Thursday, August 30, 2012 - Litany Lane Blog:
hospitality, Psalms 145:2-7, Matthew 24:42-51, St. Jeanne Jugan, Little Sisters of the Poor devoted to the Hospitality of Elderly Poor
hospitality, Psalms 145:2-7, Matthew 24:42-51, St. Jeanne Jugan, Little Sisters of the Poor devoted to the Hospitality of Elderly Poor
Good Day Bloggers!
Wishing everyone a Blessed Week!
P.U.S.H. (Pray Until Something Happens). It has a remarkable way of producing solace, peace, patience and tranquility and of course resolution...God's always available 24/7..
We are all human. We all experience birth, life and death. We all have
flaws but we also all have the gift knowledge and free will as well,
make the most of it. Life on earth is a stepping to our eternal home in
Heaven. Its your choice whether to rise towards eternal light or lost to
eternal darkness. Material items, though needed for sustenance and
survival on earth are of earthly value only. The only thing that passes
from this earth to Heaven is our Soul, our Spirit...it's God's perpetual
gift to us...Embrace it, treasure it, nurture it, protect it...
"Raise not a hand to another unless it is to offer in peace and goodwill." ~ Zarya Parx 2012
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Today's Word: hospitality hos·pi·tal·i·ty [hos-pi-tal-i-tee]
Origin: 1325–75; Middle English hospitalite < Middle French < Latin hospitālitās, equivalent to hospitāli ( s ) ( see hospital) + -tās -ty2
noun, plural hos·pi·tal·i·ties.
1. the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers.
2. the quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way.
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Today's Old Testament Reading - Psalms 145:2-7
2 Day after day I shall bless you, I shall praise your name for ever and ever.3 Great is Yahweh and worthy of all praise, his greatness beyond all reckoning.
4 Each age will praise your deeds to the next, proclaiming your mighty works.
5 Your renown is the splendour of your glory, I will ponder the story of your wonders.
6 They will speak of your awesome power, and I shall recount your greatness.
7 They will bring out the memory of your great generosity, and joyfully acclaim your saving justice.
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Today's Gospel Reading - Matthew 24:42-51
Jesus said to his disciples: 'So stay
awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming. You
may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what
time of the night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and
would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house.
Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of man is coming at
an hour you do not expect.
'Who, then, is the wise and trustworthy servant whom the master placed over his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed that servant if his master's arrival finds him doing exactly that. In truth I tell you, he will put him in charge of everything he owns. But if the servant is dishonest and says to himself, "My master is taking his time," and sets about beating his fellow-servants and eating and drinking with drunkards, his master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.'
'Who, then, is the wise and trustworthy servant whom the master placed over his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed that servant if his master's arrival finds him doing exactly that. In truth I tell you, he will put him in charge of everything he owns. But if the servant is dishonest and says to himself, "My master is taking his time," and sets about beating his fellow-servants and eating and drinking with drunkards, his master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.'
Reflection
• The Gospel today speaks about the
coming of the Lord at the end of time and exhorts us to be watchful, to
watch. At the time of the first Christians, many persons thought that
the end of this world was close at hand and that Jesus would have
returned afterwards. Today many persons think that the end of the world
is close at hand. And therefore, it is well to reflect on the meaning of
vigilance, of watching.
• Matthew 24, 42: Watch. “So stay awake! Watch, because you do not know the day when your master is coming”. Concerning the day and the hour of the end of the world, Jesus had said: “But as for that day or hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, no one but the Father!" (Mk 13, 32). Today, many people live concerned thinking about the end of the world. Have you seen when walking through the streets of the city that it is written on the walls: “Jesus will return!” And how will this coming be? After the year 1000, basing themselves on the Gospel of John, people began to say (Rev 20, 7): “1000 years have gone by, but 2000 will not pas by!” This is why, as the year 2000 approached, many were worried. There were even some people who were anguished because of the proximity of the end of the world, so much so that they committed suicide. Others, reading the Apocalypse of John, even were able to foretell the exact hour of the end. But the year 2000 came and nothing happened. The end of the world does not arrive! Many times, the affirmation “Jesus will return” is used to frighten people and oblige them to belong to a given church! Others, because they have waited so long and have speculated so much concerning the coming of Jesus, are not aware of his presence among us, in the most common things of life, in the facts of every day.
