(Video clip taken from a French documentary about this extraordinary group)
I was touched when I recently read the story about Little Sisters Disciples of the Lamb, a contemplative order made up of women with Down syndrome. The French community was founded in 1985, canonically recognized as a public association by the Archbishop of Tours in 1990.
“Guided by the wisdom of St Benedict, we teach our little disabled sisters the manual labour necessary for their development. We live poverty in putting ourselves at their disposal. With them, we share the work of everyday life.
The office, adoration and the praying of the rosary are adapted to their rhythm and their capacities. In a spirit of silence, our prayer feeds every day on the Eucharist and on the meditation of the Gospel.”
Only through the generosity and support of sisters without Down syndrome are those with the disability able to realize their potential for religious vocations:
“Guided by the wisdom of St Benedict, we teach our little disabled sisters the manual labour necessary for their development. We live poverty in putting ourselves at their disposal. With them, we share the work of everyday life.
The office, adoration and the praying of the rosary are adapted to their rhythm and their capacities. In a spirit of silence, our prayer feeds every day on the Eucharist and on the meditation of the Gospel.”
And it’s no surprise the sisters find inspiration in St. Therese of Lisieux’s “Little Way.”
“We follow every day the ‘little way’ taught by Saint Therese; knowing that ‘great actions are forbidden to us’, we learn from her to receive everything from God, to ‘love for the brothers who fight’, to ‘scatter flowers for Jesus’, and to pray for the intentions entrusted to us.”
The news about women’s religious orders in the U.S. has been somewhat less than inspirational recently—what with some groups of religious sisters doing all they could to ensure that our tax dollars would be used to make “life-affirming” abortion as widely and readily available as possible.
And so it is that this little story of a small community of sisters, doing hidden work while tucked away in France, warms my heart and feeds my soul today. God bless the Little Sisters Disciples of the Lamb.
And thank you, God, for small condolences and reminders of Your grace.
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Wow! Is not our Church wonderful!
Is there a brother’s order as well? Because I have a son.
I wonder about the brother order as well. And for orders for other types of special needs.
This just warms my heart.
The nun in the clip was so beautiful!! Her face radiated joy!!
Truly, what a poverty that abortion has killed so many of down syndrome babies.
How can people abort their children when they find out they are carrying a child with Downs? They are truly God gift of pure love and joy iven to remind us of His unconditional love for us. Thank you.
What a beautiful example of Pro-Life Christianity!!
How very beautiful ! I am so touched. I have a son with Down Syndrome and was always
parying for an order for young men.
God is so good !
Thank you, Danielle, so much for posting this. My sister has Downs and I’m sure that she enjoyed the link I sent to her. What a beautiful gift are these women, and so many others like them, who radiate such incredible Joy which can only come from Christ! God is so good!
What an invigorating breath of fresh air after all the foul odor of the healthcare debacle.
This is so beautiful! My daughter has Down Syndrome and she would make a beautiful sister. Every morning on the way to school we say our prayers. She is so connected to Jesus. Her prayers are so beautiful and sincere. I would love to see an order like this in the United States. How lovely it would be to pattern it after St. Therese of the “Little Way”. This is the way Natalie has lived her life - using great effort to do the smallest task. We are very proud of her and she has accomplished much. Thank you so much for the article.
This is FANTASTIC! I would have NO worry if Megan (27 year old) had this order to enter after I died. We LOVE our faith—daily mass, rosary, praying at abortion clinic, helping at mission, PCC, volunteering at church, and watching EWTN!
Sherry - there’s a Franciscan community for men with Down’s syndrome, mentioned here: http://exlaodicea.wordpress.com/2010/01/12/interview-with-the-l-s-disciples-of-the-lamb/
Wow!! Oh my goodness! Praise the Lord for wonderful things like this. My son, Greg, has Down syndrome and all of the time I’ve been praying for his vocation. I keep telling my husband maybe one day Greg could join a seminary for men with Down syndrome. We have several wonderful Catholic friends who also have boys my son’s age and we were saying wouldn’t it be awesome to start a special seminary? If any one is interested in visiting with me regarding vocations and Down syndrome, please feel free to email me at tinaandmichael@verizon.net
May God bless you!
Love,
Tina, Michael, Serra, Laura, Grace, Greg & Mary Marquez
Wonderful to find this site.
Reagarding young catholic down syndrom men, this not a religious order, but you might nevetheless be interested http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWjFbn0pUjE or http://www.fndle.org
God bless you
March 6, 2013
Randy Engel interview with Dr. Marthe Gautier, discoverer of trisomy 21
By Randy Engel
RE : Dr. Gautier, before we begin this interview, I want to thank you for recommending to me the remarkable book by Professor Peter Harper of Cardiff University, Wales, First Years of Human Chromosomes – The Beginnings of Human Cytogenetics, which documents the groundbreaking efforts of scientific and clinical pioneers like yourself, in the field of genetics, from 1955 to 1960. [1] Professor Harper’s work, as well as his archived interviews, are a treasure trove of information regarding the history of human cytogenetics.
Now, Dr. Gautier, would you be so kind as to give our readers some personal information about your family’s background ?
MG : I come from an old family. We are French and Catholic and have always lived in the same area, the Île-de-France region, not far from Paris. We can trace our ancestors back more than 400 years. Originally our family was known for its “barbers and surgeons.” But many years later, one of my ancestors married a farmer, so we became farmers.
RE : You are the fifth of seven children ? Continued at
http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/engel/130306
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