Newsletter: July 2024
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 our founder, Sr. Mary Elizabeth Gintling, received their habits from Abbot Edward McCorkell at Holy Cross Abbey in Berryville, Virginia. The Abbot was a good friend of Sister’s, and he agreed to conduct a Scripture service to give an official beginning for her new religious community. It is significant that the Little Sisters came to be within the silence of a Trappist monastery, surrounded by the pastoral beauty of the Shenandoah Valley. Everything we do is rooted in God, and He is the only reason we exist.
Our 50th anniversary is a time of deep gratitude, a time to remember the past and look toward the future with hope. There is also a sense of wonder at God’s mercy and never-ending goodness. A spirit of joy has taken over our hearts, and we feel more than ever how blessed we are to have been called to this way of life. We also feel a sense of responsibility to take care of it, so we can pass on to others what we have received.
On the occasion of this anniversary, we would like to share with you some reflections on what it means to be a Little Sister today. Sr. Virginia will start us off, and we will have entries from other community members in the coming months.
Thoughts on Life in Our community – by Sr. Virginia Peckham
I’m a widow – I was married for 23 years. When I was just married, I asked an older, long-married woman what marriage was like. She said, “Whatever you think it’s going to be like, it won’t be like that!”
I entered the community of the Little Sisters of Jesus and Mary in 2012. My husband had died the year before, and I knew my life would be dramatically changed. I had become a Catholic in 2009, and I was attending Mass, praying the Divine Office by myself, and volunteering in the church soup kitchen. Religious life attracted me because I felt the need for support in both my prayer life and in serving the poor. The Little Sisters are “active contemplatives,” and they have more than filled that need — they have also become true sisters and true friends.
Prayer and contemplation
Through our formation we learn that prayer is a normal thing and doesn’t have to be intense or emotional to be real. Our daily routine helps us to weave prayer in and out of the fabric of our busy lives.
Each morning our minds and hearts are lifted up and enlivened at daily Mass. Morning and evening prayer direct our thoughts and actions toward God, through the psalms and other readings. This is a great blessing! The Holy Spirit’s own words in Scripture and in the writings of the Church fathers and saints offer guidance and understanding and consolation in a way that my personal prayers cannot do.
Of course, we are encouraged to pray as continually as possible, as Saint Paul urges us, in our own words, from our hearts. We try to make a holy hour each day, when we can feel free to be completely honest with our dear Lord. His powerful arms are always ready to embrace us and lead us in the right path.
When I’m away from the convent visiting family, I miss the prayer routine — I feel a bit adrift! It’s fun to be with my family, but I’m always very glad to get back.
Our apostolic activity
I work each weekday in the Hospitality Room for the homeless at the Joseph House Crisis Center. The people who come to Hospitality can get breakfast and lunch and a shower, and we can launder a change of clothes for them. Usually it’s peaceful, but sometimes people are distressed or angry. We try to help them unwind in a place of peace, order and friendliness.
In Genesis, we learn that God put the cosmos in order and then filled it with life. I like to be organized and put things in order, but it shouldn’t be an empty order. We must think of ways to fill it with life. Fortunately, our sisters and volunteers are very good at that, providing good and ample food, uplifting and lighthearted movies, and kindly conversation. (To be honest, there are times when half of our visitors are dozing or sleeping, but sometimes that’s what they need most.)
There was a homeless man who occasionally came to the center. He liked to play the harmonica. One day I took out an old donated guitar and invited him to play with me for the people waiting for financial assistance. Our performance was mercifully brief (our skills are very limited), but as we left the room I jokingly called out to the folks waiting there that we were recruiting for a Joseph House band. An hour or so later, two charming little girls came up to me and shyly said they wanted to join our band!
Dorothy Day said that to be a Christian means to at all times be doing the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. That sounds daunting, but anyone who acts in love is usually comforting, consoling, visiting, feeding and clothing people, trying to free them from physical or spiritual sorrow by lifting up their spirits with affection and good cheer.
The past 12 years have been filled with challenges and joys and many surprises. It seems to me that there is not one, perfect way to serve God and love our neighbor. There may be many right ways — maybe as many as there are people!
Back in 1974, when Sr. Mary Elizabeth first wrote to Archbishop Borders of Baltimore about her hopes and dreams for her community, she closed her letter with “God has never failed us yet.” Fifty years later, that is still true. Sometimes it’s hard to have her faith, but life is relentless in requiring us to have it.
We can’t thank you enough for your continued support. You remain close to our hearts with much affection. We also remember with loving gratitude our founder and the Sisters who preceded us. Our earnest prayer is that more women will be called to join us.
As Little Sisters, the greatest witness we can give to our vocation is simply to love other people the way God loves each one of us. May He give us the grace to persevere, imitating in all circumstances the virtues of Jesus and His blessed Mother Mary.
We enjoyed putting together a slideshow video documenting the past five decades of our community. It is a delightful trip down memory lane. Fifty years of sisterhood are worth celebrating!
You can see the video here: Looking Back on 50 Years
Let us pray for one another, and strive each day to bring more love, hope, and joy into the world.
Your Little Sisters of Jesus and Mary
Each Little Sister is called to be a woman of prayer. Send us your special intentions and we will lift them up to the Lord: Contact Form
We depend on Divine Providence, acting through your generosity. You can make an offering here: Donate
