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Little Sisters of the Poor Receive the IRL’s Pro Fidelitate et Virtute Award

This is the speech given by Sr. Constance Carolyn, l.s.p., on behalf of the Little Sisters of the Poor, who received the IRL’s Pro Fidelitate et Virtute Award. Given on April 27, 2019, at the University of St. Mary of the Lake.

On behalf of all the Little Sisters of the Poor around the country, I’m very happy to thank you for this beautiful Pro Fidelitate et Virtute award. I understand that the award was designed to honor those “who manifest a strong love for the Church and a zealous commitment to the consecrated life.” I am sure that there are countless individuals and groups who would have been worthy awardees this year, no doubt worthier than ourselves, and yet here we are. Divine Providence chose us Little Sisters to receive the Pro Fidelitate et Virtute Award this year, during the sesquicentennial of our presence in America.

Providence is a word that easily rolls off the tongue of every Little Sister of the Poor, but what do we really mean when we talk about Divine Providence? I have to admit that for many years I thought of Providence more or less like a heavenly version of amazon.com, or an ATM machine — whenever we need something we just utter a prayer or, better yet, put a note under St. Joseph’s statue, and bingo, the need is met! The word “provide” is found in “Providence,” but is that all that Providence means, that God is the great heavenly provider? In studying our history the last couple of years, I’ve come to understand Divine Providence as so much more than that.

I’d like to begin with a story, a moment in our Congregation’s history that profoundly impacted my understanding of Providence. It’s not a story about our coming to America, although I will speak about that before I finish, but a story about our Congregation’s experiences during World War II. As early as 1940 the Germans occupied half of France. On December 6, 1940, 72 Little Sisters of British nationality were taken into exile and imprisoned by the Germans along with other women religious. American Little Sisters in France were imprisoned later, and they were all held in captivity until they were liberated by Allied forces in October 1944.

Also, during the War our motherhouse in Brittany was transformed into a vast but rather primitive home for the aged as Little Sisters and residents were evacuated from more dangerous areas of France. At the height of the War over 950 people were living at the motherhouse. These included Little Sisters, the elderly, benefactors and Little Sisters’ family members who had fled the dangers of the war.

In addition, La Tour was used as a 500-bed military hospital. A total of 7,984 wounded soldiers were treated there during the war years. The German military also visited the motherhouse several times in view of taking it over for use as a hospital or training grounds. Fortunately for us, they were afraid of the old people and the communicable diseases they were presumed to carry, and found La Tour too primitive, so they never took it over.

Finally, a number of our houses were damaged or destroyed by bombings, including our novitiate in Marino, Italy, and our home for the elderly in Lisieux, France, both of which were destroyed during the Allied invasion. A total of 32 Little Sisters and 70 Residents were killed in these two bombings. Yet throughout all of these trials the Little Sisters never doubted God’s loving solicitude.

In 1944 Mother General wrote these remarkable words in a letter to the Congregation: “Someone recently remarked, with great emotion, ‘Your Congregation is truly privileged.’ Surely this is not obvious today, but at the time of our centennial (in 1939) the Princes of the Church were unanimous in proclaiming that our Congregation of Little Sisters of the Poor is a perpetual miracle, a glorification of Divine Providence. We realize this truth even more in light of our present trials: the bombings to which our homes in several regions have been exposed, the difficulties of the forced evacuations, the challenges involved in providing for everyone demonstrate the daily protection of our heavenly Father. We can repeat with Father LeLièvre, ‘Divine Providence never lets us down; in the measure that our religious family grows, Providence doubles its portion.’ What life-saving graces, what efficacious assistance! Despite the uncertainties of the morrow we feel ourselves now more than ever, the children of God’s delicate Providence!”

