Thursday, January 19, 2023

LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR: ONE OF MY RETIREMENT MINISTRIES

In my retirement, I have taken on several new ministries. I help out every week at either (1) St. Leonard Church or (2) Saint Frances of Rome Church and sometimes at both on the same weekend. (3) I have been working on building a new Family Life Center in our old grade school at my home parish of St. Theresa in Rhodelia. (4) Every week, I have Mass once or twice a week at the local St. Joseph Home for the Aged operated by the Little Sisters of the Poor just down the street from my condo. 

            A special Mass with the local Little Sisters including a few visitors from other homes.
Here, they are wearing their "summer and work habits." 

A special day when priests were invited to wait on tables. 

A typical day at lunch with Little Sisters helping serve the meal for those able to come to the dining room. 

Mother Provincial Julie (center, front row) from Chicago wanted to go to my home parish of St. Theresa down in Meade County. 

As an admirer of  the soon-to-be canonized  Father Augustus Tolton, first black priest to be ordained for the United States, Mother Provincial Julie wanted to visit his grandmother Matilda's grave in the old St. Theresa Cemetery. Father Tolton, his grandmother, Matilda Chisley and his mother Martha Jane (also from St. Theresa) were sadly and tragically all part of a large group of 19th century Catholic slaves. 
 

You can see we cleaned off and reset Matilda's stone. Compare this photo to the moss-covered one in the picture above which is leaning terribly. 

At all four places, I feel appreciated and loved. All four are all life-giving communities that I look forward to being with and hopefully offer a bit of assistance and service. 








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