The
Little Sisters of Jesus are a congregation of
religious sisters belonging to the
Catholic Church, inspired by the life and writings of
Charles de Foucauld.
The congregation was
founded in Algeria
in 1939 by Madeleine Hutin who took the name Little Sister Magdeleine of
Jesus.
Founding
Like Brother Charles,
Little
Sister Magdeleine wanted to be a disciple of Jesus by
witnessing to God's great love for all people, "proclaiming the
Gospel by her whole life."
She began in Algeria in 1939 where Brother
Charles had lived, sharing the life of the semi-nomads of Touggourt
. This was the beginning her community.
Mission
The Little sisters live in small communities and seek to lead a
contemplative life at the heart of the world. They are inspired by
the thirty years Jesus spent in
Nazareth and
by his
humble birth in Bethlehem.
They understand Nazareth not as a particular place, but as the
ordinariness of peoples' lives, where Jesus dwells among us today.
They share day to day life, living conditions, work and dreams,
especially of the less privileged and of those who are on the
fringes of society.
Often staying in rented accommodation or where the poorer people
live, they take ordinary jobs or work alongside their neighbours
and have an open door. You will find them in housing projects,
inner-city neighbourhoods, in rural areas as well as among nomadic
people. Some work in factories or do low paid manual work others
make a livelihood adopting the same lifestyle as those whose life
they share. Their life-long call is a non-professional one: By
preference they seek to live among those who are inaccessible to
other forms of Church ministry or whose day to day life is marked
by division, racism, poverty or violence.
As contemplatives they will walk in the footsteps of Jesus.
The Little Sisters have a specific mission in the Church and the
world: to witness by their lives to the deep meaning of Bethlehem
and Nazareth.
- Bethlehem: "To save the world, Jesus refused all powerful
means. His way was through the power of his love."
Constitutions
- Nazareth: "Sent by the Father to bring the good news to the
world, Jesus chose to announce it through sharing the conditions of
the poor. He made ordinary life His meeting place with the Father,
becoming in all things like his brothers and sisters."
Constitutions
The Little Sisters’ mission then is one of prayer, of presence, of
reconciliation and of building up friendship and trust. They strive
to be a sign of hope and healing in a broken world by sharing
living conditions, work and also the lack of security and burdens
of the daily life of many.
Through their religious vows they express their desire to live in
union with Jesus’ life and mission. It is their hope that through
their contemplation of his saving presence among us that their
lives too, will become a ‘presence’ of the love of God for
others.
Their life, like that of Jesus, is a life that is 'handed over'.
The Eucharist makes a special imprint on the prayer of the Little
Sisters of Jesus: in the Eucharist they unite their life with all
it contains, of prayer, of work, of suffering and love to the
offering and intercession of Christ for the life of the world.
Through the Eucharist, the Little Sisters will let their lives be
moulded into the likeness of Christ who offers himself to the
Father and gives himself over to us as food. It is also important
for them to recognize that this presence of Jesus in the Eucharist
cannot be separated from his presence in his brothers and sisters
and especially in the 'little ones'.
They will unite themselves with Jesus in his intercession for the
whole world, raising to him the prayers and cries for love and
justice, since he is living forever to intercede for all. They will
work to foster a more respectful, more all-inclusive love that
alone is capable of uniting all people as brothers and sisters in
Christ.‘If I were told to define the mission of our community in a
single word I would not hesitate for a single moment to cry:
'unity'. All our vocation can be summed up in the word 'unity' -
Little sister Magdeleine of Jesus
Communities
The sisters live together in communities of three or four, often
from different races, nationalities and backgrounds. Through mutual
acceptance of weaknesses and limits, of gifts and of abilities, a
loving community is built. Welcoming and open to all, they want to
be a sign of our need for one another and a witness to the unity
for which Jesus prayed. Living together as a community becomes of
itself a mission and a sign of God’s kingdom.
The Little Sisters of Jesus are scattered across the world, in 63
countries. There are about 1400 members, of 65 different
nationalities. Some communities date from the first years of the
Foundation; living a lasting fidelity to friends and following the
cultural and social changes over the years. New communities try to
respond to new needs in new times. All are fragile and vulnerable
like the crib of Bethlehem, seeking to kindle hope, love and
peace.
Inspiration
The Little Sisters of Jesus is one of many communities, built on
the original inspiration of
Charles
de Foucauld, which includes the
Little Brothers of the Gospel,
Jesus Caritas, and the
Little
Brothers of Jesus.
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