“May he entrust to us his mercy” Sirach 50:24
175th Anniversary of Sisters of Mercy
Cobh
23 May 2025
My friends,
The extraordinary story of Venerable Catherine McCauley is familiar to us. Her gradual discernment through her life of the vocation to do something bold and decisive to serve the poor. Such was the depth of her conviction and example others were inspired to join in her mission of mercy. Today we see so many manifestations of her vision and generosity in so many locations across the world. The arrival of Mercy Sisters here 175 years ago on this date, has meant that presence and ministry of the Sisters here are very much part of this parish community for generations past. So today, profound gratitude to God is our wish and prayer.
“And now bless the God of all things
The doer of great deeds everywhere…
May he entrust to us his mercy
And may he deliver us in our days”
Ecclesiastes 1st Reading
Earlier in the same book of Ecclesiasticus – there is a hymn in honour of our ancestors – it concludes,
“Their bodies are buried in peace but their name lives on generation after generation. The assembly declares their wisdom, and the congregation proclaims their praise”
Ecclesiasticus 44:14-15
My friends, in the Jewish religious experience, part of the Passover Celebration was the responsibility of the elders to tell the story of how the ancestors were freed from the slavery of Egypt and led into the Promised Land. For us in the Catholic community in Ireland, we seem to be slow to tell the full story to a new generation, especially, how so many women generously gave of themselves in service of the education and Christian formation of many generations of girls especially.
For ideological reasons many chose only to focus on the negative and fail to acknowledge the wider economic and social conditions that prevailed. For us to remember truthfully is important. There is so much goodness and love that has been poured out across this past 175 years that we want to remember them all. We unveil a plaque today to express that genuine appreciation of those who in obedience and fidelity ministered to this generation and several others before that.
As we acknowledge all that has been accomplished by the Merry mission amongst us across the decades, we acknowledge too how the Sisters have adapted courageously to the changing social context of contemporary Ireland. Schools have now transitioned to lay leadership who seek to carry on the spirit of Venerable Catherine McCauley. Many little-known social initiatives have been generously supported to minister to young people who struggle with the very structured nature of the education system. The mission of mercy goes on in new forms and new places.
The spiritual vision that inspired Catherine McCauley and those who walk in her footsteps is encapsulated in the almost poetical verses from St. Pauls Letter to the Ephesians, where he marvels rightly at the countless blessings that the Father bestows on us in Christ Jesus, Our Lord. He has made known to us the mystery of his will. In him we have an inheritance that marks us with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit.
“if you abide in me, and my words abide in you
ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you
…I have said these things to you so that
my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.”
John 13:11
My friends, only God knows how often and how fervently the co-workers of Catherine heard these words – meditated on them and took them to heart so that their lives would be an extension of the Love of Christ for all the world.
For this day marking 175 years of the Mercy mission in Cobh, we unveil a plaque by which to remember them. A fuller picture can be seen in the booklet which conveys the diversity of service, the creativity and innovation across the decades all in the service of the needs of this parish community.
We remember them and the good they have done. May their love of those in need, live long in our hearts.
Amen.
