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http://www.edmundrice.net/edmund-rice/e-r-prayers/121-sayings-of-edmund

https://www.catholicsocialteaching.org.uk/principles/history/

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/leo_xiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum_en.html

https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2011/03/21/prophetic-priestly-a-kingly/

http://www.erea.edu.au/about-us/our-story/edmund-rice

http://www.ercrs.com.au/dloads/cms/A%20short%20biography%20of%20Blessed%20Edmund%20Rice.pdf

http://mountsionprimaryschool.ie/history/

https://www.erc.org.au/who_was_edmund_rice

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As a result of Edmund Rice's actions, many different people and groups were influenced. Some of these include popes, not-for-profit organisation/charities and some religious schools.

Pope Francis I said that he would "prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and clinging to its own security." This is similar to the actions of Edmund Rice because both Pope Francis and Edmund believe that it is better to support poor people and live on the streets than feel superior and not be following Jesus' way. The pope has a kingly role in society. He uses his power for good and promotes the kingdom of God.

Many not-for-profit organisations are living similarly to Edmund Rice as they support poor and marginalised people without expecting anything in return. The charities and organisations are priestly and prophetic as they support the poor, bring people together, pray and try to solve injustices.

Today, there are lots of schools that are Catholic schools in the tradition of Edmund Rice. Some of these schools include Nudgee College, St Laurence's College and Ambrose Treacy College. All of these were inspired by and try to live like Edmund Rice. The schools are priestly as they spend time in prayer and follow the word of God.

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Priestly
The most priestly thing that Edmund did was go to church every day. He brought people together to praise the Lord and learn to be gracious. Additionally, Edmund would have had to make many sacrifices for his daughter, especially because she was born with special needs. Edmund started two institutes of religious brothers: the Christian Brothers and Presentation Brothers.

Prophetic
Edmund set up a school for poor and underprivileged boys. This was his way of speaking out against injustice. He had to first come to terms with the fact that there were children in his society that were very poor and marginalised. Then, he came up with a solution to this problem: starting a school where the boys would be provided with not only an education, but also necessities like food and clothes.

Kingly
Since Edmund was born into quite a wealthy family, he used his money to set up the school at Mount Sion. He then used this school to not only give the boys an education, but also to help them develop their relationship with God.

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Rerum Novarum is a Latin phrase which means of new things. It was written by Pope Leo XIII to address the unfair social order that occurred as a result of the Industrial Revolution. The Rerum Novarum promoted the sense of a common good for all people.

Unfortunately, by the time the Rerum Novarum was written (1891) Edmund had passed away so he wouldn't have read it. But, I believe Edmund Rice would have been inspired by the Protection of the Poor section (paragraph 37) because it expresses the same values, attitudes and beliefs that he lived out. It states that the poor 'should be specially cared for' which is exactly what Edmund Rice did by setting up the school and providing necessities for underprivileged boys.

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1: The world and everything in it is continually changing which proves to us that there is nothing permanent under the sun, and that perfect happiness is not to be expected but in another world!

Edmund wrote this to Mother Mary Knowd on All Souls’ Day in 1813. The quote expresses that due to change, our happiness cannot be guaranteed until we are in heaven. We do not know the context that this quote is in, therefore, we cannot truely express why it was written.

2: Pray, Brother, that God’s will may be fulfilled in me.

Edmund said this to Brother Patrick Stanislaus Carroll. He was indicating to Brother Carroll that he wished to be doing God's work and was asking the Brother to pray for him. He successfully performed this work by helping the poor. Many students are still impacted as they attend schools in the Edmund Rice tradition.

3: Have courage, the good seed will grow up in the children's hearts later on.

Edmund wrote this in 1837 to Brother Edward Patrick O’Flaherty. It is clear that Brother O'Flaherty was struggling to assist with troubled youths. Edmund was providing support to Edward by reminding him that the ideals he was implanting in young children would assist them in later year, encouraging them to live better lives. He was encouraging Brother O'Flaherty to continue his good work.

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These are not prayers that influenced Edmund Rice. Rather, two of them are scripture passages and one is a prayer written about Edmund's life.

Luke 6:35

It is stated that this scripture influenced Edmund Rice. He always helped other people and never expected anything in return; this is also what the scripture tells us to do.

Luke 6:21–22

This scripture has the possibility to have influenced Edmund Rice because it similar to what he did in his lifetime. It states that those who are hungry will be satisfied and those who weep will laugh. This is exactly what Edmund Rice strived to live out.

The Edmund Rice Prayer
This prayer was not one that influenced Edmund, but it was written by someone else in appreciation for what he did throughout his life. It states that "he opened his heart to you present in those oppressed by poverty and injustice." This tells us that he strived to give everyone equal opportunities.

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Matthew 22:1-14

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The story (Matthew 22:3, 8-14) is about a wedding banquet and takes place in a village. The people that were invited to the banquet did not show up. Therefore, the host asked his servants/attendants to find any people on the streets that could come to the banquet. One of the people they found was a poor, marginalised man and wasn’t wearing the “acceptable” wedding banquet attire. The author may have written the story to show that everyone should be treated equally and have equal opportunities. Just like God and Jesus, we need to welcome everyone into our lives.

The characters in the story include the servants, the host and the poor man. The servants are loyal to their boss (the host) and do whatever he wants them to do. The banquet host likes everything done a specific way; he is very rich and feels superior to everyone around him. The poor man is regularly treated in an unfair manner.

All of the characters display certain values and attitudes that are like walking in the footsteps of Jesus. The attendants follow specific orders from the host and don’t complain about it. The host invites other people to his banquet. The poor man tried to do the right thing and follow the attendants’ instructions by going to the banquet and even while getting kicked out by the host, nothing was stated about him getting angry or annoyed.

We need to find out if the poor man did anything to prevent being kicked out of the banquet. If we knew this, we could gain a deeper understanding of his values, attitudes and beliefs. We may then be able to figure out more about his history and life.

Apart from younger children (who may not understand the story), I believe that everyone could get something out of this story. Each person would have a slightly different interpretation of it, but there would always being a significant message and/or moral. I think this story could’ve inspired my chosen reformer – Edmund Rice – because he chose to help the poor children instead of just focusing on the wealthier and better-off children. He helped them in multiple ways (including food and clothing), as mentioned in the parable.

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Edmund Rice was born on June 1st of 1762 in Callan, Ireland. He was a son to Catholic parents Robert Rice and Margret nee Tierney. He was educated through a ‘hedge school’ which was an illegal programme of the time. Unfortunately, this school did not supply any religious education subject. Therefore, Edmund’s parents had to teach him about the religious aspects of life.

In 1789, Rice married Mary Elliot but, shortly after the birth of their sickly child – also named Mary – Edmund’s wife passed away. Edmund chose to cope with his loss through deepening his relationship with God.

As a young man, Edmund moved to Waterford to work for his uncle. There, he was highly respected and became quite wealthy.

Although Rice had a very good life, he decided to become a Roman Catholic missionary and educationalist. Therefore, in 1803, he opened up a free school – called Mount Sion – for young boys living in poverty. It was towards the outskirts of Waterford and aimed to give the boys an education that would allow them to rise from the poverty into which they were born. The school was run by Edmund and some of his friends. Together, they formed the Christian Brothers. The school also provided necessities such as food and clothing.

Throughout his life, Edmund focused on helping out strangers and ensuring everyone had equal opportunities. He died in 1844 and was beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 6th of 1996 at a ceremony in St. Peter’s Square, Rome. Edmund Rice is known as Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice and his feast day is the 5th of May.