• The same problems existed in the Christian communities of the first centuries. Many persons of the communities said that the end of this world was close at hand and that Jesus would have returned. Some of the community of Thessalonica in Greece, basing themselves on the preaching of Paul said: “Jesus will return!” (1 Th 4, 13-18; 2 Th 2, 2). And this is why, there were even persons who no longer worked because they thought that the coming of the end was so close at hand, within a few days or a few weeks so, “Why work, if Jesus will return afterwards?” (cf. 2 Th 3, 11). Paul responds that it was not so simple as they imagined. And to those who had stopped working he would say: “Anyone who does not want to work, has no right to eat!” Others remained looking up at the sky, waiting for the return of Jesus in the clouds (cf. Ac 1, 11). Others rebelled because he delayed coming back (2 P 3, 4-9). In general the Christians lived with the expectation of the imminent coming of Jesus. Jesus was coming to realize or carry out the Final Judgement to end with the unjust history of this world and to inaugurate the new phase of history, the definitive phase of the New Heaven and the New Earth. They believed that this would have taken place within one or two generations. Many persons would still be alive when Jesus would have appeared again, glorious in Heaven (1Th 4, 16-17; Mc 9, 1). Others, tired of waiting would say: “He will never come back!” (2 P 3,).
• Up until now the coming of Jesus has not arrived! How can this delay be understood? It is because they are not aware that Jesus has already returned and lives in our midst: “I am with you always, till the end of time.” (Mt 28, 20). He is already at our side, in the struggle for justice, for peace, for life. The fullness has not as yet been attained, but a guarantee of the Kingdom is already in our midst. This is why, we expect with a firm hope the full liberation of humanity and of nature (Rm 8, 22-25). And while we wait and struggle, we say with certainty: “He is already in our midst” (Mt 25, 40).
• Matthew 24, 43-51: The example of the householder and of his servants. “Consider this: if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house.” Jesus says this very clearly. Nobody knows anything regarding the hour: "Concerning this day and this hour, nobody knows anything, neither the angels, or the Son, but only the Father
What is important is not to know the hour of the end of this world, but rather to be capable to perceive the coming of Jesus who is already present in our midst in the person of the poor (cf. Mt 25, 40) and in so many other ways and events of our daily life. What is important is to open the eyes and to keep in mind the commitment of the good servant of whom Jesus speaks about in the parable.
Personal questions
• On which signs do people base
themselves to say that the end of the world is close at hand? Do you
believe that the end of the world is close at hand?
• What can we respond to those who say that the end of the world is close at hand? Which is the force which impels you to resist and to have hope?
• What can we respond to those who say that the end of the world is close at hand? Which is the force which impels you to resist and to have hope?
Reference: Courtesy of Order of Carmelites, www.ocarm.org.
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Featured Item of the Day from Litany Lane
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Feast Day: August 30
Patron Saint: Elderly Poor
Saint of the Day: St. Jeanne Jugan
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| Saint Jeanne Jugan |
Saint Jeanne Jugan (October 25, 1792 – August 29, 1879), also known as Sister Mary of the Cross was born in Cancale in Brittany, France,
the sixth of the eight children of Joseph and Marie Jugan. Her father
died when she was very young and her mother raised this large family
alone. When Jeanne was 16, she took a job as the kitchen maid of the
Viscountess de la Choue. The viscountess, a devout Christian,
had Jeanne accompany her when she visited the sick and the poor. Nine
years later, Jeanne began working in the town hospital of Saint-Servan.
She worked hard at this physically demanding job but after six years,
she left the hospital and went to work for an elderly woman. In the
course of Jeanne's duties, the two women recognized a similar Catholic spirituality and began to teach catechism to youngsters and care for the poor and other unfortunates, until Jeanne's friend died.
In 1837, Jeanne and a 72-year old woman (Françoise Aubert) rented
part of a small cottage and were joined by Virginie Tredaniel, a 17-year
old orphan. These three women then formed a Catholic community of
prayer, devoted to teaching the catechism and assisting the poor. Two
years later, Jeanne brought a blind widow (Anne Chauvin) to their home
and even allowed the woman to sleep in her own bed. From this act of
charity, with the approval of her colleagues, Jeanne then focused her
attention upon the mission of assisting abandoned elderly women, and
from this beginning arose a community called The Little Sisters of the Poor.
Jeanne wrote a simple rule for this new community of women, and they
daily went door-to-door requesting food, clothing and money for the
women in their care. This was Jeanne's life work, and she performed this
mission for the next four decades.
