# data[].attributes.headline
Good Job Guys!! It was evident that you all worked well!

# data[].attributes.subject
Good Job Guys!! It was evident that you all worked well!

# data[].attributes.body
Summary 38 pts. -2

Reflection (recorded audio per person using I statements) 18 pts. -2

Organization and creativity 10 pts

Instructions 10 pts.

Punctuality 10 pts.

Grammar and mechanics 8 pts    -2                   Grade 94 A

# data[].attributes.body
After Catherine McAuley got Archbishop Murrey to agree on becoming the sisters of mercy, she continued to help others just as how they did before becoming a covenant. The only reason why they became a convent, or in other words why she became religious, was because they would have to stop their kind deeds as other covenants did not agree to it and were jealous of it. Her idea of the convent was active and contemplative. Since she was gone for some time, the other sisters were not practicing the things that she had in mind and what she believed was the right thing to do, hence she started to reorganize these practices. Furthermore, Catherine was seen by everyone as someone who radiated God’s love, everywhere she went, people saw the kindness and love that Catherine radiated.

# data[].attributes.body
Before the year 1831 ended Dr Michael Blake was  temporarily promoted from administrator to parish priest  so that he could fundraise more.  This meant that Catherine's enemy Matthias Kelly had to be transferred but this did not stop his followers from trying to bring Mother Catherine a bad reputation by constantly creating feuds. They were jealous of Mother Catherine because of how well she was handling the convent as a woman who is supposed to be inferior to men. This agreement ended when Rev Walter Meyler died  in 1864 since him  becoming a priest was not done under normal procedure. On December 12, 1831 Catherine was given permission to establish her congregation by the Archbishop and in 1832 the first seven candidates entered her congregation. She experienced economic difficulties operating her congregation since she had spent most of her inheritance managing Baggot Street House, paying her own novitiate fees and had surrendered the rest of her inheritance into a trust. Thus, the ordination ceremony of the novices was austere as it had to be private and the postulants modified the black dresses they wore daily into habits. In a letter written to Archbishop Murray  it was seen that Mother Catherine was asking him  a favor so that her nephew could enter the priest vocation although she had little money left.

# data[].attributes.body
This resulted in them using guimps worn by the congregation at George Hill and cheap brass crucifixes instead of more expensive ebony ones used by the Presentation Sisters. The fact that no outsiders were not allowed to the ordination ceremony upset postulants and outraged their parents and benefactors. However, Catherine McAuley demonstrated the capacity to learn from her mistakes and in future ceremonies respected prevailing customs.  Rigorous poverty was encouraged at her congregation however, this does not mean that Catherine was not concerned about the health of her Sisters. Based on medical advice she improved the Sisters’ diet and purchased a home for sick Sisters.

# data[].attributes.body
Catherine McAuley was a person that radiated affection and the joy of living even in times of sorrow. She believed that the major element in the community should be unity rather than uniformity. This means that happiness depends on community members thinking differently and expressing their beliefs and feelings to each other to resolve issues. For example, when she told M.Francis Ward to spend some time with other people since she believed that everyone should feel appreciated no matter who they are. She used her joy of singing to brighten the room and make everyone happy. Catherine never allowed bad situations to overwhelm her. It was said that only those Sisters that were very close to her knew when was experiencing problems.

# data[].attributes.body
Catherine used her talent for composing verses that were cheerful and had an underlying spiritual message. She believed in observing cloistral silence and being accountable for her actions to those under her. As such, she appointed a younger sister to point out any faults or omission of duty she might commit. The cholera epidemic of 1832(started in March) served as an opportunity to prove their title as “Sisters of Mercy”.  The Sisters of Mercy were asked by another congregation to  assist in tending to Cholera patients at a depot in the city. Mother Catherine was then asked to take charge as head of Townsend Street depot, a smaller unit outside of the hospital.

# data[].attributes.body
After Archbishop Murry supported and helped outline Mother Catherine’s petition letter to Cardinal Pedicini on January 21, 1834, Rome replied and stated that Mother  Catherine’s congregation was approved and declared worthy by His Holiness. Mother Catherine’s only job left was to prepare her letter for presentation and with the help of M. Clare Moore, who at the time was the best scholar amongst them, Mother Catherine was able to improve the presentation rules. Dr Murray received her handwritten copy whereby he then modified, and this revised copy was approved by the Archbishop on 23 of January 1837. The sisters followed this short-term rule until December 1839 after which Mother Catherine then petitioned to the Holy See for the rule's reapproval confirmation by writing to Sister M. Francis Warde and sending recommendation letters from the Bishop and approval from the Archbishop.

# data[].attributes.body
As much as she wanted to assist for the poor, Catherine found even herself to be struggling with financial hardships. In a desperate attempt to ease the financial strain on the House of Mercy, Catherine opened a laundromat on Baggot Street; a success that would later aid her in what she was trying to achieve. Through Catherine’s sheer determination and resilience, the House of Mercy was officially established as a religious community. However, her victory was seen as an inconvience by others such as Dean Meyler; infamously known for antagonizing Catherine and the Sisters of Mercy.

# data[].attributes.body
By the time Catherine was writing her petition on her rule, Rev. Paul Gavino Secchi Muro, had already presented his report ‘affirmative in omnibus’ and received praises  by the Cardinal Polidori, who deemed worthy for the church and society. At this point, all that was left for Catherine was for the Holy See to recognize her rule and grant its full formal approval . By August, Catherine expected news on the confirmation of the rule, so she wrote to Carlow on the 5th, but she soon realized that the process of examination takes long. In October, she did another petition to the cardinal secretary in Rome. The second petition addressed the concerns of the confirmation of the rule of the sisters called “of Mercy”. She spoke of the letters of recommendations and approvals from the Bishop, who alongside others, spoke well of the rule.

