Nga mihi atawhai - greetings to all in Mercy! Pope Francis dreams of what a community that lives by the Spirit of Jesus will look like - a community that will be more welcoming to all, more merciful and more open to change. Much of what Francis has to say is relevant to our Mercy ministries, whether they be schools, health or community centres.

Nga mihi atawhai. In February 2014 the Sisters of Mercy made a formal statement to the United Nations Commission on Social Development, urging that the root causes of poverty be addressed as a way to prevent human trafficking around the world. It makes the point that The goal of empowerment remains dangerously imperilled by rampant and worldwide gender inequality, exclusion and disempowerment,”

Nga mihi atawhai - greetings to all in mercy! ‘Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works.’ With this quote, from the Letter to the Hebrews, Pope Benedict begins his Lenten message for this year, inviting Christians around the world to recognise that they are bound in solidarity with the world’s needy, and to overcome by deeds of love the ‘spiritual anesthesia’.

Nga mihi atawhai - greetings to all in mercy! Mary Sullivan, the US Sister of Mercy who arguably knows more about Catherine McAuley than anyone else, has just published what is likely to be the definitive biography on the foundress. Titled The Path of Mercy, the 419-page volume shines a light of very thorough scholarship on what we know – and don’t know – about this remarkable woman.

Nga mihi atawhai - greetings to all in mercy! If you’re in the grounds of Parliament Building around lunchtime in the first week of this month, keep an eye out for a Rio+20 flag and a Sisters of Mercy banner, close to the statue of our famous premier Richard Seddon.

Nga mihi atawhai - greetings to all in mercy! Last month ended for the mission team which produces this reflection with a workshop for 20 staff from Mercy Hospice Auckland, refreshing their insights on Te Tiriti o Waitangi.