of the July 2018 video:

'The tiredness of priests... Do you know how often I think about it? Priests, with their virtues and defects, work in many different areas. Working on so many active fronts, they cannot remain inactive after a disappointment. At such times, it's good for them to remember that the people love their priests, need them, and trust in them. Let us pray together that priests, who experience fatigue and loneliness in their pastoral work, may find help and comfort in their intimacy with the Lord and in their friendship with their brother priests.'

We invite you to post a prayer or reflection in our prayer space

Read the Bilum

Mercy Works supports long term development projects, working with some of the most challenged people in Australia and the South-East Asia Pacific region, improving health, enhancing social wellbeing and expanding educational opportunities. These activities are part of the vision and mission of the four Congregations of the Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea.

The June 2018 issue of Mercy Works magazine The Bilum is now available online.

Read it here to learn more about what Mercy Works does and the Sisters of Parramatta Congregation support

NAIDOC Week 2018: Celebrating ATSI Women

'We will open our hearts to the cries of the poor using our energies, gifts and resources to address violence and discrimination especially for women and children, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples...' (Chapter Statement)

NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. NAIDOC Week is held in the first full week of July (8-15 July 2018). Its origins can be traced to the emergence of Aboriginal groups in the 1920′s which sought to increase awareness in the wider community of the status and treatment of Indigenous Australians.

This year's theme 'Because Of Her, We Can', pays tribute to the strength and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) women. It acknowledges these camapaigners, mentors and role models whose deeds have often gone unrecognised

Sisters of Mercy Parramatta Congregation recognises the importance of NAIDOC Week in celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island culture, talent and resilience and the opportunity this week offers us all to grow in knowledge and build relationships.

Ways to be involved in NAIDOC Week can be found here

World Refugee Day, 20 June 2018

'We will open our hearts to the cries of the poor...' (Chapter Statement)

The theme for Refugee Week (17-23 June 2018) #WithRefugees emphasises the need for the safety and rights of all refugees to be protected.

The international campaign continues until a global compact on refugees is signed later this year. UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, is asking us all of us to help them send a clear message to governments that they must act with solidarity and shared responsibility by signing the #With Refugees Petition.

Join Sisters of Mercy and people across the globe on World Refugee Day in praying this prayer 'A Moment for Grace' composed by Catholic Relief Services USA.

God of our Wandering Ancestors,
Long have we known
That your heart is with the refugee:
That you were born into time
In a family of refugees
Fleeing violence in their homeland,
Who then gathered up their hungry child
And fled into alien country.

Their cry, your cry, resounds through the ages: “Will you let me in?”

Give us hearts that break open

When our brothers and sisters turn to us
          with that same cry.
Then surely all these things will follow:
     Ears will no longer turn deaf to their voices.
     Eyes will see a moment for grace instead of a threat.
    Tongues will not be silenced but will instead advocate.
And hands will reach out—
working for peace in their homeland,
working for justice in the lands where they seek safe haven.

Lord, protect all refugees in their travels.
May they find a friend in me
And so make me worthy

Of the refuge I have found in you.

Amen

Download and share a print version of this prayer

a-moment-for-grace-4

(1823 KB)

(PDF)

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