The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1872-03-17
Little Sisters of the Poor.

Poverty and hsiplessness in infancy, ma
turity and old age should ever elicit our sym
pathies. Hence the Church, in her great love
for man, raises institutions to feed the hun.
gered and clothe the naked. Through her
agency infants abandoned by beartless
mothers have been taken in, surrounded with
attention and careful solicitude. Orphan
ages under her patronage have received chill
dren possessed of no patrimony, no relatives,
NO parents and expended their own substance
in their behalf. The poor Magdalen finds q
most acceptable roof In the House of the Good
Shepherd. But where shall those aged, help
less beings 60 who have neither relatives nor
wealth. Shall we, like barbarians, make it
an inexorable law: "The inability to work
precludes the necessity of living" Oh! no,
there are those who will extend them a help
ing hand, and with kindness soothe their
afflicted hearts, These are the Little Sisters of
the Poor, whose houses are counted by hun
dreds, and the number of the poor under their
charge by thousands. Work, begging and
self.denial are not too much for these good
Sisters, who gather together the poor drawing
the grave, and devote to them their
means and their lives.
1t was our pleasure last Wednesday to visit
the house now occupied by them on La Harpe
and Prieur streets. We were kindly shown
the ACCOMMODATIONS provided for its inmates,
and there several dormitories whose
linen might vie in cleanliess with that of any
private family in this city. We saw dining
rooms of the neatest and most comfortable
kind. An infirmary and pharmacy especially
attracted our attention. Passing through a
large kitchen, we entered into the clothes
= IL l. "a
were assorted and placed in drawers labelled
with the description of that particular sort
contained therein. A dead-house with it's
black drapings reminded us of mans mortali-
ty. A most beautiful little chapel is on the
right side of the hallway. Much taste and
devotion were shown In IT'S decoration. Forty
men and forty women are the recipients of
the Sisters charity. Many arc blind, several
paralysed-all very old.
These people must be fed, and no resource
is left to the good Mother Superioress, Sister
Mary Glare, but the charity of our community.
The number of poor daily increases, the con-
sumption is greater, but the resources are ever
the same-God, the Church and the faithful.
Will the charitable not respond to the call of
such heroic women Z We are mistaken, if they
will not. We will close this hasty sketch of a
good work by quoting the concluding para
graph of q sermon recently delivered by Fa-
Their Bourgeois, o. p, in behalf of this 1aud-
able object at the Jesuits' Church:
Tho Little Sisters ask you to permit them to
enlarge their sphere Of duty, to allow them to |
exercise towards those abandoned by all, the |
ministry of their devotedness. Will you have |
the heart to resemble those unfeeling men |
mentioned in the Gospel, who remained indif-
ferentf No; you would not wish to be looked |
upon as such, you will open your hearts and
your hands to second the efforts of these holy
women and you will scatter among them some
crumbs of your abundance; you will call to
mind the words that Jesus Christ addressed to
those who assist Him in His poor What you
do to the least of my little ones, it is to Me
that you do it" and again: "Give and it shall be
given unto YOU" And because you will not
have rejected the poor one IN the time of his
old age and because you have not abandoned
him to-day that his strength has failed him.
God will not abandon yor in the evil hour.
He will visit you, He will fortity you, He will
save you, and when the time shall have come,
in your turn, you will hear these consoling
words: 81 was hungry and You gave
me to eat; was thirsty and you gave me
10 drink was without home and you took
ne in. Come then, blessed of my Father:
possess the Kingdom prepared for you from .hc