“The children of God’s delicate Providence!” Despite everything the Congregation had just gone through, Mother General had enough faith to call us the children of his delicate Providence! In fact at the beginning of the hostilities, she had made a vow to the Heart of Jesus to erect, at the completion of the War, a monument in thanksgiving for God’s protection — the divine protection she was sure he would grant the Congregation. This monument to Christ the King, bearing the words Glory, Thanksgiving and Love, was erected on the outside of the motherhouse chapel in 1947. Since then, generations of Little Sisters have passed by it multiple times every day.

What really struck me about this scenario is the way that our Sisters maintained their faith in God’s providential care even in extremely difficult circumstances. It is hard to imagine how such pressing, serious difficulties — not merely the solutions to these challenges, in which anyone might be able to see God’s intervention, but the challenges themselves — could be seen as demonstrations of God’s protection. Yet this is what our Mother General wrote.

I was also struck by Mother General’s vow at the beginning of the War to construct a monument to Christ the King once peace was restored. This was her way of thanking God ahead of time for the protection she was absolutely sure he would provide. Now that is confidence!

These same attitudes can be found in the stories of our first years in America. Father Ernest LeLièvre, whom Mother General referred to in her 1944 letter, was a diocesan priest who dedicated his life to our Congregation. Wealthy, well-educated and multilingual, he was largely responsible for our expansion beyond the boundaries of France. He arrived in America on June 10, 1868 and remained here for four straight years — even while the Franco-Prussian War raged back home in France — helping the Little Sisters to establish our first 13 homes in this country. He was also a spiritual father to both the Little Sisters and the elderly.

In all the challenges and obstacles he encountered Father LeLièvre would repeat, “I know in whom I have believed … I know that I serve a Master who values the will of a sincere heart beyond any talent” and “I know and am perfectly certain that of all the calculations I could make, the wisest is to abandon myself to Him.” At the end of his four years in America he wrote, “Here is my theology. When I return to Europe, I am going to do a thesis. The proposition that I will state and that I will prove by the whole history of the Little Sisters of the Poor is this: ‘We must believe in God, the Father Almighty.’”

Our first Little Sisters in America shared Father LeLièvre’s convictions about the Providence and universal fatherhood of God. The annals of each home are filled with stories of how God manifested his goodness by providing all kinds of necessities, always at just the right moment, through the generosity of good people in the community — all sorts of people from every walk of life.

Among our early benefactors were the founder of the first American men’s religious community, women religious from other European communities who had preceded the Little Sisters as missionaries in America, diocesan seminarians, bishops, archbishops and parish priests, school children and their parents, the richest woman in Boston and a couple of Irish maids who donated the shawls off their backs, farmers, butchers, fish mongers and a young heiress from Philadelphia who went on to establish a religious community to serve Native and African Americans.

Although the Little Sisters’ trust in Providence has most often been expressed in terms of material needs, it was not limited to the idea of God as provider. Like our foundress, St. Jeanne Jugan, our pioneering Little Sisters lived their faith with the simplicity of the “little ones,” the anawim. Their formation had taught them to look on events and persons with a living faith, which arouses hope and works through charity. The Sisters had a down-to-earth attitude toward ordinary events — with a very nitty-gritty apostolate among the sick and infirm they had to — but they also saw the action of God in those ordinary events.

During the very years when our first American foundations were being made, the Fathers of the first Vatican Council wrote these words: “God in His providence watches over and governs all the things that He made, reaching from end to end with might and disposing all things with gentleness.” In this definition, which is still widely used, we find the two aspects of Divine Providence — God both watches over and governs. To quote the great Jesuit Father Hardon, God “not only knows what is going on, he is directing what is going on…. God, who made the world out of nothing, not only keeps it in existence, but directs this world, God’s world, down to the smallest and most minute detail. God is active in every atom, in every proton, in every neutron. God is active in every thought we think, in every desire we have. All, all is part of his providence.”

“The Church tells us, God’s almighty providence, God’s almighty power governs the world with gentleness. God is mild. God is not loud or boisterous; he governs the world with gentleness. Our only danger is to not see his hand, to be deceived by his mildness to not realize that behind that mildness is omnipotence; in other words, it is divine power tempered by love. My favorite definition of gentleness,” Father Hardon wrote, is “power tempered by love.”

