St Teresa Homes

“For I was hungry and you gave me food I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome; Naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me; in prison and you came to see me.”

These words of Christ in St. Matthew’s Gospel are our foundation stone and motivation  in our work here in the Homes of Our Lady of Lujan and St. Teresa in Misiones in the north-east of Argentina.

The worst disease in the world is the feeling of being unwanted, unloved and abandoned by everyone.

We are all conscious of our disabilities and we all need each other.

We attend Christ the Lord in one another.  This is a great honour and a tremendous responsibility.  We must constantly give our best.  Constant care and constant cleanliness are the hallmarks of our work.

We are part of the  Catholic Tradition (Latin) but our Homes are open to people of all creeds and none; and people of all creeds and non visit us to volunteer, and all are touched at how some of the residents least able to speak or communicate from day to day still show a care and affection or each other  that can be especially visible at times of prayer.

All of us, as a family, pray the Rosary with the Bible daily.  The celebration of the weekly Eucharist–the Mass- is the well-spring from which all aspects of our life receive meaning and inspiration.  Joy is very much part of our spirituality.  Humour is a saving grace; it is a safety valve  and a medicine.  By sharing it one may become a beacon of light in another person’s darkness.  We always try to choose laughter over irritation and one will feel better.  And so will those around us.

Christ’s message is one of joy and hope.  He never intended us to be somber and morose in our pursuit of His will.  A cheerful heart is a good medicine (Proverbs 17:22)

My heart and my flesh ring out their joy to God, the living God (Psalm 83)

Our Homes are influenced by the example of one of our Patrons St. Teresa of the Child Jesus (1873 – 1897).  Teresa practised loving ones neighbour by serving others in small useful ways but did so without being observed; she preferred, if anything, to do this for people who irritated her, those she understood least.  Behind their unlikable faces, she sought the beloved Face of Christ.