Where Quality and Love Meet

Minnie, Shira and Rosemarie Not long ago, I looked in on Maggie. She lay in bed, restless, trying to get up, in obvious distress. She knew me, sort of, but I could not discover her trouble or comfort her. So I turned on her call light and waited for her aide. The young woman came through the door with a cheerful "What's the trouble?" Maggie lit up like Christmas on steroids: "Oh, Danielle, you're here!" Restlessness vanished and she simply shone with joy. Whatever her trouble, Danielle's presence already made it better. That incident inspired this article. The spirit here speaks of care and comfort and safety. The residents experience consistent caregivers - they know the women and men who will be in and out of their rooms throughout the day and night. And they know they are loved. The dignity of the human person demands that we care for each and every one with love, but there is also the personal relationship that sees beyond the affliction

Sister M. Maris Stella, Sister Mary Elizabeth, Sister Mary James and Sister M. Caterina We get the question all the time..."Why does she wear white?" "Didn't you wear grey yesterday?" And even more profoundly "Why do you still wear a habit?" People recognize us by our habit, but the variability of the colors does puzzle them. Here are the answers to the puzzle. We wear religious garb, a "habit," for several reasons. The habit provides an instant witness to Jesus Christ and our consecration to Him. We can be anywhere and it can be any time of the day; we can be thinking of anything -- and people who see us instantly think of Jesus. People come up to us at the grocery store, in parking lots, when taking a walk down the street -- and ask us to pray for a family member. They may have a question about the Catholic faith: one woman recently accosted a Sister in the library parking lot and, without preamble, asked "Why do Catholics wor