I’m sorry that it has taken me so long to get to the point this evening, but here is the point I wanted to make for all of us, members of the consecrated life and committed lay Catholics alike: As Father Hardon said in 1988, I think our society today often succumbs to the danger of not seeing God’s hand, of being deaf or inattentive to his voice because it is so gentle. At the same time, there is so much fear all around us. Shortly before the 2016 election I was at a conference in Washington and encountered a gentleman who was a fervent Catholic and a highly respected Washington insider. As we were leaving a panel discussion he said, “The way things are going in our country, this is the moment to believe in Providence; what else is there?”

Yes, this is the moment to believe in Providence! Now is the time to believe in a merciful and Provident God who is intimately involved in our daily lives. And so I think as believers we need to witness to those in our sphere of influence in a way that will inspire faith in God, our Father Almighty. We need to help others believe that we are ALL the children of God’s delicate Providence. We need to be able to say, each in our own way, “I know in whom I have believed … I know and am perfectly certain that of all the calculations I could make, the wisest is to abandon myself to Him.”

In our various spiritualities or religious families we might express this trust in God in different ways, but however we express it, we need to share this good news with our contemporaries! Our world is in such need of it!

Along with St. Jeanne Jugan, who said, “My Jesus, I have only you; come to my aid … If God is with us it will be accomplished,” I am thinking of St. Therese’s little way of confidence and love; and of the quote of St. Josephine Bakhita made famous by Pope Benedict: “I am definitively loved and whatever happens to me — I am awaited by this Love. And so my life is good.”

I recall the suscipe of Venerable Catherine McAuley: “My God, I am yours for all eternity. Teach me to cast my whole self into the arms of your Providence with the most lively, unlimited confidence in your compassionate, tender pity. Take from my heart all painful anxiety…”

On this eve of the Divine Mercy Sunday I am also thinking of St. Faustina, who taught us to trust in Jesus, and who prayed: “O God, how much I desire to be a small child. You are my Father, and You know how little and weak I am. So I beg You, keep me close by Your side all my life and especially at the hour of my death. Jesus, I know that Your goodness surpasses the goodness of a most tender mother.”

Finally, I am reminded of a passage from Pope Francis’ Gaudete et Exsultate: “We need to live humbly in his presence, cloaked in his glory; we need to walk in union with him, recognizing his constant love in our lives. We need to lose our fear before that presence which can only be for our good. God is the Father who gave us life and loves us greatly. Once we accept him, and stop trying to live our lives without him, the anguish of loneliness will disappear (cf. Ps 139:23-24). In this way we will know the pleasing and perfect will of the Lord (cf. Rom 12:1-2) and allow him to mold us like a potter (cf. Is 29:16). So often we say that God dwells in us, but it is better to say that we dwell in him, that he enables us to dwell in his light and love.”

As I conclude I would like to thank you once again on behalf of all the Little Sisters of the Poor for this beautiful Pro Fidelitate et Virtute award. I pledge to you that we will strive to pay it forward by witnessing more convincingly than ever that God is the Father who gave us life and loves us greatly. We will strive to express our gratitude by being faithful daughters of the Church and faithful daughters of St. Jeanne Jugan, icons of mercy as Cardinal George once called us.

Please join us in praying for a new flourishing of vocations to our Congregation so that we can continue our mission in America for another 150 years! Thank you!

 

Habemus Generalis! Little Sisters of the Poor Elect New Superior General

latourWhile visiting France in the Fall of 1995, I had the good fortune to stay for a few days at the Little Sisters of the Poor Motherhouse in Brittany, France. What a blessing to be able to pray in the crypt of the church next to the tomb of their foundress, St. Jeanne Jugan. Most wonderful of all, was the warm welcome received by me from all of the sisters, particularly Sr. Marie-Pierre who looked after me like a mother. I should have expected this because the Little Sister’s fourth vow is hospitality.