In 1847 based on the request of Leo Dupont (known as the Holy Man of Tours) she established a house in Tours. She was much sought after when ever problems arose and worked with religious and civil authorities to seek help for the poor.
By 1879, the community Jeanne founded had 2,400 Little Sisters and had spread across Europe and to North America. That year, Pope Leo XIII approved the constitutions for the Little Sisters of the Poor. In September 1885, the congregation arrived in South America and made a first foundation in Valparaíso, Chile, from which it expanded later on.
Jeanne died that year and was buried in the graveyard at the motherhouse at Saint-Pern. She was beatified in Rome by Pope John Paul II on October 3, 1982, and canonized on October 11, 2009, by Pope Benedict XVI.
Today, pilgrims can visit the house where she was born (Cancale), the House of the Cross at Saint-Servan and the motherhouse where she lived her last 23 years at La Tour Saint Joseph in Saint-Pern.
References
- Paul Milcen, 2000 Jeanne Jugan: Humble, So as to Love More Darton, Longman & Todd ISBN 0-232-52383-5
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Today's Snippet : Little Sisters of the Poor
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Little Sisters of the Poor
Founded by Saint Jeanne Jugan |
The Little Sisters of the Poor is a Roman Catholic religious institute for women. It was founded in the 19th century by Saint Jeanne Jugan near Rennes, France. Jugan felt the need to care for the many impoverished elderly who lined the streets of French towns and cities.
This led her to welcome an elderly lady into her home and the work of
the Little Sisters of the Poor began. Gradually Jugan built up homes in
and around Rennes. In 1843 the community's spiritual advisor declined
to let Jugan head the institute and so she became an ordinary sister
and model of humility. Jeanne Jugan was a helper to the elderly and
disabled. She used to go on the streets of France to collect money for
her organization. Once when Jugan begged a young man for money, he hit
her on the face. She replied with calmness, "You gave that to me, now
give me something for the elderly." The man was astounded by the
sweetness of her reply and with all his heart he gave her all the money
he had at that time.
Today the Little Sisters of the Poor serve in 31 countries around the world (including homes in Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Penang, New Zealand and Philippines),
continuing in their original purpose of caring for the elderly. In
addition to the Sisters' apostolate, a semi-contemplative emphasis is
also maintained within the institute. Professed sisters therefore take a
new religious name - usually a saint or someone associated with the
institute, and wear a full religious habit consisting of a black dress and scapular, full grey veil
and a white headband which covers the hair of the sister. In warmer
climates/seasons a white habit/veil is worn by the sisters. They have
grown from one woman helping one woman to one of the most successful
religious organizations in the world.
Vow of Hospitality
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| vow of service of the elderly poor |
Consecrated hospitality is a witness to the mercy and compassionate love of the heart of Jesus. It is based on the words of Christ himself:
- “Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7)
- “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me … sick and you visited me.… Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:35–40).
As Hospitaller religious the Little Sisters of the Poor lives are made up of many humble, hidden tasks. They serve the elderly day and night, striving to meet their physical needs, to make them happy and to minister to them spiritually. They accomplish their mission together as a community, each one bringing her gifts and talents to the work of hospitality.
The accompaniment and care of the dying is the summit of their vocation. In today’s world it is an ever more powerful witness of the culture of life. By the look in his eyes or by the silence of his whole being, the elderly person who is near death asks us this question: “Does my life still have any value? Is it worth living?” To each person the Sisters respond with a resounding yes!
Thanks to Saint Jeanne Jugan’s presence among the Sisters of the Poort, they continue her spirit as they pursue our mission of hospitality today. Reflecting on the canonization of our foundress, Cardinal Francis George.
Founding Charism
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| Charism: Love of the Poor |
Saint Jeanne Jugan’s founding charism, one could feel the fire of passion rising up in her … “What happiness
for us, to be a Little Sister of the Poor! Making the poor happy is
everything …” Littleness, love for the poor … all came together in
Jeanne’s founding charism. Father Eloi Leclerc, a elderly Franciscan priest and writer, has
beautifully captured the essence of Jeanne’s charism as foundress in his
book, The Desert and The Rose: One notices a theme that comes up again and again in Jeanne’s
recommendations to the novices: “Be little, make yourselves very
little,” she would tell them. It was a kind of refrain. Indeed, she was
convinced that in order to be close to the humblest and least, you had
to become little yourself. You cannot establish truly close links while
keeping your distance or placing yourself above others. The most high
Son of God himself became the humblest of men in order to be close to
all.
