The Mission of Jesus
The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me ----------(Luke 4:18)
The course of Nano Nagle's life was shaped by this same Spirit.
God's Spirit led her through uncertainty and failure
to an ever clearer understanding of her mission.
That understanding enabled her to to take steps
to liberate the poor from ignorance and injustice.
The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me ----------(Luke 4:18)
The course of Nano Nagle's life was shaped by this same Spirit.
God's Spirit led her through uncertainty and failure
to an ever clearer understanding of her mission.
That understanding enabled her to to take steps
to liberate the poor from ignorance and injustice.
Nano Nagle Prayer
Lord God,
you raise up people from age to age
to speak anew Your Word to us
and to show us your ways.
Such is Nano Nagle.
In days when courage is needed,
you give us this woman of strength
to walk before us with conviction.
In days of great change you
present us with a prophet
whose faith is firm.
As the light of her lantern brought hope
into lives made wretched
by poverty and oppression,
so may she inspire us
to compassionate action
for those in need around us.
Lord God,
you raise up people from age to age
to speak anew Your Word to us
and to show us your ways.
Such is Nano Nagle.
In days when courage is needed,
you give us this woman of strength
to walk before us with conviction.
In days of great change you
present us with a prophet
whose faith is firm.
As the light of her lantern brought hope
into lives made wretched
by poverty and oppression,
so may she inspire us
to compassionate action
for those in need around us.
Would you like to know more about the Presentation Sisters???
OR
maybe become a Friend of Nano:
Contact: [email protected]
OR
maybe become a Friend of Nano:
Contact: [email protected]
Nano Nagle was born in Ballygriffin, Co Cork, Ireland in 1715 to a wealthy family. www.nanonagle.org
They were dark days in Ireland during penal times when culture and religion were threatened. Nano loved the carefree life in the country on the banks of the Blackwater River and in the shadow of the Nagle mountains.
It was here that unbeknown to her she was being prepared for a life of courage and daring, surrendering herself to the spirit of God to alleviate the pain and suffering of her people in Ireland.
The penal laws brought great poverty and misery to Ireland and after an education in France Nano eventually returned to Cork and at great personal risk, established schools for poor Catholic children deprived of education because of their religion.
As her health failed she was anxious to ensure her work continued after her death and so founded the Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
www.pbvm.org
They were dark days in Ireland during penal times when culture and religion were threatened. Nano loved the carefree life in the country on the banks of the Blackwater River and in the shadow of the Nagle mountains.
It was here that unbeknown to her she was being prepared for a life of courage and daring, surrendering herself to the spirit of God to alleviate the pain and suffering of her people in Ireland.
The penal laws brought great poverty and misery to Ireland and after an education in France Nano eventually returned to Cork and at great personal risk, established schools for poor Catholic children deprived of education because of their religion.
As her health failed she was anxious to ensure her work continued after her death and so founded the Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
www.pbvm.org
A series of 'disorienting dilemmas' |
So you began to steal out from your lovely home,
gathering the children from their hovels and their dark and dirty corners,
setting up secret schools to teach reading, writing and religion,
honouring the fundamental right of all to education.
It was a dangerous business, Nano.
Penal laws denied Catholic education
and those who violated the harsh Penal Law could be severely punished.
But you were driven by a far greater law, Nano --
love one another, no matter what; no matter what.
And so you continued your mission, against all odds,
and in the face of the fear and horror you saw all around.
Eventually, supported and financed by your family,
your schools grew and multiplied,
offering education, alms and hope to hundreds of children.
but hostilities and criticism also grew and multiplied.
Many perceived your work as a danger and a threat
that could bring down retaliation of the Catholic population from their Protestant oppressors.
Undeterred, Nano, you responded:
"the best works meet with the greatest crosses in the beginning. We must expect to suffer."
And indeed you did, Nano.
Tirelessly, constantly, you visited and taught in every school,
your TB wracked body surrounded by the
nauseous smell of the rags and the unwashed bodies of the children you came to love.
After school you visited the old, the sick and the hungry in their disease-ridden slums,
returning, as night fell, clutching your lantern, to pray in the small mud hut that was now your home.
There you prayed, Nano, hour after hour,
the pain of your sickened body eclipsed by the ardent passion of the great Love-Conspiracy
that kept your soul shining in the darkness- sole witness to your whisper:
" The Almighty is all sufficient ----"
But in the silence of your vigil you came to know, Nano, that you could not continue alone.
your great service of love needed the hearts and hands of others
-----and so began the community of dedicated women,
known today as the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
your life and legacy, Nano, carried into the future --
the light of your lantern now shining through the centuries.
Blessed are you, Nano, lover of the poor and lost,
Blessed are you!
May your sisters continue to shine your light in dark spaces,
loving one another, and keeping alive -
Your Great Conspiracy of Love.
gathering the children from their hovels and their dark and dirty corners,
setting up secret schools to teach reading, writing and religion,
honouring the fundamental right of all to education.
It was a dangerous business, Nano.
Penal laws denied Catholic education
and those who violated the harsh Penal Law could be severely punished.
But you were driven by a far greater law, Nano --
love one another, no matter what; no matter what.
And so you continued your mission, against all odds,
and in the face of the fear and horror you saw all around.
Eventually, supported and financed by your family,
your schools grew and multiplied,
offering education, alms and hope to hundreds of children.
but hostilities and criticism also grew and multiplied.
Many perceived your work as a danger and a threat
that could bring down retaliation of the Catholic population from their Protestant oppressors.
Undeterred, Nano, you responded:
"the best works meet with the greatest crosses in the beginning. We must expect to suffer."
And indeed you did, Nano.
Tirelessly, constantly, you visited and taught in every school,
your TB wracked body surrounded by the
nauseous smell of the rags and the unwashed bodies of the children you came to love.
After school you visited the old, the sick and the hungry in their disease-ridden slums,
returning, as night fell, clutching your lantern, to pray in the small mud hut that was now your home.
There you prayed, Nano, hour after hour,
the pain of your sickened body eclipsed by the ardent passion of the great Love-Conspiracy
that kept your soul shining in the darkness- sole witness to your whisper:
" The Almighty is all sufficient ----"
But in the silence of your vigil you came to know, Nano, that you could not continue alone.
your great service of love needed the hearts and hands of others
-----and so began the community of dedicated women,
known today as the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
your life and legacy, Nano, carried into the future --
the light of your lantern now shining through the centuries.
Blessed are you, Nano, lover of the poor and lost,
Blessed are you!
May your sisters continue to shine your light in dark spaces,
loving one another, and keeping alive -
Your Great Conspiracy of Love.