The Little Sisters receive their formation at the motherhouse called La Tour Saint Joseph. What a joy to see sisters from all over the world gather together to form one family of faith dedicated to caring for God’s little ones on earth, the elderly poor.

I had the pleasure of meeting the Mother General, and also Mother Celine de la Visitation, who was kind enough to issue me the invitation to stay. I mention all of this because Mother Celine was elected Mother General the following year and served in that capacity for the next 19 years. On September 8th, it was announced that the Little Sisters had elected a new Superior General, Sister María del Monte Auxiliadora as their first Spanish superior general! It was accompanied by the singing of the Te Deum and a flurry of calls and emails back home.

Mother Celine with Sean Cardinal O'Malley
Mother Celine with Sean Cardinal O’Malley

Mother María was elected to the General Council in 2009 and is originally from Seville, Spain, where she was provincial superior and mistress of novices in the Spanish novitiate. Five other sisters were also elected to the General Council reflecting the international flavor of their Congregation: Sisters Nicole Emmanuel and Benoît de Ste. Bernadette from France; Sister Joseph Christine, from Scotland; Sister Patricia Ivonne del Espíritu Santo, from Chile and Sister Maria Clarette, from Sri Lanka. Mother Celine, originally from San Francisco, California, will remain in the General Council, assuming the role of Vicar General.

Please pray for the Little Sisters in this time of transition and as they continue their religious freedom legal battle, one that will greatly influence our own ability to uphold our Catholic faith in the public arena.

Wake Up the World!

wake up!Pope Francis has called upon consecrated women and men to “wake up the world!” And last weekend the 2015 Year of Consecrated Life officially began.

Religious cannot shake and wake up the world unless there are actually men and women religious. One religious can make a difference! Look at the lives of Sts. Francis, Dominic, Benedict, Mother Cabrini, Don Bosco, Mother Teresa, etc…

Another great foundress was St. Jeanne Jugan, the foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor in 19th century France. The Little Sisters have issued a new vocation video called Love Serves in celebration of the Year of Consecrated Life. It is free and viewable online here. They want our help in reaching young women who might make a great Little Sister of the Poor in serving the elderly poor.

lspIn a recent poll, more than one in four young Catholics reported that they had never been encouraged to consider becoming a religious sister, brother or priest. Those who were invited to consider a religious vocation said it was a family member, a friend, a teacher or youth minister who broached the subject with them. It could be you!

Please share the vocation video, LOVE SERVES, with a young woman you might know. It may make an everlasting difference!

LIttle Sisters of the Poor Discernment Retreat

mobile-vocationsWe are always happy to promote the The Little Sisters of the Poor and the work they do with elderly poor. If you are a young single woman, between the ages of 17 and 35, and want to be introduced to this beautiful life of service to the poor, the Little Sisters in Mobile, Alabama, are having a discernment retreat weekend from November 14 -16th, 2014 at their Sacred Heart Residence.

The weekend will consist of Mass, talks, service opportunities, Eucharistic Adoration, Reconciliation, vocation stories from the Little Sisters, and a one-on-on opportunity for those who want to accompany a Little Sister in her daily duties. It will begin at 5pm on Friday and conclude by 2pm on Sunday.

I had the privilege of attending one of these discernment weekends and it was a memorable experience. Besides getting a glimpse of the sisters’ selfless service to their residents, I also got to meet one of the Little Sisters’ prayer warriors. This was an invalid Little Sister, not that old, who suffered from a debilitating disease that left her confined to a room, hooked to machines. I never saw such serenity and love radiating from a more beautiful face. She grasped my hand, and I felt that I had held the hand of a saint.

The Little Sisters in Mobile have a 92-bed facility that is full to the rafters. They hope to expand soon to accommodate more residents who do not have adequate financial means to live independently. Often, there is no family to care for them or even visit. Because the Little Sisters actually live at the Home, they share their entire lives with the residents, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.  This is what makes their homes unique. It is truly a place of family.