# data[].attributes.body
Sr M Vincent Witty described Catherine as “fearless” as she prayed with the sick, inspired them and she assisted all infected people in the hospital’s depot by providing them with hope and care. He says this as Mother Catherine was asked to supervise The Townsend Send Street depot as the Grangegorman Cholera Hospital lacked administration during the cholera outbreak. She organized a roster of things to do at the depot for the Sisters in groups of 4 to alternate from 8 am to 9 pm. At this time, cholera was claiming 600 lives a day. The Sisters that were assisting never actually contracted the virus but they did get fatigued at times and they described it as “terrible”. Mother Catherine forbade all burials of the people who died from cholera as she wanted to conduct a thorough investigation to prove that indeed cholera had killed these people. The hospital was closed on the 15th of June after the cholera fever was claimed to be under control.

# data[].attributes.body
Cholera claimed the life of Sister M. Elizabeth Harley on April 25th, although due to her working place being a damp basement, her health was already declining and she was already dying when returning to Baggot Street. This was a set back for Mother Catherine as she had in thought for Sister M. Elizabeth Harley to be the future for the congregation. As Mother Catherine quickly visited Sister M. Elizabeth Harley in her last moments, she received an angry call by someone who had a 60 minute opinionated speech about how they thought the way Mother Catherine was raising money was completely shameful. Unfortunately, during this calling incident, Sister M. Elizabeth passed away. She died during Easter week and this filled Mother Catherine with sorrow. Therefore, she replaced the typical Grace before Meals prayer with the Easter Antiphon on the day of Sister M. Elizabeth Harley’s funeral. With the same mindset, Mother Catherine had to endure other deaths, also counting those of her nieces and nephews. Mother Catherine always reminded herself of the advice she had given to Sister M. Elizabeth where she says that the Father will always return and give blessings. She also used her own knowledge as she wrote of her niece and stated that we must always love God and we must still love him the same when he takes as well as when he offers.

# data[].attributes.body
A merciful ceremony was held on the 24th of January in 1833, to inaugurate the fact that Sisters M. Francis, M. Clare, M. Angela and M. de Pazzi were taking the vows of a religious order in Baggot Street. Although, on October 16th 1837, another ceremony was held to add the vows of servicing the poor, sick and ignorant. In the letter addressed to Very. Rev Gerald Doyle of Nass, the requirements from the foundress for candidates stated that not only do they need to want to bond with God and serve the poor but also to want to help the sick and dying because otherwise the service will be shunned by the candidates. The candidate needs to have sympathy and self-restraint; they are to begin this practice from young for it may not be adapted as well if the candidate began later. It was evident that age was no barrier from entering George Hill for Mother Catherine herself entered at age 52. Mother Catherine later realized that good can still be achieved and bad can still be evaded without money.

# data[].attributes.body
This love and faith that Catherine portrayed to others seeped into all of the people who met her, which led them to discover the goodness of God. When reorganizing back the convent she organized a daily schedule that offered flexibility to everyone without spending the whole day praying. She excluded all long prayers by replacing them with prayers and litanies that she believed would bring everyone closer together compared to what the presentation sisters did. The only thing Catherine set rules for was the dress code as most of their schedule was based on mass, readings of the bible, and course visitations of the poor.

# data[].attributes.body
Catherine believed that all the sisters should work all day similarly to how the poor people world until the day ended. However, this happened because Archbishop Murray insisted that the sisters recite the liturgy of the words as it is prayed to give praise and thanksgiving to God (sanctify the day). Throughout the day there were many prayers, novenas,  and recitations of the rosary, which the sisters had to participate in. Nevertheless, the most important prayer that had to be recited was the rosary, the sisters had to always have Mary in their thoughts and prayers when doing their respective prayers. Mother Catherine was kind but at the same time she gave off the presence of authority. All the sisters acknowledged that all that Mother Catherine did was the Will of God, whereby she had a way of speaking in which everyone yearned to learn from her. Lastly, she believed that it was better to read a few religious books rather than reading a lot of books without understanding their true meaning.

# data[].attributes.body
Throughout the dispute, Catherine was mostly able to tolerate Dean Meyler’s spitefulness, However, there were occasions were she rebutted, especially for the overall wellbeing of women. Behind her courageous front, Catherine actually had feelings bitterness and anger towards the controversy surrounding her. It got to the point where she was even villanized by the clergy. Unfortunately, the end of this dispute would never be seen by Catherine because it had only been resolved once she had passed

# data[].attributes.body
At last, Catherine’s works of mercy were being finally acknowledged by the Holy See. To further prove the impact made by the Sisters of Mercy, she provided chapters covering her visitations, vows, and petitions. After considering all the ways in which Catherine bettered the community, she and the Sisters of Mercy were officially approved by the Holy See.

# data[].attributes.body
The second petition continued to inform the Cardinal Secretary of the updates that the first petition contained. On June 6, 1847, Pope Gregory XVI changed Catherine’s rule and the changes were supported by others on different dates. They informed Catherine that her rules should be simpler until the Holy See decides otherwise. Mother Catherine’s rule was further delayed and had not received any confirmation of the rule. She spoke to Sister M. Francis Warde about the delay, but she expressed hope that His Grace would bring it to the ceremony. Mother Catherine then had time to study her rule since it was received by Dr. Murphy.

# data[].attributes.body
On October 12, Mother Catherine was informed of the translation mistakes from Italian to English, but this didn’t affect the rule’s approval by Gregory XVI.