Roz Parr, Author at Sisters of Mercy

A Works of Mercy Cross

byRoz Parr

September 20, 2022

By Sister Celeste Marie Nuttman — It was a joy and challenge when a Mercy sister asked me to make a cross for Taizé prayer. When many more such requests came from Mercy and from others, each was a call to prayer, conversation with those commissioning it, research and design. I chose to use the San Damiano cross as my “jumping off point” for design and as I moved along to 10 more crosses, I had the opportunity to develop my own visual theology of the resurrection and of our vow of service.

Attention and Encouragement, an Informal Education

byRoz Parr

September 19, 2022

By Sister Anna Regina Gakuhi — In my ministry at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Jamaica, I work with a group of men and women in the dietary and housekeeping departments. Most of these staff members have not completed their formal education. I engage with them to help them improve their skills, which helps improve their performance. Not only does this result in quality service and products, but it also boosts self-esteem and creates a joy in work as they each serve to their best capacity.

Celebrating Mercy in Poetry

byRoz Parr

September 18, 2022

As we continue to “Celebrate Mercy” in a wide variety of ways, today Sister Mary Bilderback shares her gift of poetry and reflection!

What Shall We Wear and Celebrate on September 24, 2022?

byRoz Parr

September 17, 2022

By Sister Mary C. Sullivan
— What gift did God give the Mercy family on September 24, 1827, and what does God ask of us on that day? I often ponder these questions—especially when the ancient feast of Our Lady of Mercy approaches each year.

Frances Warde: The Great Mother

byRoz Parr

September 14, 2022

By Sister Julia Upton — “You never knew her. I knew her better than I have known anybody in my life. She was a woman of God, and God made her a woman of vision. She showed me what it meant to be a Sister of Mercy, to see the world and its people in terms of God’s love; to love everyone who needed love; to care for everyone who needed care. Now her vision is driving me on. It is a glorious thing to be a Sister of Mercy!”

Engaging in Midterms Elections to Protect Our Democracy

byRoz Parr

September 6, 2022

By Sister Rose Marie Tresp, Institute Justice Team — Why should we vote? How can we strengthen the power of voting in our local, state and national elections? John Lewis, late civil-rights activist and member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia, stated: “The vote is precious. It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democratic society, and we must use it.” Although national elections often receive the most attention, the outcome of elections at the state level may determine a significant number of decisions about laws and regulations related to our Critical Concerns.

Take Me With You

byRoz Parr

August 27, 2022

By Sister Cynthia Serjak — “Take me with you, Hyacinth, I will make the burden light.” The year was 1241 and the city of Kyiv was under siege. Hyacinth, a local monk, ran to the sanctuary to take the Blessed Sacrament to a safe place. As he turned to leave, he heard a pleading voice: “Take me with you, Hyacinth.” He realized it was the image of Our Lady of Kyiv, begging to be rescued.

Healing Earth in the Rio Grande Valley: A ‘Women of Mercy’ Story

byRoz Parr

August 22, 2022

By Catherine Walsh, Features Writer – Something special has happened over the years since the Sisters of Mercy first started ministering with the people of the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, near the U.S./Mexico border, in 1875. The sisters and the women, children, and families of the Mexican immigrant community have formed a tight bond. And in recent years they have forged a mutual commitment to the Mercy mission of caring for Earth. In fact, they have put Earth at the center of their work together this year at four ARISE Adelante community centers that are co-sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy and the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word.

More Alike Than Different

byRoz Parr

August 19, 2022

Since 1998, the Mercy Ambassadors Program offers students at Colegio Santa Ethnea (Bella Vista, Buenos Aires, Argentina) and U.S. Mercy schools the opportunity to participate in a foreign exchange study. After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the cycle that started in February 2020 was completed in June 2022. Lucía García Fernández, who heads the program in Argentina, shared the following: Within the framework of the Mercy Ambassadors Program (MAP), Lily Adams and Anna Koeberlein, students from Assumption High School (Louisville, Kentucky) visited Colegio Santa Ethnea during the month of June. They shared school life for three weeks, at all levels and in all the areas of our school. Before returning home, they expressed their gratitude for this incredible experience, full of memories that they will keep in their hearts forever.

Formation at the Border

byRoz Parr

August 11, 2022

By Sister Luz-Eugenia Alvarez — From the time I began formation in the novitiate (a phase in the process of becoming a Sister of Mercy), I knew that, following the completion of classes on the vow of service, there was the possibility I would go to the U.S.-Mexico border. This past June, I did. I traveled to the border between McAllen, Texas, and Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, to learn about how the sisters serve immigrants there.

Mi Hogar–My Home

byRoz Parr

August 8, 2022

By Kari Sims, Director of Service-Learning & Leadership, Mercy Academy, Louisville, Kentucky — I celebrated the 4th of July at a Major League baseball game this year. Before the unfurling of the giant American flag on the field, the announcer asked us all to pause for a moment of silence to honor the victims of the Highland Park shooting that had occurred earlier that morning. A solemn mood washed over the crowd. As we stood in silence, I wondered how many of us thought of the 53 people who died in the truck just outside of San Antonio, Texas—all in search of something better, in search of a home. After spending time at the border this past May, I cannot stop thinking about what it means to call someplace home.

A Beautiful World

byRoz Parr

August 3, 2022

By Sister Pat Kenny — Years ago someone gave me, or maybe I found, a copy of “Desiderata,” a short poem penned by lawyer Max Ehrmann in the 1920s. We all have the experience of discovering something that would have meant very little at any other time but, when it discovered you, it meant everything. When this poem found me, several lines “spoke” to the very questions with which I’d been struggling.

Author: Roz Parr