Feeling at home

After almost a year of hopping from convent to convent and retreat to retreat, my home had very truly become the Church. If I was sleeping the same building as Our Lord in His Holy Presence, then i was at home. Moving to Philadelphia, I am no longer at "home" for I live in a house with 4 other women and the Tabernacle is not here... Although I am quite blessed to have Him within walking distance of my new place.

What I do want to share is a feeling of home... The Little Sisters of the Poor always help me to feel at home and so, finding out that they are in the area, I eagerly went for Mass last week. The good Lord had it in His Divine plan that the sister I spoke with, Sr. Veronica, is both vocation and volunteer coordinator. Allowing my mouth to freely speak, I do not even know what I shared or what I asked for past the initial, "Excise me sister, can you direct me to mother?" But at the end of it all, I was signing up as a volunteer and ready to return the following day.

The next day, we celebrated a funeral Mass for Sr. Adeline, lsp. It was so beautiful to be there with all the sisters and to have sisters from the other homes down visiting for the day. I even was able to speak with Mother Provincial, whom I had met while at the Palatine home! Oh how grateful I was to have a friendly face who recognized me and could, just through a simple smile, open up my heart to be vulnerable. As I exchanged just a few words, and began to cry, mother comforted me and encouraged me.

I return again today for another day of volunteering, wishing I could go there more, but knowing that I must also look for a job. Thank you Little Sisters for allowing me to feel at home, to have some sense of belonging in this strange, new place.