Jeanne gave great importance to this closeness. You had to be little in order to be close to the least. Such was the vocation of the Little Sisters of the Poor—their charism. It was not just for them a matter of giving shelter and food to the abandoned elderly. They were also to bring them a certain quality of relationship, a presence, a closeness which would draw these people out of their isolation and free them from their anguish. The Little Sisters are not ladies who condescend to devote some time every day to looking after poor people. No, they must become little themselves to enter into a close relationship with the humblest and most forsaken. One is not naturally “little,” in the evangelical sense. One becomes so. It takes time and much renunciation. Above all, one must ask for it as a grace. Such is the way Jeanne prepared the young novices for their mission, by making them aware of a fundamental demand of their vocation.
There was another point on which Jeanne insisted, connected to the first, and complementary. It is not easy to define. In her, it was a flame, first and foremost. Her eyes lit up when she spoke of it. One could feel the fire of passion rising up in her. One day she pronounced these burning words, magnificent in their simplicity: “What happiness for us, to be a Little Sister of the Poor! Making the poor happy is everything …” The whole mission and happiness of the Little Sisters is contained here: making the poor happy, giving happiness to the poor.
Jeanne’s message to the novices can therefore be summed up in these two elements: be little in order to be close to the most humble, and be close to make them happy. There you have it. There can be no better definition of the founding charism of the Little Sisters of the Poor.
Early foundations
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| Saint Jeanne Jugan, vow of hospitality |
Everything changes one night in the winter of 1839—we don’t know the exact date—when she cannot resist the sight of a blind, paralyzed old woman out in the cold with no one to care for her. Jeanne carries the old woman home and places her in her own bed. From that night on, Jeanne Jugan belongs to God and to the elderly of the whole world. The work develops quickly. More old women are brought to her doorstep. Jeanne and her companions—one older woman and several pious young girls—offer them hospitality and care for them as if they were their own grandmothers. Giving the best place to the old women, they sleep on the attic floor.
By 1841 the “family” of old women and their caregivers outgrow the small apartment and move into larger accommodations. With the advice and support of the Hospitaller Brothers of Saint John of God, Jeanne begins collecting in the local community on behalf of her poor. This spares the old women the indignity of begging for themselves on the streets of Saint Servan.
In 1842 the group moves into an even larger building—a nearby convent that had been vacated during the Revolution. The small nucleus of pious women begins to take the form of a religious community. They call themselves the Servants of the Poor. Jeanne is elected superior. She and several others make a vow of obedience.
Re-elected as superior the next year, Jeanne is removed from office by a young priest appointed to advise the nascent community on December 23, 1843. She is given the job of collecting for the elderly in Saint Servan and its environs. In early 1844 the group changes their name to Sisters of the Poor to better reflect their desire to truly be sisters to the elderly in the Lord’s name.
Jeanne is awarded the Montyon Prize, a prestigious award given by the French Academy for meritorious work, in 1845. The next year, she founds houses in Rennes and Dinan. Then Tours. Jeanne continues to beg on behalf of the poor.
In 1847 the young Congregation holds its first General Chapter. Jeanne is not invited. In 1849, ten years after the first old woman was welcomed by Jeanne, the popular name Little Sisters of the Poor is definitively adopted.
By 1850 the Congregation numbers over 100 Little Sisters. The motherhouse and novitiate are established in Rennes in 1852. Jeanne is recalled there, told to break all contact with friends and benefactors and placed in retirement, with no specific duties. Four years later she will move to the new motherhouse in Saint Pern, to remain there—hidden in the shadows—for the rest of her life.
The Congregation receives diocesan approval on May 29, 1852. It is recognized as a Pontifical Institute by Pope Pius XI on July 9, 1854. Pope Leo XIII approves the Constitutions of the Little Sisters of the Poor for a period of seven years on March 1, 1879. By then there are 2,400 Little Sisters in 9 countries.
Hidden away in La Tour, Jeanne Jugan dies on August 29, 2879, at age 86. She is no longer recognized as the foundress. But like the grain of wheat that falls into the ground her life bears much fruit …
Expansion of the Congregation
While continuing to spread all over France, the Congregation takes root in England in 1851 despite great hardships and resistance in some quarters due to anti-Catholic sentiments (this painting, by James Collinson, depicts the early days in London). Belgium is next, and then Spain, Ireland and North Africa. A young priest named Ernest LeLievre dedicates his life to the Little Sisters, eventually traveling all over the world to establish homes for the elderly.Father LeLievre (pictured here) sets out for America in 1868, stating, “As we leave the old world for the new, we still have the same responsibilities, the same struggle, the same people, the same God. On the shores of the Mississippi, as on the banks of the Jordan, the world has need of being renewed.” He lands in New York June 10, 1868 and in the next four years he will pave the way for the establishment of 13 homes in the United States.
