Sister Agatha serving a Resident in the dining room.
Sister Agatha asked if she could share her story that it may inspire you to share yours. When I was a young girl in Ireland, I used to read a lot of books and I knew there was something else beyond where I was. I used to say to myself sometimes, “Is this all? Is there something else?” I felt a very deep attraction to God.
As a young girl, I really wanted to go away to the city and do something exciting. I was cycling home one day when I passed by this big, beautiful building and the brass plate on the front of it stood out. It said ‘Little Sisters of the Poor.’ I thought, “Oh, that rings a bell, I’ve heard about them before.” Since nobody was with me, I thought I’d go in and see. No one would ever know. I dropped the bike, ran up the stairs and rang the bell and the very Sister who recently visited my school opened the door.
When it came time to leave, I passed through a dining room and saw two old gentlemen sitting down for their evening meal. They were chatting together, laughing and joking. I thought to myself, “How can these old people be happy?” I had all the freedom in the world but, there was still something not quite there. And here were these old people, totally happy. I was so intrigued by them that I sat and talked with them. One of the men, I will always remember his name, Tom Ferlong, said, “Deary, you’ll come back again, won’t you?” And I said, “Oh yes, I will!”
After my third meeting with the Little Sisters, I knew God wanted me there. When I asked my dad and mom again, my mom said, “Go. I’ll sign the papers for you because you’ll be back in a week.” I entered and to my mother’s great surprise, I did not come back. Each day as a Little Sisters has been a blessing.
Will you tell us your story? How did you come to know the Little Sisters of the Poor?
How did YOU hear about the Little Sisters of the Poor?