Dear Friends of Joseph House: When we love someone, what is important to that person becomes important to us. The same is true if we love God; His concerns must be ours, too. Scripture is clear about what is close to God’s heart: justice, truth, mercy, peace, and above all, love for everyone—the little and…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: Last October, Pope Leo issued Dilexi te (Latin for “I have loved you”), a document that reflects on Christ’s love for the poor. There is a paragraph near the end that we wanted to share with you: I would like to close by saying something about almsgiving, which nowadays is…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: A fountain fed from many springs will never dry up. When we are gone, others will rise in our place. When we came across this quote from St. Bruno Serunkuma, one of the martyrs of Uganda, we realized it could also apply to the Joseph House. Our ministry has a…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: The poet T.S. Eliot observed, “To make an end is to make a beginning.” That’s true every January 1st, when we wake up to the light of a new year after saying farewell to the old. It’s also the pattern for life itself: growing, changing, leaving behind what we knew…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: The star of Bethlehem was a silent beacon that led the wise men to the Christ Child, the King of kings wrapped in swaddling clothes, hidden away in poverty and simplicity. Today the star would be easy to ignore. We are more apt to look at glowing screens, and light…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: The month of November begins with the Feast of All Saints, followed by the Feast of All Souls the next day. These feast days set the tone for November, making it a time to remember in a special way those who have died. Among the people we hold close to…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: If there is a guiding principle for our ministry, it can be found in this passage from the Gospel: For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: The mission of the Joseph House is to “Cry the Gospel with your life!” We strive to do that at our Crisis Center, the Workshop, and at home in our convent. And also the grocery store, the post office, on the road, and anywhere we might be. In other words,…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: God is the Author of life, the only One who can create, but from the very first moment of our existence other people are indispensable. Pope Leo spoke to this in a homily from earlier this summer: Dear friends, we received life before we ever desired it. As Pope Francis…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: We are so used to thinking of the Joseph House Workshop as our newest ministry that we were surprised to realize this year marks its 20th Anniversary. The time has really flown by! The ribbon-cutting for the Workshop was in June of 2005. Sr. Connie did the honors along with…