8th Grade Theology

Lecture 1

Walsingham Academy was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1947

We learn and work in the tradition of mercy and service inherited from Catherine McAuley, the foundress of the Sisters of Mercy.

Catherine Elizabeth McAuley

Was born on September 29, 1778 in Dublin, Ireland.

What was the world like in that time?

The Industrial Revolution

The American Revolution

Romanticism

The Counter Enlightenment

What was Ireland like?

Ireland was a colony of England.

Ireland was a land of extreme wealth and extreme poverty.

The wealthy often viewed the poor with distaste and condescension.

Many people suffered from disease and poverty, especially women and children.

Irish Catholics had been living for decades under the Penal Laws.

The Penal Laws Were designed to suppress the Catholic faith. It was

illegal to celebrate the Mass, and for Catholics to vote, be in the military, or to own valuable property.

By Catherine’s day these laws had

been overturned,

But the effects were still felt.

One way the Church worked to reinvigorate itself

was by caring for the many impoverished people.

Catherine’s life was deeply shaped by her parents.

Her father – James McAuley – was a deeply devout Catholic who had a dedication to the poor in his community.

James McAuley died in 1783 when Catherine was a small child,

But his memory remained a strong influence for the rest of her life.

Catherine’s mother, Elinor, was left to raise three children,

Catherine, Mary, and James. She was very young and unprepared for such a responsibility.

Their finances suffered, and the family experienced a descent into poverty.

They moved to be closer to friends, and lived in smaller and smaller homes.

Elinor eventually grew ill, and as a young adult Catherine had to care for her mother and her siblings.

Elinor died, and the children moved in with relatives.

Her parents left her a dual legacy:

Her father – deeply religious and caring for the poor

Her mother – intellectually independent, and able to move in high society

The children moved in with the Armstrong family:

A kind Anglican family who tried to convince Catherine and her siblings to abandon their religion. This was very difficult for Catherine.

When Catherine was 25, she was invited to live as a companion with an elderly couple, the Callaghans.

This relationship would last for 20 years, and would change Catherine’s life.

The Callaghan’s allowed Catherine to practice her faith, and she was able to seek out spiritual teachers.

They also encouraged her in her desire to visit the poor in the local area

And to visit the homes of the poor whom the Callaghans provided food and other help.

When a friend died of tuberculosis,

Catherine adopted her four children. She took in local poor girls and taught them a skill – needlework.

She was already showing the seeds of what would become her ministry.

Eventually the Callaghans grew to trust Catherine so completely that she was put in charge of their estate.

When they died, they left Catherine their fortune -

Approximately $1 million in today’s money.

At age 44, Catherine was

given a new start in life – and financial

independence.

Eventually Catherine came to the idea of using the bulk of her inheritance

To start a shelter for orphans and homeless women on Baggot Street, at the edge of a fashionable neighborhood in Dublin.

It would be a home and

educational center for

homeless girls from the poorer

neighborhoods in Dublin.

Eventually Catherine and several friends moved into the Baggot Street house.

Soon other young women were coming to join them.

The local bishop and other friends encouraged her to

start a religious order.

Catherine was uncertain about this.

“Seeing us increase so rapidly, and all going on in the greatest order almost of itself, great anxiety was expressed to give stability. We who began were prepared to do whatever was recommended…

(from a letter of Catherine McAuley)

Catherine is one of the few people in Catholic history to not only found an order,

but also to found a new way of ministry.

Before this time, women religious lived in cloisters.

Catherine envisioned an active community of women.

Her hope to gather women who would serve the poor in the name of the Church was not easily realized.

In 1830, Catherine and two others entered the Novitiate for the Presentation Sisters.

When she finished, and took her vows, she and the others returned to Baggot Street as the first Sisters of Mercy.

The news of the good works done at the “House of Mercy” spread,

And requests came from around Ireland and Britain (and eventually America) for similar foundations to be made.

The spread of the ministry was busy and stressful.

Catherine always made decisions based on her total trust in a providential God.

The difficult work wore on Catherine, and

in 1841 she died.

She had lived only 10 years as a Sister of Mercy.

At the time of her death, there were fourteen houses and 150 sisters.

Today there are 10,000 Sisters all over the world.

Catherine’s spirituality:

“was marked by her ability to create and maintain inner spiritual space, to be constantly aware of the mystery of God and to be able to find His touch everywhere in the world of people, of their occupations and of their miseries…”

The Suscipe

• Is a prayer of self-giving to God. It means – take me, O Lord.

• Catherine’s Suscipe is a well known prayer.

Her spirituality formed around four key themes:

1) Nourishing Prayer

“Prayer is a plant, the seed of which is sown in the heart of every Christian, but its growth depends on the care we take to nourish it. If neglected, it will die. If nourished by constant practice, it will blossom and produce fruit in abundance.”

2) Mercy

“Prayer [is] not sufficient for those who care called to labor for the salvation of souls. .. Our center is God from Whom all our actions should spring as from their source.”

3) Playful and Grateful Spirit

Catherine’s deep trust in God allowed her to maintain a playful spirit in the midst of human pain and suffering.

She would often pen funny poems to Sisters who were tired or ill to cheer them up.

4) Cordial Love

On her death bed, Catherine asked for a “comfortable cup of tea” to be prepared for the Sisters. This image has stayed with them: even in her last moments, she was reaching out to them in hospitable love.

The first Sisters of Mercy came to the U.S. in 1843, to Pennsylvania.

Since then they have spread all over the United States,

Working in education, parishes, retreat houses, and justice ministries.

What we call the Mercy Charism

Is how the spirit of Catherine McAuley and the Sisters of Mercy influences today the work of our school and all Mercy Institutions.

The Sisters of Mercy base their ministry on the

Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy.

The Mission:

Sisters of Mercy are women who commit their lives to God, deepening their relationship with God and serving God’s people, especially those who are sick, poor and uneducated. In the spirit of the Gospel, our mission is to help people to overcome the obstacles that keep them from living full and dignified lives. A life of prayer and community is at the heart of our shared mission. (http://www.sistersofmercy.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=26&Itemid=69)

The Sisters have 6 Critical Concerns:

1) Earth2) Immigration3) Racism4) Women5) Non-Violence6) Identity