Dear Friends of Joseph House: What is the greatest sin committed against the poor? According to Franciscan priest Raniero Cantalamessa, it is indifference. “Unfortunately, we can get used to anything in time, and we have grown accustomed to other people’s misery,” he writes in his book, Poverty. “It only affects us to a degree, we…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: According to verse twenty-one of the nineteenth chapter of Proverbs, “Many are the plans of the human heart, but it is the decision of the Lord that endures.” A Yiddish proverb puts it another way: “We plan and God laughs.” We all know what it’s like. We have hopes and…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: Living under harsh circumstances does not mean we ourselves have to be harsh. Charles de Foucauld is proof of that. For fifteen years, from 1901 until his death in 1916, Charles made his home in Algeria, surrounded by the moonscape of the Sahara Desert. Famine, loneliness, exhaustion . . ….
Dear Friends of Joseph House: Like many people probably are, we are very familiar with our local grocery store. We know where everything is, and whether we are making a quick trip or shopping for a large order, we can usually find what we need. Even throughout this past year, shortages were never that bad….
Dear Friends of Joseph House: Picture a swiftly-moving river, tumbling over rocks, swirling with currents and eddies. Trying to swim in such a river would be a tiring, and probably frightening, experience. You would feel buffeted and pushed around by forces stronger than you. The world would seem to be rushing by. You wouldn’t know…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: To be homeless means more than just being without shelter. It means to go without everything implied by the word “home.” Imagine not having a bed to sleep in or a bathroom to use. Imagine not having a kitchen, with no refrigerator or freezer to store your food and no…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: The extreme cold experienced in Texas and other parts of the south left millions of people shivering in the dark after the power grid failed. No lights, no heat, no water for days on end. Some people died. The deep freeze was a stark reminder of how easily life can…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: A year ago the pandemic really began to tighten its grip on all of us. Quarantines, lockdowns, and face masks became part of life. There was a long road ahead, but thanks be to God we have made it to this point. Every day has been a surrender to the…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: February 14 is of course Valentine’s Day, but the day has another special meaning for us in that it’s the birthday of the Joseph House Crisis Center. It was on February 14, 1984, that the Crisis Center officially opened, the beginning of a new era for the Joseph House ministry….
Dear Friends of Joseph House: Here we are in the year 2021 in the 21st century. Opening up a new calendar is symbolic of a new beginning, which is something we all need right now. The year 2020 is certainly one for the history books. How many times did we hear the word “unprecedented?” How…