Newsletter: May 2025
Dear Friends of Joseph House:
A mother’s heart knows no bounds.
It is deeper than the ocean and wider than the sky. It is the closest thing on earth that measures up to the unconditional love of God.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the model of all motherhood. She held her Child in her arms and also in her heart. Every day was a revelation of wonder and mystery. Like all mothers, she experienced joy and sorrow and everything in between. Twice in the Gospel of Luke it says, “Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart” (2:19; 2:51). That is a natural response for all mothers, it is universal. The secret depths of a mother’s heart is where she keeps what is most precious to her. There is room to hold all of her loved ones forever.
We are thinking of motherhood this month because it is May and that means Mother’s Day and it’s also the month dedicated to our Blessed Mother Mary. Part of our work at the Joseph House Crisis Center — in fact, a very important part — is to help mothers of all ages and backgrounds, facing all sorts of challenges. That is not surprising since we are dedicated to St. Joseph, who was entrusted by God with the sacred duty to take care of Mary and Jesus. The Holy Family lived in perilous times, and so do we, and we too have an obligation to help mothers and their children especially.
At our Crisis Center, we and our volunteers hear the cries of the heart that go unheard. A mother will share with us her joy, but given the nature of our work, more often than not she will tell us about her sorrows, pain, and anguish. To give you an idea, here is a look into the hearts of three mothers from our files:
Beth: “My children are with their uncle and I feel as though I am incomplete. No matter how good things go in my life, there is still a sadness. An empty feeling that never goes away. Instead of people helping me to be with my children, they judge by saying they are better off where they are. I know my children have the same sadness and emptiness that I feel.”
Tara: “I can’t afford to put a roof over their heads. But it has nothing to do with my mothering skills because I’m very proud of the kind of mother I am. It took me a long time to be able to say that, but I am. I just can’t afford it, that’s all.”
Mabs: “Living homeless with a child, it’s very emotional and painful. I try to keep my head up high, but it’s hard. I look at my child and say, ‘Where did I go wrong and why?’ I pray to God for forgiveness for the things I have done, maybe I’m being punished.”
For despairing mothers, and for everyone who comes to our door, we hear their cries and we act, doing what we can thanks to your support. Please meet some of our recent visitors:
Kimberly, 20, and her mother were so anxious to receive help they drove for an hour at the break of day and then waited another hour in our parking lot until we opened. This mother and daughter were sharing a rented room in a house, with only a hotplate to serve as a kitchen. Kimberly is pregnant, and so in a few months they will be joined by a little baby. They needed to move, but they had nothing, no jobs, no money, only food stamps.
Kimberly is hopeful about finding a job because she has experience working in fast food. She did find a new place to live that has enough room, and utilities will be included. We decided to pay the security deposit to help this family move away from the edge of destitution and ruin.
Priscilla, 58, said her three grandchildren have never been happier since she took them away from their drug-addicted parents. Despite her medical issues, Priscilla is determined to give her grandchildren a stable home and is trying to get legal custody of them. She invited her sister to move in to share expenses, but this turned out to be a big mistake. Her sister was dishonest and spent the rent money on other things. Priscilla had to force her to move out. With an eviction forthcoming, the Joseph House made a sizable payment toward the back rent to satisfy the landlord. Priscilla was so grateful she was moved to tears.
Andrew and Beverly are a married couple with two children. Beverly’s health has taken a turn for the worse: she has pronounced hand tremors and difficulty walking. Although she can no longer work at her job, her Disability claim was denied. Andrew works, but after making their housing payment there is only $28 left from his paycheck. He is looking for a second job to keep his family afloat. In the meantime, the water was turned off in his home. The Joseph House paid the bill in full and gave Andrew groceries and a voucher for gasoline for his car. We also referred him to a local agency for help with his massive electric bill and put him in touch with a job counselor.
Roderick, 60, has been bed-ridden for the past three years, the result of having suffered five strokes. His meager fixed income is not keeping pace with the rising cost of living. A jump in his electric bill was too much for Roderick’s budget, so the Joseph House made a payment.
Kyle, 57, was in a car accident 15 years ago, sustaining a debilitating head injury. Tragically, his wife did not survive. Since then, Kyle has been raising his two children alone on his Disability income. He does everything he can to cut costs, but it’s never enough. The Joseph House helped him pay his overdue electric bill.
Ruthie, 30, has gotten used to being on her own. She lost her parents when she was young, and she was raised by her grandmother. But after her grandmother died five years ago, Ruthie became homeless, alone and adrift, sometimes living in her car. Finally approved for subsidized housing, the Joseph House paid her outstanding electric bill so she could move into her new apartment.
We meet so many people in the midst of a sorrowful journey, but hope never dies. Thank you for your generosity with your prayers and donations. Everything is received with deep gratitude.
Later this month we Little Sisters will gather in our yard, sing “Bring Flowers of the Fairest” and honor Mary, “Queen of the May,” with a crown of springtime blossoms. In celebrating our Blessed Mother we celebrate all mothers. May their lives be graced with an abundance of love and peace, on Mother’s Day and always.
In this season of new life let us be a seed of peace in the world. May God’s blessing be with you all.
Your Little Sisters of Jesus and Mary
Prayer Requests: Send us your special intentions and the Little Sisters will pray for you: Contact Form.
Donations: Your contribution will help people in need: Donate.
In March we said farewell to Adam Lewandowski, who was a great help to us for eight months. His next adventure is to teach computer science in Costa Rica, and we wish him all the best. In the photo above, Adam, on the right, is playing chess with Doug, a guest in our Hospitality Room and a serious competitor.
Mary is attentive to God. She listens to God. Mary also listens to the events, that is, she interprets the events of her life, she is attentive to reality itself and does not stop at the surface but goes to the depths to grasp its meaning. . . .
This is also true in our life: listening to God who speaks to us and listening also to daily reality, paying attention to people, to events, because the Lord is at the door of our life and knocks in many ways.
Pope Francis
This Easter Season has been a time of change, a time of both sorrow and joy. Through everything that happens, God is always with us.
We mourn the loss of Pope Francis and we are very grateful for his life and witness. He was a friend of the poor and marginalized and led by example. We learned so much from him. He will always have a special place in our hearts because he was the pope who canonized our spiritual father, Charles de Foucauld.
May God grant Pope Francis eternal life in heaven.
And may God’s blessing rest upon his successor, Pope Leo XIV. Our prayers and best wishes are with him.
The news has been very exciting and learning about the first Pope from the U.S. has been quite interesting. This moment in history is the beginning of a new journey together, a new chapter, a time for hope.
The choosing of his name lines up with the mission of the Joseph House in working for justice and safeguarding human dignity and labor:
I chose to take the name Leo XIV. There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical “Rerum Novarum” addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labor.
Pope Leo XIV