Sr. Connie
Sr. Connie Ladd
Hometown: Wilmington, Delaware
Current placement and ministry: I currently work in administration at the Little Sisters of Jesus and Mary in Salisbury, MD.
What did you do before joining the Little Sisters? Before entering, I worked as a teacher for Baltimore City Public Schools. On Saturdays I worked as a cook at the rectory for the Cathedral of Mary our Queen.
When did you start thinking about a religious vocation? 1983.
What attracted you to the Little Sisters? The spirit of hospitality and the complete dependence on Divine Providence attracted me to this community. Also, their mission to the poor and their simplicity.
My calling is to meet Christ in the poor. I feel enriched and fulfilled by this ministry. The Little Sisters are wounded people working with wounded people. We live community and enter into the surrounding community sharing Christ’s unconditional love for them.
What are the most rewarding aspects of religious life? The opportunity to be in community with like-minded women.
What are the more challenging aspects of religious life? Learning and living the vows.
What’s a special memory you have of living in community? Taking the vows.
What’s a special memory you have of ministering to others? Experiencing the overwhelming gratitude of the poor when we were able to meet their needs.
Is there a passage from Scripture that is especially meaningful to you?
Psalm 139, verses 1-18:
O Lord, you search me and you know me.
You yourself know my resting and my rising;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You mark when I walk or lie down;
you know all my ways through and through.
Before ever a word is on my tongue,
you know it, O Lord, through and through.
Behind and before, you besiege me,
your hand ever laid upon me.
Too wonderful for me, this knowledge;
too high, beyond my reach.
O where can I go from your spirit,
or where can I flee from your face?
If I climb the heavens, you are there.
If I lie in the grave, you are there.
If I take the wings of the dawn
or dwell at the sea’s furthest end,
even there your hand would lead me;
your right hand would hold me fast.
If I say, “Let the darkness hide me
and the light around me be night,”
even darkness is not dark to you,
the night shall be as bright as day,
and darkness the same as the light.
For it was you who formed my inmost being,
knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I thank you who wonderfully made me;
how wonderful are your works,
which my soul knows well!
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being fashioned in secret
and molded in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw me yet unformed;
and all days are recorded in your book,
formed before one of them came into being.
To me how precious your thoughts, O God;
how great is the sum of them!
If I count them, they are more than the sand;
at the end I am still at your side.
What spiritual practices and devotions are important to you? Liturgy of the Hours and desert days.
What are your hobbies and special interests? What do you do for fun? Reading, listening to music, community gatherings, vacation, visiting family.