Before leaving America in the summer of 1872 to establish more homes in France and Spain, LeLievre writes to his cousin back in France, “The work of the Little Sisters here has succeeded far beyond what I ever expected. The thirteen homes founded on this continent are all the owners of the houses they occupy, or of the land on which they will build when necessary … Such a success and all it demands, I admit, is overwhelming.…”
American foundations
The first group of Little Sisters destined for America leaves the motherhouse on August 28, 1868; Jeanne Jugan helps to see them off. After a long journey by boat they set foot on American soil in Brooklyn, New York, on September 13, 1868. No one speaks English.Soon after arriving in Brooklyn the Little Sisters receive their first donation, a gift of $20.00, from Rev. Isaac Hecker, founder of the Paulists. After welcoming their first Residents, the Sisters write back to the motherhouse: “The public appear delighted to see that we are willing to work for the poor; that we ask no endowment; that we desire to trust in Providence and in the generosity of the public.”
A second group of Sisters arrives in Cincinnati on October 14, 1868. The arrangements for this house have been facilitated by Sarah Worthington Peter, a convert to Catholicism and daughter of an Ohio senator, who visited the motherhouse herself to ask for a foundation in Cincinnati. A Catholic physician agrees to care for the Residents and is so touched after his first consultation that he takes off his coat and gives it to one of the old men.
Six days before Christmas a third group of Little Sisters arrives in New Orleans. They are thrilled to discover that the house being offered to them by a group of charitable ladies is already named “Home of St. Joseph.” As a show of support, the municipal government paves the street in front of the home and approves an allowance of $1,000 to pay for repairs to the building.
On April 6, 1869 the Little Sisters establish their work in Baltimore. The seminary, staffed by French Sulpicians, offers donations of food and their moral support. Bishop Spalding states, “The Little Sisters of the Poor are called to do a great deal of good in America, not only among the poor, but also among the rich; for words no longer suffice—works are necessary.”
From Baltimore the Little Sisters head west, establishing a house in Saint Louis on May 3, 1869. “What are you going to do in a house where there is nothing?” people ask them. “Wait a few days,” they reply, as they set out to clean and furnish their new home. Observing the Little Sisters, Bishop Ryan comments, “If one builds on holy poverty, Providence cements the building.” The Sisters regularly receive help from a steamboat company on the Mississippi that solicits donations from their passengers and sets aside leftovers from the dining room, all to the benefit of the aged poor of Saint Louis.
Philadelphia opens its doors to the Little Sisters on August 24, 1869. An act of generosity on the part of a young Philadelphian is particularly touching. Mary Twibill, a young woman of 18, is dying. Her father gives her the choice of having a fine monument made for her grave, or of leaving a sum of money to the poor. “What use will it be to have a beautiful monument after my death?” she asks. “I prefer to give the money to the Little Sisters of the Poor.” And so the Little Sisters receive a legacy of $1,000 from Mary Twibill.
Louisville welcomes the Little Sisters just one month later. Bishop MacCloskey gives his assistance by lending them an estate that had been intended for a seminary, arranging the chapel himself and celebrating the Sisters’ first Mass. The Little Sisters write back to the motherhouse, “Divine Providence provided according to our needs; within a few days, our house was found furnished with beds, tables, chairs, kitchen utensils and provisions of all kinds. We were quite overcome with gratitude towards the good God, who disposed so well people’s hearts in our favor.”
The Little Sisters arrive in Boston on April 19, 1870. As he witnesses the generosity of the local citizens in helping the Sisters to furnish the two houses given to them, the Superior of the local Jesuit community remarks, “What I admire is that these Sisters are such as people describe them. One sees that they not only have confidence in Providence, but that they have not a doubt of its protection. One sees that they do not calculate, they do not reckon, they do not ask what people will give them for the needs of their poor.”
In the spring of 1870, the Little Sisters also open a home in Cleveland. A good German family provides them with linens, mattresses and all sorts of necessary items, while the bishop, along with a wealthy Protestant, contribute toward the purchase of a suitable property.
