Where Quality and Love Meet

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Little is known about St. Juliana, but the Church is deeply indebted to her, not only because of the holiness of her life but also because, with her great fervor, she contributed to the institution of one of the most important solemn Liturgies of the year: Corpus Christi. Juliana was born near Liège, Belgium between 1191 and 1192. Orphaned at the age of five, she was entrusted to the care of the Augustinian nuns in Mont-Cornillon and showed a special propensity for contemplation and had a profound sense of Christ’s presence, which she experienced by living the Sacrament of the Eucharist especially intensely and by pausing frequently to meditate upon Jesus’ words: “And lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt 28:20). When Juliana was 16 she had her first vision which recurred subsequently several times during her Eucharistic adoration. Her vision presented the moon in its full splendor, crossed diametrically by a dark stripe. The Lord made her to understand that th...

In the beginning of Covid 19, there was social distancing...and it was good. Yes, all the noise, traffic, and the ever-stressful-time-crunched-never-enough-hours-in-a-day routine that describes the typical American life (pause for effect) came to a stop. What to do?! Gardens! Crafts! Binge watch your favorite shows! Sleep in! It’s all good! Eighty plus days later...not so much. In fact, protests are springing up all over the country against lock downs. I cannot help but wonder if the protests are not so much against something, but for something. True, the longer we “Shelter in Place”, the harder it becomes. But why? Whether we stay home alone or with loved ones, the need to “go out” grows stronger. To be with others, work along side others, recreate with others, pray with others. Whether it is the love between two people or the love amongst a family—love does not draw in on itself, but rather, love calls us out of ourselves to others. We are a people of communion, meant to live i...

Song of Songs 2:16 Dear Mother of Good Counsel Home Family, I wanted to take this opportunity to joyfully share with you that the time has come for me to prepare for my final vows! On Saturday, May 30th I will travel to Alton and join 5 other Sisters in our 2 month preparation for Final Profession on August 3rd. You may be wondering, “what does this involve?” It is a time to be immersed in Jesus. We will return more deeply to the roots of our religious life, to the reason for our “Yes,” and the invitation from the Lord to be His forever. This includes extra time for prayer, Community life, and classes on our religious life, the vows, the life of the Church, and more. When the Big Day comes, it will mean saying “Yes” to:  being consecrated, which means to be set apart totally for God, through the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in union with Jesus Christ, and Forever (that is what makes it Final Profession!) This occurs within our particular Community of the S...

  The Grace of Encounter  Dear Family and Friends, In our religious community, we do not celebrate our Birthdays… instead we celebrate our Namedays!! A Nameday is the day on which the Church celebrates the saint or aspect of God for which we are named. For example, Sister Mary Elizabeth took her name from the Gospel passage in Luke 1:39-56, which describes the encounter between Mary, who had just conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, and her cousin, Elizabeth, who was with child in her elderly and barren years. We call this event the “Visitation” and we celebrate the Visitation every year on May 31st. Thus, May 31st is Sister Mary Elizabeth’s Nameday and we thank God for her life, her joy, and her vocation!! In the Visitation, so much happens in that brief moment of Encounter. When Mary comes into the presence of Elizabeth, it is the unborn babies who lead the Encounter. John, in the womb of Elizabeth, literally “leaps” when he senses the ...

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...

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...

Thank you! Your beautiful support of our staff during National Healthcare Week expressed our family spirit in such a wonderful way! We can't give individual thanks because so much came in from so many sources and through so many avenues, we would miss some ones!!! And probably many ones!!!! But thank you so very much! We wanted our staff to know that they are loved and appreciated. You went beyond a simple expression to an overwhelming experience. Know that you are in our prayers in this very difficult time. We think of you all the time and look forward to the day when we can all safely see one another again. God bless you!

The Feast of St. Joseph the Worker is May 1st A worker produces something. A worker provides something. A father provides for his family. Provides not only food but something else. This St. Joseph did to the nth degree. But this is getting a bit ahead…let’s take a quick look at the When and the Why of this feast. May 1 was the celebration of “May Day” by the Communists. To counter this secular celebration of what work meant to them, in 1955 Venerable God Pope Pius XII instituted this feast of St. Joseph the Worker. It also had another main purpose — to increase devotion to the saint who was the model of workers, providing for his wife Mary and foster son Jesus. It also reminded about the dignity of work. In 2005 Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI noted: “It is necessary to live a spirituality that helps believers to sanctify themselves through their work, imitating St Joseph, who had to provide with his own hands for the daily needs of the Holy Family and whom, consequently, the Chu...

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...