Aid to the Church in Need: Where do you need us, Lord?

Where do you need us, Lord? - Nuns at work in Cuba

Posted by Project description on 20/3/2009, 10:12 am
Board Administrator

Where do you need us, Lord?

The nuns “From the Handmaids of Mary, Helpers of the Sick” and their pastoral work in Cuba

They work through the night, from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. Then they come home, pray for a time and at 7 a.m., in Holy Mass, entrust their charges to Jesus and Mary.

Already they have sat with so many on their deathbed, these Handmaids of Mary, Helpers of the Sick. They are a congregation of nuns with a special charism - to seek out the sick and elderly and tend and serve them with selfless devotion. They also teach the Catholic Faith to children. But above all they visit the sick in their homes, in the poorest and most deprived areas, in the slums.

Sister Gloria with one of her charges.
(Photo: Sven Creutzmann)

In Cuba you don’t have to go far to find them. Francisco Espinosa, in Matanzas, was very willing to tell his story, “to anyone who wants to hear it”. His wife has Parkinson’s, in an advanced stage, and cannot feed herself or cope unaided with the most basic needs. One of his two daughters is a Downs victim, the other is also handicapped, and bedridden too. His gratitude to the sisters knows no bounds, for without their help he would not know where to turn. It is the same story with the elderly and the lepers. They can no longer write, but the gratitude in their eyes when they see the sisters says everything. For many it is the only visit. They clutch at this helping hand as though to life itself.

The children also cling to the sisters, as soon as they appear in the neighbourhood. It is the selfless love of these Handmaids of Mary that brings these brief moments of happiness to children and elderly alike. For the truth is, the four sisters in Matanzas never ask, What do I need? What do we need? Instead, kneeling before the Tabernacle between 6 and 7 a.m., they ask a different question: Where do you need us, Lord? Where can we help? Where are there people waiting for your Love?

The children cling to the sisters too
(Photo: Sven Creutzmann)

In Camaguey and Holguin other sisters of the same congregation ask the same questions. In all there are 35 of them in Cuba. While they depend on Providence for their existence, the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), also supports their work. The latest appeal for basic support submitted to ACN by their Superior, Sister Antonia, mentions the work and needs of the four sisters in Matanzas. The eldest is 73 and has diabetes. She looks after the house and prepares the modest meals for the four sisters and attends to the many needy, who knock at the door begging for medicines or bread. The others care for the sick in their homes, measuring blood pressure, giving injections, cleansing leprous wounds. Only on Saturdays do they sleep at home at night. Otherwise, they rest for a couple of hours in the afternoon, pray until 7:15 p.m. and then at 8 p.m. they are off again to care for those of whom the Gospel says: “I was sick and you visited me, thirsty and you gave me to drink...”

Without the sisters’ help he wouldn’t know where to turn
(Photo: Sven Creutzmann

To help this cause please contact the Australian office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148. Web: www.aidtochurch.org

Editor’s Notes:

Directly under the Holy See, Aid to the Church in Need supports the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need. ACN is a Catholic charity – helping to bring Christ to the world through prayer, information and action.

Founded in 1947 by Fr Werenfried van Straaten, whom Pope John Paul II named “An Outstanding Apostle of Charity”, the organisation is now at work in about 145 countries throughout the world.

The charity undertakes thousands of projects every year including providing transport for clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church buildings, funding for priests and nuns and help to train seminarians. Since the initiative’s launch in 1979, 45 million Aid to the Church in Need Child’s Bibles have been distributed worldwide.

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Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148 ABN: 62 418 911 594
Ph/Fax (02) 9679-1929 e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org web: www.aidtochurch.org