The tenth home is established in our Nation’s Capital on February 2, 1871. Together with the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Father Walter, parish priest of St. Patrick’s Church, Washington, D.C., provides the Sisters with a house with carpeted rooms, numerous fire places, plenty of furniture and a well-stocked kitchen. When the Little Sisters remove the carpets, the good priest is edified by their spirit of poverty. The home gains considerable political support and the Little Sisters are authorized to beg for donations in Federal government buildings—an unprecedented privilege that continued uninterrupted until the tragic events of September 11, 2001.
Back in La Tour, it is widely known that Jeanne Jugan has a soft spot in her heart for the first American young women who cross the ocean to begin their formation as Little Sisters. Despite protests from some of the other novices, she showers them with special attentions, insisting that they are the first missionaries of the Congregation.
Many years later, one of these Little Sisters remembers the foundress’ kindness: “I have never forgotten her kindness to us… She would often ask to see the Little Sister postulants from America. Some of the others would say that they were jealous because she liked the Americans. She would reply that that wasn’t fair because they were the first missionaries of the little family, and that they had crossed the wide ocean, being sixteen days at sea; that it was heroic for young girls to come from so far away, to say good-bye to their parents, their country and even to make the sacrifice of their own language in order to come here to prepare for the life of a Little Sister. It needed a double vocation” (testimony of Sr. Augustine de St. Laurent).
By the 1950s the Congregation has 52 homes for the aged across the United States. With the passage of the Life Safety Code and the dawn of nursing home regulations in the 1960s, nearly all the homes must be replaced. Some are combined, others closed, but many are rebuilt. Today they have 30 homes for the needy elderly in the United States and one in Canada.
Admission to Little Sisters of the Poor Homes
Admission to Little Sisters of the Poor homes is open to low-income elderly of at least 60 years of age, regardless of race, nationality or religion. Individuals, married couples and elderly priests are welcome to apply.While each of Little Sisters of the Poor homes is unique in size and layout, all are comprised of several levels of care. These may include nursing home, intermediate care, residential or assisted living and/or independent living apartments (terminology varies according to states). Throughout the United States, Little Sisters of the Poor nursing home beds are generally Medicaid and Medicare licensed.
When a home has an opening in its assisted living or nursing home areas, Little Sisters of the Poor first look at their current Residents to determine if anyone needs a higher level of care. When all of their Residents are appropriately placed, the available room is offered to senior(s) in the community. Little Sisters of the Poor recognize the great need for senior living and care. It is their goal to help as many individuals as possible and to assist those they cannot help with locating other resources in the community.
The admission process is home-specific. It usually begins informally with an phone call to discern if the prospective Resident would be an appropriate candidate for the home. After determining if the individual meets the age, financial, and medical criteria, the Little Sisters of the Poor will send an application requiring more detailed information. When the appropriate time comes, a tour of the home is scheduled. Some homes require a brief acquaintance visit to help discern further if they can meet the individual’s needs and expectations at the presumed level of care.
Some of Little Sisters of the Poor homes have socially-oriented senior day programs through which they offer low-income seniors in the local community the possibility of participating in their pastoral and activity programs, enjoying a hot meal, engaging in volunteer service or simply socializing with their contemporaries in a warm, friendly environment.
They encourage family involvement in the life of their loved one and in the activities and life of the home.
If you are interested in learning more about a specific home, or in beginning the application process for yourself or a loved one, please contact the Little Sisters of the Poor admissions coordinator in the home where you intend to apply.
For more information:
- Little Sisters of the Poor website: http://www.littlesistersofthepoor.org/
- Little Sisters of the Poor Directory of USA Homes: http://www.littlesistersofthepoor.org/resources/our-homes-directory
Little Sisters Around the World
France - http://catholique-rennes.cef.fr/psdp
Chile/Argentina - www.hdlp.net
India - http://www.littlesistersofthepoor-chennai.org/index.php?view=home
Ireland and UK - http://www.littlesistersofthepoor.ie/content/view/16/26/
Italy - http://www.piccolesorelledeipoveri.info/
South Korea - http://www.lspkorea.com/
Spain - http://www3.planalfa.es/hermanitasdelospobres/
Taiwan - http://www.lsptw.org
References
- The Life of Blessed Jeanne Jugan (Sister Mary of the Cross) full online book. http://sacredheartisrael.vndv.com/jean.htm
- Paul Milcen, 2000 Jeanne Jugan: Humble, So as to Love More Darton, Longman & Todd ISBN 0-232-52383-5
- Little Sisters of the Poor. http://www.littlesistersofthepoor.org/
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