“Isn’t she something!” my mother used to say about Sister Laurelliya, as she watched Sister cheerfully gathering Residents on the patio for ice cream and the Rosary.
Yes, she is, something, I would say to myself, as I joined Mom, the Sisters and Residents to pray. Indeed, they all are quite “something,” these Little Sisters of the Poor.
For many years, Mom volunteered with the Little Sisters, assisting in the ceramics shop and later helping to feed the most infirm. Mom always spoke so highly of the care and respect the Sisters showed the Residents, not only while they were up and around, but also as they were passing to their next life. Fortunately, for Mom and for us, when she needed the Little Sisters, they were there for her. As she approached 90 years of age, she became a Resident herself and experienced that same gentle and compassionate care she had witnessed as a volunteer.
We always felt lucky that Mom was in the care of the Sisters, and that caring extended to our family too. The Home was like home to us. In fact, we celebrated my mother’s 90th birthday there in the dining room after Mass. Later, we celebrated my nephew’s Christening in the chapel, and three days later, Mom passed away. What a blessing it was, then, to be surrounded by the Little Sisters praying and chanting as Mom left this earth, with my brother and me by her side. They gave us great comfort as she moved from our loving arms into the loving arms of God in such a beautiful and peaceful way, just as she had hoped.
The Home where my mother resided closed just a few months after she was called home to God and the Little Sisters relocated to other Homes. I discovered that Sr. Laurelliya ministers to a new family of elders in Pawtucket, RI, and so it is to Jeanne Jugan Residence that I now send my contributions.
“Isn’t she something,” Mom would say. That special something is the reason I continue to support the Little Sisters of the Poor, no matter where. The compassion and love the Little Sisters gave my Mom, while she lived and as she passed, shaped my life-long commitment to help the Little Sisters of the Poor. The care, respect and kindness shown by the Sisters and the staff to Residents and their families, is unequaled anywhere else.
I hope my message will inspire others to give.
– Marianne