Registration is free for the weekend but registration in advance is appreciated. If you have any questions, please call Sr. Carolyn at (251)591-3700.

Little Sisters First Profession

profession2014On Saturday, July 19, three young women made their first profession of vows of chastity, poverty, obedience and hospitality as Little Sisters of the Poor at St. Ann’s Novitiate in Queens Village, NY.  Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh was the main celebrant and homilist.

Following is a brief introduction of the new Little Sisters:

Sr. Amy Catherine Joseph (Hagedorn), a native of Indiana, met the Little Sisters while a nursing student in Evansville. She received her first obedience for their Home in Philadelphia.

Sr. Elisabeth de l’Eucharistie (Dugré), from Québec, Canada, met the Little Sisters while working as a baker in Montréal. In addition to her culinary skills, Sister Elisabeth is an accomplished flutist. Her sister played the cello for the Profession ceremony, and her mom sang a beautiful meditation hymn in French! Sister Elisabeth was assigned to their Home in Dinan, France, the third home of the Congregation and the site where St. Jeanne Jugan worked with the Brothers of St. John of God to draft the original Constitutions of the congregation.

Sr. Maria Carmen Therese (Ozuna) was born in Mexico but then migrated to the United States, settling in the Philadelphia area. Sister Maria Carmen worked as a child care provider before entering their congregation. Her sister performed a beautiful meditation hymn in Spanish during the ceremony. Sister Maria Carmen Therese is headed to Jeanne Jugan Residence in Washington, D.C.

Click here to enjoy a slide show of the new Little Sisters!

 

 

Spring Into Service with the Little Sisters

lspThe Little Sisters of the Poor have announced a new live-in service program for single college-age women. Called “Spring Into Service,” it is a chance to experience service to the elderly poor, prayer and community life in a faith-filled community of women religious.

You can stay as short as a week (eg. spring break) or commit to at least six weeks (eg. summer) with possible pay. No nursing experience is required.

The Little Sisters have 27 homes across the United States in places such as San Francisco, Gallup, Baltimore, Chicago, Washington DC, Denver, Mobile, St. Paul and others.   There is also a possibility of overseas placements.

Having been a volunteer for several years in the home in Chicago, I know first-hand what a wonderful experience this is. First of all, the residents are so happy to have cheerful, young people to talk to. Many of these poor elderly have no family; no one who comes on Easter or Christmas or even family that sends a note of encouragement. Secondly, the Little Sisters are so hospitable and the spiritual blessings that fell on me are too numerous to mention. No matter what your vocation in life may be, this opportunity will leave an imprint that will last a lifetime.

For more information, download their flyer .

The Heartbeat of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

On June 1, Cardinal Timothy Dolan presided at the Mass in which six Little Sisters of the Poor made their first profession. The close proximity of the Cardinal to the Little Sisters Novitiate would not necessarily make this an unusual event but what made his presence extra-special was the fact that one of the newly-professed Little Sisters was from his hometown of Baldwin, Missouri and even attended the same grade school that he also had attended. The Cardinal promised to be at her first profession and three years later he kept his promise. He brought along with him Sr. Sister Mary Rosario, RSM, principal of Holy Infant Grade School in Baldwin. Hr truly is a man of the people.

The Cardinal told Sr. Elizabeth and the 5 other sisters making their first profession that they were called to be the heartbeat of Jesus, tenderness incarnate, in receiving God’s love and extending it to others. Also in attendance, were 5 novices who, God willing, will soon take their place at the side of the aged poor.

The sisters new assignments will take them to Ireland, Australia, New Jersey, California and Pennsylvania. I think what is beautiful about the Little Sister’s formation is that they all spend time at the Motherhouse in Brittany, France. There is a great sense of sisterhood among the Little Sisters across the world which comes from this shared time together at the resting place of their foundress, St. Jeanne Jugan.

