Tag Archives: Little Sisters of the Poor

News, Women's Communities

Little Sisters of the Poor and the HHS Mandate

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The Little Sisters of the Poor have 30 homes in the US serving 2500 residents. Here are some quotes from Sister Constance Veit about the potential impact of the HHS mandate on the poor and elderly that the sisters care for so lovingly.

If we chose to offer insurance without the objectionable services, we would honor our consciences, but we’d have to pay $100 per day per employee. As the cardinal (Timothy Cardinal Dolan) figures it, for an organization with 50 employees, that would mean almost $2 million per year. So if the mandate is still standing in 2014, all of our U.S. homes will be facing serious financial difficulties.

We stand with the U.S. bishops and so many others in advocating that the mandate be struck down, or that, in the very least, there be a viable exemption for freedom of conscience.

I have been a Little Sister for 25 years, and I have never seen our congregation so active on a public issue. So that is an indication of its importance. The only other time I have seen a response like this from our congregation was in the early 1990s, when euthanasia and assisted suicide were being debated in the European Parliament, and our superior general at that time took a public stand. Normally, our lives are very hidden.

What we fear is that, if the federal government succeeds in this case, there are other areas where they could exert pressure or enact measures that could endanger our apostolate — particularly in end-of-life care and in the possible rationing of care to the elderly as a cost-saving measure.

Women's Communities

I Meet Him Every Day

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Sr. Mary Mercedes, PVMI, of the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate tells a beautiful story in this month’s The Parish Visitor about meeting Christ (She says she meets Him every day in His children, old and young) in an elderly man she saw hobbling down the street. From his shabby clothes and thin face, she could see that he had not had a good meal in a long time. She came to find out that he had been evicted from his apartment and was sleeping in a hallway where a kind neighbor gave him a little food.

The man was not Catholic but when asked if he would like to live with the Little Sisters of the Poor, he said, “I’d be glad to go and live with them!” That very day, they went to the Little Sisters who fussed over him, gave him a warm coat and hat and invited him to their home. He went back to collect his meager belongings but said to Sr. Mary Mercedes, “You know I still have my pride. I never lost it.”

A year later, Sister Mary Mercedes visited the Little Sisters and was told that the man was still with them, was happy and was going to daily Mass.

What wonderful ministries these 2 communities have. One seeks out the lost and forsaken and the other gives them a home.

 

News, Women's Communities

Honk If You Love Nuns!

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During spring break this year instead of heading for Daytona Beach, 12 young women decided to participate in a “Nun Run,” a beautiful journey of faith which allowed them to see different communities and their apostolates up close and personal. All twelve students were from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, whose 2 traveling minivans were decorated with the words: “BC Nun Run” and “Honk if you love nuns!”

Their journey took them to 5 IRL Affiliate Communities: the School Sisters of Christ the King; Marian Sisters; The Benedictine Sisters, Mary Queen of the Apostles; the Little Sisters of the Poor (see their write up on the 4 days spent there); and the Sisters of Saint Francis of the Holy Eucharist. The “run” ended at the IRL Midwest Meeting in Independence, MO, where Fr. Thomas Nelson, O.Praem., offered advice on the practical steps for vocational discernment in general and discerning a religious community in particular.

One young women said, “The breathtaking truth that is found in religious life was clearly felt and experienced. And it has helped me so much to grow as a person, to love others, to live and share my life with others. It has been great!”