50 years serving PH poor, sisters say anyone can help

Aug 16

2 min read

From the Website of CBCP

links https://cbcpnews.net/cbcpnews/50-years-serving-ph-poor-sisters-say-anyone-can-help/

50 years serving PH poor, sisters say anyone can help

The Little Sisters of Jesus are urging ordinary people to serve the poor, saying compassion does not require advanced training or special qualifications.

Sr. Cecilia Grace of Jesus, the congregation’s sister-in-charge, made the appeal as the sisters marked 50 years in the Philippines on Friday, Aug. 14.

“It is not necessary to have finished a high-level course to be able to help,” she told Radyo Veritas.

For five decades, the sisters have lived among workers, farmers, domestic workers and other marginalized communities, including helping homeless people secure government identification cards and restore their legal identity.

Sr. Cecilia said their mission reflects the congregation’s belief that God is found in ordinary human life and work.

“We want to remind everyone that God became a worker like us,” she said.

The sisters marked their golden jubilee at San Roque Parish Church in Mandaluyong City, where Cardinal Jose Advincula of Manila presided over Mass.

Advincula urged the sisters to remain faithful to their mission of simplicity and communion, saying the anniversary should highlight God’s work rather than the congregation’s achievements.

“Fifty years is not simply a measure of time,” he said. “It is a testimony to God’s faithfulness.”

He also urged the faithful to resist “worldly powers and systems of domination,” drawing from Mary’s Magnificat, and encouraged the sisters to remain rooted in the spirituality of Nazareth and Bethlehem.

The Little Sisters of Jesus was founded in Algeria in 1939 by Little Sister Magdeleine of Jesus, inspired by St. Charles de Foucauld.

The sisters arrived in the Philippines in 1976 at the invitation of Bishop Bienvenido Tudtud and began living among poor communities.

Since then, they have shared the daily lives of rural settlers, workers and other marginalized groups through their simple presence. Sr. Cecilia said the mission remains open to anyone willing to accompany the poor, regardless of education or profession.