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