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Nga Whaea Atawhai o Aotearoa Sisters of Mercy New Zealand
Let us pray this blessing:
May the presence of all who wait
be with us in this Advent journey.
In our waiting may we
deeply feel the strong, sacred, ancient threads
that connect us with those who have gone before
and those who wait:
threads of longing, of justice, peace,
of tender mercy, of compassion and love. Amen
Amen
Guardians of memory,
strength and wisdom,
Guardians of hope
keeping alive the flame
of holiness and Mercy …
Pope Francis
Ritenga Tapu mo ngā Kaiwhakahaere
a time to remember
to celebrate
to give thanks.
to look forward . . .
Keep
the
Doors
of
Mercy
Open
Wide Kia tuwhera tonu mai ngā Kūaha o te Atawhai
Keep the Doors of Mercy open wide
My God, I am yours for time and eternity,
Lord I am yours forever.
It is you who must teach me to trust in your providence,
loving God.
You are a God of love and tenderness.
I put my faith in you.
And I ask that you grant me acceptance of your will, loving God.
Take from my heart all painful anxiety.
Let nothing sadden me but sin and let my delight be
Hoping to see your face God, my all.
My God, I am yours ….
Music and lyrics by Elaine Deasy, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. Used with permission
E hara i te mea Nō nāianei te aroha Nō ngā tūpuna I tuku iho, i tuku iho. Te whenua, te whenua He oranga mō te iwi Nō ngā tūpuna I tuku iho, i tuku iho. Whakapono, tūmanako, Te aroha ki te iwi Nō ngā tūpuna I tuku iho, i tuku iho.
Not the thing of recent times is love but by the ancestors it has been passed down. From the land, comes the wellbeing of the people by the ancestors it has been passed down. Faith, hope and love; by the ancestors it has been passed down.
“Taking with her two of her young companions she went to the Presentation convent in
George’s Hill, Dublin, to make their Novitiate and be trained by the Sisters in the principles
of religious life and to be prepared for the founding of the new Mercy congregation. For a
woman in her fifties, accustomed to directing others, this would not have been easy; her
two companions were in their early twenties, as were the other Presentation novices.
Catherine was heroic in her cheerful simplicity and humble acceptance of her new role,
and though in many ways it was an austere experience she looked back on it with
gratitude, as a time of many graces. On December 12, 1831, the three novices were
professed, and pronounced their vows as Sisters Mercy; they returned to Baggot Street
and their eager community that day and so began the first convent of Mercy.”
Karakia
He inoi tatou E te Atua aroha o nga mea katoa,
God, great lover of all that lives:
as we gather on this significant day,
we remember Catherine McAuley, Elizabeth Harley and Anna Maria Doyle
who made their vows as the first Sisters of Mercy in 1831.
We also remember the significance of this day in 2005 when we became
Nga Whaea Atawhai o Aotearoa Sisters of Mercy New Zealand.
We give thanks for our Mercy heritage,
for the significant footsteps which began the journey.
And for all those who journey with us in Mercy
Bless us all as we gather to remember,
recommit to our call to be Mercy,
give thanks and celebrate. Amen.
Ends and Ongoings A poem by Mary Wickham rsm, ISMAPNG © 2016
The great door in Rome will be sealed, jubilee reverts to ordinary,
and the surge of Mercy words subside to quieter waters.
But we, who are claimed by the word and carry it as name,
we will stir the waters and make yet the ordinary jubilant,
since every year is of God’s favour, every day waits for mercy.
We will not close the Door of Mercy.
We will stand as keepers, attuned, disposed.
We will hold the door ajar for the desperate and the disruptive,
the stray and the strange, the wounded wise and the child old too soon.
They are looking for the door, waiting by the door,
hoping for the door, and we must, with them, and for them, keep faith.
We will not close the Door of Mercy.
There will be room at our inn, we will make space at the table,
the cooking pot holds ample.
Through the door is feast and safety, hope and shelter.
My friend, one of the wounded wise, says:
You only have to knock once and you only have to knock lightly.
The God of mercy, whose door it is, is always home.
Kia tuwhera tonu mai ngā Kūaha o te Atawhai Keep the Doors of Mercy open wide
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