Evading the Nazis

Recently, Sr. Anne Green, l.s.p., died at age 100 in a Little Sisters of the Poor home in Scotland. As remarkable as as her age were her adventures as a Little Sister during World War II. Sr. Anne was living in the Little Sisters’ Motherhouse (all Little Sisters spend some time in France as part of their formation) at La Tour St. Joseph in Brittany, France,  when the Germans took over the area. Because Sr. Anne was a British citizen, she was forced to go into hiding for 6 years at a Little Sisters’ home near Belgium. However, when the Germans occupied that town, “the mayor phoned the Reverend Mother and warned her that if there were any British citizens there, she should send them away,” said Sister Anne. “There were four of us, including an Australian, and she told the mayor that there was nowhere for us to go. He said he would burn our registration papers and that we should remain in hiding.”

The one time she left the confines of the convent, she and her companion encountered a German patrol and Sister was forced to take refuge in a pile of potatoes loaded onto a cart. She was undetected and never left the convent again until the Allies arrived.

When American tanks came into the town, Sister stopped a convoy and asked the commander if he could find her brother Tom who was in the army. He said to her, “Sister, there are just a couple of million soldiers back there, but I’ll see what I can do.” Two days later, said Sister Anne, “they found him and brought him to see me. I will never forget seeing him walking in. It was absolutely wonderful.” I’m sure the American commander was amazed and happy too.

Sister Anne returned home to Great Britain in 1949 and served out her long life among the poor and aged in the United Kingdom. The Little Sisters have 4 homes in Scotland, 4 in Ireland, 9 in England and even one on the Isle of Jersey. May God grant repose to her soul and may the Little Sisters of the Poor continue to care for God’s venerable aged ones around the world.

“She was exemplary,” said Mother Aimee. “Her continual smile and serenity were testimonies to her happiness in religious life.”

See the full story in the The Scotsman.

Little Sisters of the Poor Shutting Down?

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

The Little Sisters of the Poor who care for the poor and elderly are concerned that Obamacare could drive them out of business. And that business is not to make money but to provide the aged poor with a loving home for the remainder of their days on earth, free of charge. The sisters rely on donations to  care for their residents.

To be forced to provide a health plan  that includes things like sterilization and contraception coverage to their 300 sisters serving in 30 US cities goes against Catholic moral teaching and a well-formed conscience. The fines for not providing coverage would force the sisters out of business. Is this religious liberty?

The Little Sisters are also in the forefront of the anti-euthanasia fight. As George Weigel said in a column: The Little Sisters of the Poor and their residents are living reminders that there are no disposable human beings; that everyone is a someone for whom the Son of God entered the world, suffered and died; and that we read others out of the human family at our moral and political peril.

Prayer is the best answer to combat evil. Help us, O Lord, to be able to care for your littlest ones in our nursing homes, hospitals, schools.

May They Be Safe

Please pray for the Little Sisters of the Poor who have homes for the elderly in Totowa NJ, the Bronx, Queens, and Enfield CT. They also have a novitiate in Queens Village. One of the Little Sisters contacted us and asked for prayers. Medications, food, electricity, and fuel are all very real concerns since nursing homes are not considered ‘priority’ emergency sites as are hospitals.

Mother Maria Christine said, “Having been an eyewitness myself to the Hurricane Katrina, I also know that goodness, love and generosity abound in times of crises such as this, so with prayer let us be persons who dispense hope to those around us.  Our God is so much greater than this superstorm.”

May God protect them.

On the Sister’s website they note that their foundress, St. Jeanne Jugan, has been ‘appearing’ in the most unlikely places! In August, a statue of Jeanne was dedicated at Creighton University. The miraculous cure of Creighton alumnus Dr. Edward Gatz of Omaha led to Blessed Jeanne Jugan being declared a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. And in October, the Montfort Fathers placed a statue of Jeanne at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Island in Manorville (Long Island), NY. The shrine has an Avenue of the Saints and Jeanne now resides near the statues of Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Saint Therese of Lisieux.