Humility

Jeanne Jugan, humble so as to Love more, made humility of heart shine in her life...

Formed in Eudist spirituality , Jeanne works with great fervor following Jesus on his path of humility. She considers herself nothing, a “zero on earth.” During the begging for her elderly poor, she accepts humiliations as something to offer to the Lord; when she was put aside, she did not grow in bitterness or anger but uses all events and experiences to give praise to the Lord and to grow in her Love for the Him.

Jeanne seeks to be little, very little according to her expression. Her littleness reveals the depth of her soul and all her attention to the needs of men, her complete availability to the designs of God.

Jeanne therefore leaves to future generations of Little Sisters a very particular charism: to be a sign of the humility of the Savior.

Hospitality

"Making the poor happy, that's all that counts!"

Jeanne Jugan, faithful to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, made gentleness and humility of heart shine forth in her life, which allowed her to devote herself, in simplicity, to the joy of hospitality. Divine Providence gives very powerful support to the work of Jeanne Jugan in the tradition of charity of the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God . Without preventing the development of her work, according to her charisma and specific character, he communicates to her his great inspiration of hospitable charity. To this Order, Jeanne Jugan owes the “vow of hospitality”, by which the service of the elderly poor is elevated to the dignity of an act of the virtue of religion.

The grace of hospitality towards the elderly poor is welcomed by Jeanne with simplicity of soul. Following her own charism, Jeanne found in the vow of hospitality a privileged way of signifying the gift of herself to the apostolate of charity. Consecrated hospitality is a testimony in the midst of the world of the mercy of the Father and the compassionate love of the Heart of Jesus.

Family Spirit

"See how Jesus, Mary, Joseph loved each other, all three, what good faces they had, with what kindness, what sweetness they spoke to each other! In our little family it must be like this."

Holy Family

From the beginning of the Congregation, Jeanne chose the Holy Family as a model of fraternal life. Jesus, Mary and Joseph reveal to us an icon of the family where gentleness, goodness, respect and simplicity reign.

By her example, Jeanne led her companions to go beyond the human level to take a supernatural look at circumstances and people. She said: “The spirit of faith consists in speaking to one’s brother as one would speak to others about Jesus Christ.”

Trusting on the Divine Providence

It's so beautiful to be poor, to have nothing, to expect everything from the good Lord!"

LSP Portrait6

Shortly after the winter of 1839, Jeanne’s small income was no longer enough to cover the expenses of the new family. Welcoming the poor, she made herself poor and went to beg on their behalf, in their place. Let us listen to her: “I was the little beggar, I asked, I held out my hand and our good benefactors gave for the poor of the good Lord”. Jeanne was convinced of the spiritual scope of these networks of fraternal charity, if some care, others share, others support…we are all called to participate in the great work of the Lord.

Since then, the Little Sisters have always experienced the daily benevolence of Providence towards the Poor, following her example, continuing her act of abandonment: “The good God is our Father, let us trust in Him.”