Dear Friends of Joseph House: There’s a Christmas song that goes “There’s no place like home for the holidays,” but on that first Christmas Mary and Joseph were far from home, and 60 years ago this December so was the founder of the Joseph House and Little Sisters. Sr. Mary Elizabeth, who back then was…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: We enjoyed watching the Olympic Games this past summer, and it’s always exciting to see athletes find an extra burst of energy as they enter the home stretch of a race. Sometimes even a marathon comes down to a sprint at the end. They might be running on fumes, but…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: October is the “golden hour” of the calendar year, the equivalent of late afternoon when the day is drawing to a close and the quality of sunlight glazes everything with a soft, warm glow. These are days of rich autumn colors and pleasant weather, but they are bittersweet because they…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: Two key components of the mission of the Joseph House are to help the poor in whatever way we can and to promote and stabilize family life. These two become one and the same quite visibly when we help people with their housing needs. As Pope Francis said, “Family and…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: The dog days of summer are here, and the heat makes us want to take it easy and dream of the sea breezes down by the beach. But for people who are poor there is no vacation from poverty. Families facing eviction or a utility cut-off, the elderly and infirm…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: Fifty years ago, on a sunny Sunday morning in July, our community was born. It didn’t have a name yet (that would be decided on a few weeks later), but the Little Sisters of Jesus and Mary trace their origin to July 7, 1974, the day when Pat Guidera and…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: It is a great mystery of our faith that after the Resurrection Jesus still bore the marks of His crucifixion. They were how He proved His identity to His disciples: “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at My hands and My feet, that…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: This is a big year for anniversaries at the Joseph House. It was the 40th for the Crisis Center this past February, and next July it will be 50 years for the Little Sisters of Jesus and Mary. It’s hard to believe the passage of time. The years slip away…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: The fair season of spring has arrived, and on the Eastern Shore the days feel fresh and full of possibilities. Soon enough the humidity and mosquitoes will come, but for now going outside is pleasant, and we enjoy spending a quiet moment to look at the blossoms in our convent…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: Last month, February 14th to be exact, was the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Joseph House Crisis Center. These milestones have a way of sneaking up on us, and this one was no different. We marked the occasion by serving a special cake in our Soup Kitchen that…