Where Quality and Love Meet

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...

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...

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 al...