St. Mary's College, Arklow

Mercy Day.

On the 24th of September every year, 11,000 Sisters of Mercy and their friends and colleagues around the world celebrate Mercy Day. This is the day on which Catherine McAuley first opened the House of Mercy in Baggot Street, Dublin, Ireland and dedicated it to Our Lady of Mercy.
On Friday, 23rd September this year,our school community came together to celebrate Mercy Day. The celebrations began with a whole school Assembly. This formal gathering was welcomed by Sr. Sior Cosgrove, Principal, and was then addressed by four sixth year students,Amy Synnott, Aoife Lane, Sophia Kearns and Catherine Weadick, who attended the 'Young Mercy Leaders Pilgrimage" in August.

Here are their speeches:

Amy Synnott's speech:

The life of Catherine McAuley is one speech most of us are used to hearing, for us sixth years this will be the 11th time we have heard it!
Most of the time when her name is mentioned, it elicits a groan from the audience because, let's face it, it is a long story and most of you feel that she has no impact on your lives personally. I thought the same before Catherine, Aoife, Sophia and I attended the 'Young Mercy Leaders Pilgrimage' on the 10th to the 12th of August. We were chosen from a group of sixth year students to attend this conference where young people, from all over the world came to learn more about this amazing woman. I have to admit that I was a little dubious about the prospect of spending an entire weekend with a group of nuns!
However, I was pleasantly surprised; I had some of the best few days of my life. I made new friends, I enjoyed various breakout sessions such as a 'good cup of tea' and I laughed so much that my sides hurt.
Before I attended this pilgrimage Catherine McAuley was a distant figure who just happened to do great things, be the founder of the Mercy sisters, whose ethos this school lives by. But I learnt that Mercy when you bring it back to the basics is not about religion but it is a disposition to be kind and forgiving and have a heart full of mercy.
I learnt that mercy is not an unattainable way of living, it is not about going to mass every week or knowing all your prayers off by heart, it is being kind to someone who needs it, being a shoulder to cry on, being there to listen to someone, showing your mercy everyday to someone who needs it and the best example of living this mercy message is shown in the life of Catherine McAuley.

Sophia's speech:

Now, for the first time, first years, and for the last time, sixth years, I am going to tell you the story of the wonderful Catherine McAuley. Catherine McAuley was born into a well off, devout Catholic family in the year 1778. By her late teens, both of her parents had died. In 1803, she moved into the home of a Protestant couple, William and Catherine Callaghan on Mary Street, Dublin, as household manager and companion to Catherine Callaghan. In 1809 she moved in with the Callaghans to Coolock House, a twenty-two acre estate northeast of Dublin. Even though the Callaghan family were welcoming to Catherine's faith, she found herself in a difficult situation as Protestants, such as the Callaghans, were still seen as a superior denomination in Ireland at that time. The Callaghans were childless and upon Mr. Callaghan's death in 1822, Catherine inherited their fortune: about £25,000 (€743,000) and their Coolock estate. It was clear that Catherine McAuley's faith had rubbed off on the Callaghans as both William and Catherine became Catholics on their deathbeds. Catherine felt a strong call to devote her life to the service of the poor, the sick and the uneducated. With the inheritance, Catherine immediately bought a residence on Baggot Street, an area in the most fashionable district in Dublin at the time. On September 24, 1827, the House of Mercy on Baggot Street was opened as a school for poor young girls and a residence for homeless girls and women. Catherine also attended the sick and dying in their homes and walked the streets helping those in need. Other women such as Elizabeth Harley joined Catherine and helped her work. In 1831 Catherine founded the sisters of Mercy. The assembly grew rapidly and the sisters were soon set up in other parts of Ireland and England, and in later years they had reached the other side of the world, in places like Australia, Africa and the US. On November 11th 1841 Catherine passed away having established 14 houses. For a woman who did not set out to establish a convent, she has without a doubt inspired many people to bring mercy into their lives

Aoife's speech:

Three days of inspiring fun is the only way I can describe our visit to Mercy International. From ice breakers to workshops, enlightening discussions to the banter in the hostel, the four of us had an incredible time. The people we met and the experiences we shared are among those we keep close to our hearts. I can honestly say the Young Mercy Conference was far from what I expected.
We met students, teachers and nuns from all around the world-from the US, New Zealand, Australia, Liverpool and good old Ireland, learning the local slang was only the beginning.
Each nationality brought something new to the table and we educated one another in the different aspects of Mercy seen in our cultures and communities. We worked together in a variety of workshops to try to understand the life of Catherine McAuley, her works and how we can live Mercy everyday.
My personal favourites where 'Kitty's humour and mime', which revealed Catherine's comical and light hearted side, and 'Are we human or are we denser' which delved into the well know Killers lyrics whether there is more to us then meets the eye. Each workshop addressed either the work of Mercy or elements of Catherine and her life.
We learned little facts about Catherine, such as she had a fondness for tea and was a lover of a good ceilí, which she often arranged for the sisters in the House of Mercy. We also had the opportunity to relive Catherine's wonderful and entertaining hospitality with our own Talent Show. From the Aussies waltzing Matilda, the English's jokes, the Irish's version of Galway Girl and the EPIC performance of " I will follow him" by the Mercy Sisters themselves, who are the true Sister Act, the mercy leaders left that night in side splitting giggles.
One woman we met who I found to be a phenomenal role model was Marilyn Lacey. She is the founder and Director of Mercy beyond Borders which is a non-profit organisation which displaces women and children overseas to escape poverty. She is a California native and has been a sister of Mercy since 1966. She was personally recognised by the Dalai Lama as an "unsung hero of compassion" in 2009. Marilyn spoke to us about her travels, her work, stories she recalled and even reunions she had had with people who remember her kindness. This woman is a mercy treasure who still is spreading her consideration and charity to those in need.
The sisters of Mercy have a lot to teach us. What we as students of St. Mary's fail to realise is that Mercy goes beyond the gates of this school. Mercy is an international community. What Amy, Catherine, Sophia and I where awoken to was that anyone can spread the Mercy ways, that Catherine McAuley was once a young girl like ourselves who was compassionate, caring and a strong believer in helping others. We need to open our hearts to mercy, one small action at a time. By helping one, that one helps two, and that two helps four, and so on the domino effect ripples through our community. One must always remember to show Mercy everyday.

Catherine's speech:

As you have heard we had a great time and it was a brilliant opportunity to learn more about our school, its history and meet students from other Mercy schools across the globe. We would like to thank Sr. Sior, Mrs. Byrne and Mrs. Buckley for giving us the chance to meet so many different people, to make countless new friends and for the opportunity to experience what it really means to be part of a Mercy school. We each took part in different workshops, from singing and dancing, to volunteer work, some of us even got to design our own tea cups.
However, the most important message that we took from those three days is something that we would like to pass on to you. Catherine McAuley was a millionaire, she didn't plan on becoming a nun, what she wanted to do was help people. She gave up her riches to educate and aid the poor of Dublin. So we would like to ask you, as a Mercy student, to follow in Catherine's footsteps of love, care and mercy. You don't have to start your own convent just look after each other and do something small each day to help someone out.
The Circle of Mercy definitely has new meaning for us.