The Little Sisters of Jesus and Mary describe their way of life as being active-contemplatives. What does that mean? Sr. Mary Elizabeth Gintling, the community’s founder, wanted the Little Sisters to be “people of deep prayer and silence,” and then bring this contemplative spirit to their work with the poor. It’s a way of life…
Fasting is one of the three traditional disciplines of Lent (the other two are prayer and almsgiving). These Lenten practices help us with the process of conversion, that is, of detaching ourselves from sin and turning toward God. Regarding fasting, there are prescribed days of limiting our food intake and abstaining from meat. It is…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: The dog days of summer are here, and the heat makes us want to take it easy and dream of the sea breezes down by the beach. But for people who are poor there is no vacation from poverty. Families facing eviction or a utility cut-off, the elderly and infirm…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: This is a big year for anniversaries at the Joseph House. It was the 40th for the Crisis Center this past February, and next July it will be 50 years for the Little Sisters of Jesus and Mary. It’s hard to believe the passage of time. The years slip away…
For All Saints Day, here is a review of a book about one of our newest saints, who is also important to the Joseph House and the Little Sisters (find out why on this page: Brother Charles). Brother to All is one of the first books about Charles de Foucauld published after his canonization on…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: The last few months have been tough for our Joseph House family. Our Sr. Clare died of cancer last May, and in July we tragically lost Gregory Dennis, a Crisis Center staff member, in a hit-and-run accident. Two sharp blows, one after the other. We carry on (we have no…
Here is Sr. Virginia’s story about her trip to Rome for the canonization of Charles de Foucauld. Our hearts couldn’t be happier that God in His great mercy allowed Sister to represent us. She was also able to visit Assisi, home of St. Francis. Our pilgrimage to Rome was organized by Father Leonard Tighe. He…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: “We are not expecting utopia here on earth. But God meant things to be much easier than we have made them.” These are words of Dorothy Day (1897-1980), a woman who dedicated her life to peace and the works of mercy. She was a friend of our founder, Sr. Mary…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: Home is where we love and take care of our families. For Charles de Foucauld, family meant everyone. Our freshly-sainted Br. Charles saw himself as a brother to all people, a “universal brother” as he called himself. Deep in the desert lands of Algeria where he lived, he was equally…
Born to a noble family, a tragic childhood, worldly preoccupations, a loss of faith, and then . . .Charles de Foucauld’s life changed in 1886 with a powerful conversion experience, but this was just another step in a journey with God that was already underway. Charles later realized that God had always been with him:…