Who are the Sisters?

Sisters at Mother of Good Counsel Home
with Mother Maria Cordis and Mother M. Maximilia in February 2019

On November 25, 1869, four Sisters began an adventure as the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George in Thuine. A small village in northwestern Germany (not far from the Dutch border) saw the beginnings of the congregation destined to spread throughout the world with women of extremely diverse backgrounds coming together to strive to make the merciful love of Christ visible in service to the Church.

This year we celebrate 150 years of this adventure. Our Congregation grew to include convents in the Netherlands, Japan, Indonesia, Brazil, Italy, Albania, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste ... and the United States. Our Sisters arrived in the United States in 1923 and have served in apostolic works from healthcare to teaching --- and in all aspects of both --- to missionary work, care for the poor, domestic service, administrative services and all sorts of support services. All of it, however, stems from the same root, a passionate love for Jesus Christ crucified and a vision of His Heart present in His Church. 

At the Mother of Good Counsel Home, we make visible His love in our service to the aged and infirm. We witness vibrantly to the dignity of the human person at moments when "being" rather than "doing" becomes primary in life. Our Sisters serve in all capacities here and interact throughout the day with the residents and with the staff who share in our mission.

 We came to the Home in 1932. Throughout the years, the work developed and expanded. The Sisters remained constant. We always served the elderly and infirm and worked in every way to bring Jesus to those He loves. The work continues into the 21st century in an up-to-date facility with the most practical and Catholic care. Together with our lay staff, we make visible the mercy of Jesus. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sister M. Anselma's letter

Image
Dear Family and Friends! I write to you on this beautiful, sunny Feast of Our Mother of Good Counsel, April 26th! I am so grateful to Mary, as we continue to experience the miracles of her guidance and protection (along with St. Joseph!) during these challenging times. I am constantly comforted by the fact that we have friends in heaven who are watching over us and helping us! It has now been more than a month and a half since we have seen your smiling faces… and we miss you all so very much!! We are so ready for a great big, family party!! But that will still have to wait a bit. It was March 10th that we went on visitor restrictions and started this very painful process of isolating our Home in order to protect from the deadly COVID-19 virus. But I do not want to talk much about the virus itself. We are all well-enough educated as we watch the news every day. It is enough to say that we have worked to understand as much as scientifically possible in order to make the...
Read more

National Healthcare Week

Image
It was a first. We never really celebrated National Healthcare Week before. We always celebrate our staff in October with a rip-rousing "Staff Appreciation Month!" but never before did we participate in the National celebration. This year is different. Our staff has gone above and beyond the normal service to which they are called. They did not "sign up" for a pandemic - or pandemic service in a nursing home. And so, sort of at the last minute, we decided to express to them in a tangible way, exactly how we felt about them. Most of it came across as comfort food! Families sent cookies and donuts and pizza and ... food. Many sent messages more precious than the food, expressing their gratitude and esteem. We posted those on the wall of the classroom - and they are currently hanging by the check-in station at the front desk. On Wednesday, we held a dance party all through the Home and that was tremendous fun! The video can be viewed on our facebook page:  here...
Read more

Why I Love This Place!

Image
During our celebration of National Healthcare Week, I had the extraordinary privilege of communicating with friends, staff and families of our residents and heard over and over again "I love this place!" It came across in the thank you's and the food (we may need a gym enrollment next!) and all of the messages. I heard it in e-mails and cards and chocolate. Facebook comments and messages passed on by residents from their families told me how special we are. And then I learned how to edit video. (Watch out world!) The idea came VERY early one morning, "Wouldn't it be wonderful if our family could all hear how encouraged everyone is?" And so the "I Love This Place" project was born. We collected all sorts of video from staff, expressing why they love to work here. We did not do formal statistics - but it's the people who make the Home home. It's the residents and their "whens;" it's the staff who are "delightful...
Read more