Social Justice

August’s Colorful “Fashion” and Simple Living

The following article is reposted with permission from La Vista Ecological Learning Center: Nature’s fashion turns to berries in August. Sumac fruits ripen to crimson. Wild black cherries ripen, starting out red before turning black-purple. Grey dogwoods’ bluish-white berries mellow through October. Wild grapes and elderberries’ purple coloring attract wildlife as they mature. Year after…

A Good Foundation in Life

Without a good foundation, nothing will stand. Buildings crumble and arguments fall apart if they lack the necessary support beneath them. Human societies also need to rest on something — something that is solid but flexible, dynamic yet enduring. That something is the family. Families are the foundation of society because they create people, not…

Housing Needs Can’t Wait

This has been a very busy week at the Joseph House Crisis Center. More than 50 families came seeking financial assistance, many in regards to housing. When housing needs are on the line, we can’t delay in responding – especially when the weather is cold. A house does more than provide protection from the elements,…

First Steps Toward Helping the Poor

January is Poverty Awareness Month. According to the Census Bureau, 43.1 million people in the United States live in poverty. Of these, about 19.5 million live in deep poverty, which means their household income is less than 50% of the poverty threshold. Furthermore, 105 million people live close to being in poverty. Their household incomes…

The Poor Are Just Like Us

The following was written by Bishop Kenneth Edward Untener (1937-2004), who served as the bishop of the Diocese of Saginaw: Helping the poor is not always a pleasant experience. It’s no picnic helping the poor. There is often no feeling of fulfillment. It’s work — like a lot of virtue is work — like taking…

Character Traits of Givers

In light of the devastation of Hurricane Harvey in Texas, people are rising to the challenge of helping their neighbors. They are giving what they can: food, water, money, boats, shelter. It is not the time to hold back. Opportunities to give happen every day, not just during natural disasters. What are the characteristics of…

Helping Face to Face

In an online world, there is still a place for personal contact. Our help at the Joseph House is given person to person, in the flesh. This way we get a grasp of the details that cannot be conveyed in an e-mail, details that help to express the uniqueness of each person and the many…

The Poor One

René Voillaume, who helped to start the Little Brothers of Jesus, once gave a series of conferences about religious life. These were compiled in a book, and our founder, Sr. Mary Elizabeth, had the following passage underlined: “We must again consider what is implied by the notion of the ‘poor one.’ The poor person is…

Dorothy Day

Dorothy Day (1897-1980) was a journalist and social activist. She co-founded the Catholic Worker newspaper, which carries on her dedication to peace and the works of mercy. When Pope Francis addressed a joint session of the United States Congress on September 24, 2015, he spoke about Dorothy as an example of someone who worked to…