Newsletter: December 2024
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 just Mae Gintling, was in Montreal, not on a vacation but a pilgrimage. Her destination? St. Joseph’s Oratory, a magnificent church dedicated to the Head of the Holy Family, sitting high atop a hill.
At the time, Sister was at a crossroads in life. Almost 50 years old, she had recently been dispensed, at her request, from her vows as a Little Sister of the Poor, where she had been a member for more than 20 years. God was calling her to serve the poor in a different way — she was sure of that — but she didn’t know how or where. So she went to Montreal to ask for help from one of the best heavenly friends anyone can have.
Kneeling inside the cavernous basilica, she asked St. Joseph to intercede for her. She believed that St. Joseph, like all the saints (canonized or not), cares deeply for us and can speak to God with an efficacy beyond our understanding.
“I’ll do the work if you take care of what I need,” she promised her beloved saint. And to that, she added that she would name all her future endeavors after him as a sign of her gratitude.
Sister left Montreal satisfied that things were in motion, that something would work out, even though she didn’t know exactly what. Of course, as we know, St. Joseph was at work, and in a couple of months Sister did have a place to begin her ministry, and a little stream of donations slowly started to grow. The Joseph House was underway.
As we’ve been sharing with you, this has been a year of anniversaries, beginning with 40 years for the Crisis Center in Salisbury, 50 years for the Little Sisters of Jesus and Mary, 20 years since the passing of Sr. Mary Elizabeth, and now, as the year draws to a close, we mark 60 years under the care and protection of St. Joseph.
St. Joseph is always so good to us, as he is to everyone who reaches out to him. He is an integral part of the Christmas story, but always in the background, and Scripture records not a single word he ever said. He was a man of faith and action, quietly doing what needed to be done to care for Mary and Jesus.
That makes him such a fitting patron of our work because we see the same virtues in our volunteers and in you, our friends and donors — not seeking attention, but reaching out to those in need because it’s the right thing to do.
We are always grateful for your support, and never more so than when the story of a visitor to the Crisis Center touches us deeply. Take the story of Malia:
At age 35, she has four children, and two of them, her sons, have serious gastrointestinal conditions. One has undergone numerous surgeries, a trying experience for anyone, let alone a child. The other requires close attention to his daily needs. Both boys have to make regular visits to hospitals in Baltimore and they will soon go to Philadelphia for an appointment. Motherhood asks for so much, and Malia is always ready to give it her all.
The father of Malia’s children has provided child support in the past, but he is a drug addict and has disappeared from their lives. Malia works but only part-time due to the demands of caring for her family. Her income averages about $960 a month. From that, she has to pay rent, utilities, and car and transportation costs. As you can imagine, it’s difficult. Because of your support, however, the Joseph House paid two month’s rent for Malia and her family. Her children will also be among the hundreds to receive Christmas presents from us.
The stories never end. Doris, 67, is a widow who was on the verge of becoming homeless. She lost everything after her husband died, including her will to live. She tried to make it on her own and moved into an apartment, but she experienced an emotional breakdown and withdrew from life. A counselor is now helping Doris, and she started a new part-time job that will pay enough to get by. To stop an eviction notice from putting Doris on the street, the Joseph House paid $500 toward the back rent.
Cheryl, 41, and her son have been without a fixed address for three years. They were living in a motel when Cheryl came to the Crisis Center. She walks with difficulty because of her cerebral palsy. She gets SSI, but the cost of motels and food take it all and she never has any money to move into a proper place to live. The Joseph House paid $400 toward the security deposit so she and her son could move into an apartment.
Letitia, 52, has many health problems and is trying to maintain her sobriety after years of drinking. Although a family member offered her a place to stay, Letitia was sleeping on the floor. The Joseph House bought a single bed for her for $160.
Charles, 35, was first diagnosed with chronic kidney disease a few years ago. After showing improvement, he was taken off dialysis and was able to return to work at a pizza shop. That changed last spring when his kidneys almost completely stopped functioning. Charles now needs seven hours of dialysis a day. He was looking forward to a promotion at work and being a manager, but that dream is over. Charles has filed for disability, and even though he has a letter from his doctor, getting approved will take a while. The Joseph House paid $450 toward Charles’ housing costs in the meantime.
The material aid that St. Joseph sends our way comes from you, from your hands to ours and then to the poor.
But there is always more that comes with it, there is love, and that makes everything a worthy gift to our Lord, who said, “Whatever you do to one of these least ones you do unto Me” (Mt 25:40).
Thank you for being so generous with your donations, prayers, and moral support! As our gift to you, we offer our heartfelt prayers that God will bless you in the ways you need most. We can trust in His goodness — Christmas shows us that.
Wishing you all the joys of Christmas and happiness in the New Year,
Your Little Sisters of Jesus and Mary
If there is a special intention weighing in your heart, feel free to share it with us so we can pray for you: Contact Form
The needy families served by the Joseph House depend on your generosity. Make a donation today: Donate
“I promised Saint Joseph that I would work as hard as I could all my life for the poor if he would provide the means . . . . Saint Joseph is our provider and protector.” – Sr. Mary Elizabeth Gintling
Good Saint Joseph, pray for us!
During the Christmas season, you will find a Nativity scene in many places of worship, but the Infant Jesus is present in our chapels every day of the year.
Crafted from terra cotta with beautiful simplicity, these representations of the Holy Infant say something essential about God and our identity and mission as Little Sisters.
We are reminded that in the Incarnation, Christ humbled and emptied Himself (Phil 2:6-7), embracing our human nature and becoming powerless for our sake. In our quiet contemplation of the crib, we see Him offering love to everyone in the most innocent way imaginable. After all, who can resist the open arms of a baby?
Here we also see how the mystery of our vocation is to be lived out in our daily living. Actually, all of us can be inspired to follow this example and not be afraid to be little and pure in the eyes of the world. We are often told to be assertive and aggressive in going after what we think we are entitled to, but that is not the lesson of Bethlehem.
Sr. Magdeleine Hutin, founder of the Little Sisters of Jesus, which is a community spiritually aligned with our own, said it well:
“In the face of the hatred and anger of the world we must bring the gentleness and the smile of the Infant Jesus of Bethlehem. In face of the pride of the world we must bring the littleness and powerlessness of the tiny newborn baby of the crib.”