On Monday, December 18, 2023, Father Stan Deboe, longtime friend of the Little Sisters of the Poor, and former Chaplin in our Baltimore facility, came to our Home here in Newark, Delaware to present our Resident Retreat. It was the perfect way to begin a week of preparation to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Father celebrated Mass for us, gave us two inspiring talks and made himself available for confessions during the day. The turnout was wonderful! Residents, Sisters, Staff, Volunteers, and members of our Association Jeanne Jugan were present.
Father focused on the fact that God seems to consistently use the lowly people of this world, who are overlooked by others, and who appear to be powerless and insignificant, to bring about His grandest miracles.
It is in the Eucharist, Father said, that Jesus will come and ask the same of us, because “Eucharist is an encounter.”
Because of this Eucharistic encounter, we realize that God calls every person to become part of His plan for the salvation of the, and that makes it imperative that we treat others with the greatest respect and dignity. Referencing the teachings of Saint John Chrysostom, Father left us with these words:
“If we cannot FIRST find Christ in one another, we will never find him at the altar.”
