God's whisper led to habit

When Sister Joseph Marie de Jesus, LSP, was in eighth grade, she heard "a whisper" from God.

"While my classmates were talking about future careers and what specialized high schools they hoped to get into, I really did not know what I was going to do," she told The Evangelist. "I remember feeling that God was asking something different of me, something that He had not yet revealed."

In 1816, another young woman confided to her mother that she believed God was calling her for work that was "as yet unfounded." She was Jeanne Jugan, who would eventually found the Little Sisters of the Poor. Sister Joseph Marie is now one of 3,500 women worldwide who belong to the order, which is dedicated to caring for the elderly.

Volunteer

"When I first became aware of the Little Sisters, I was at church with my mother in Queens." she recalled. "The Little Sisters were visiting our parish and spoke after Mass. They attracted me very much. I had never before seen Sisters with a habit and veil. They spoke about volunteering."

She contacted the order and was invited to help the Sisters in their infirmary, caring for the sick and elderly.

"One day, a woman in a reclining chair got sick. I knelt down to clean up after her," Sister Joseph Marie said. "I looked up at her and words from the Gospel came to my head: 'Whatever you do for these little ones you do for me.' I remember thinking, what a grace to do something for someone who cannot do it for themselves. From that moment, I knew that God was calling me to this ministry."

Nursing studies

Sister Joseph Marie, who made her first profession of vows in 2002, currently lives at Our Lady of Hope Residence in Latham. She is enrolled in the BOCES nursing program in Albany with the aim of earning a Licensed Practical Nursing degree in June.

Studying to become a nurse was something that she said she never expected to do.

"Honestly, at first, I found the experience of volunteering a little difficult," she said. "I had never been around the elderly before or the sick. I did not have the strongest stomach. If you told me I'd be studying nursing today, I probably would have laughed. Yet, something drew me to it. I was very intrigued by the life [of the Little Sisters], how they balanced contemplation and action all day long.

"In the several different homes I have worked in, I've had the opportunity to work very closely with the sick. The graces of the vow of hospitality, which we take, enable us to care for the aged as a family. The vow enables us to foresee their many needs."

God's time

As a young girl, she never had an idea of becoming a nun. Rather, she felt that God's call to religious life was given to her, not in her time, but in God's.

"I will not say that religious life isn't trying at some times, but what life isn't?" she said. "For me, the most spiritual experiences I've had are in caring for Our Lord, who is truly present in each and every person.

"All I can say to anyone discerning a religious vocation is just what Pope John Paul II says over and over, 'Do not be afraid.'"

(The website for the Little Sisters of the Poor is www.lspusa.org. For information on volunteering with the order, call Sister Janet Mary, 785-4551.)

(1/15/04)