Dear Friends of Joseph House: A few months ago, three of us were at a gas station on a rainy morning in late winter when a familiar face appeared. It was Gregory, looking cold and a little down. The Sister at the wheel rolled down the car window.“Hi Gregory, how are you doing?”“Hi Sister. You…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: Feed the hungry…Give drink to the thirsty…Clothe the naked…Shelter the homeless…Visit the sick…Visit the imprisoned…Bury the dead. These are the Corporal Works of Mercy, the basic acts of charity and kindness found principally in the Parable of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31-46) and elsewhere in the Bible (Is 58:6-14 and…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: January is the sunrise of the year, the dawn of a new beginning. For us Little Sisters, there’s a prayer we say at the start of each day, and it seems to be fitting as we go forth into another year. It is the Abandonment Prayer of Charles de Foucauld:…
We are anxiously waiting to hear when Charles de Foucauld will be canonized. The date should be announced soon. [Update: Charles was canonized on May 15, 2022.] To help you know more about our spiritual father, here are the main points of his spirituality, as written by our founder Sr. Mary Elizabeth Gintling: There are…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: Living under harsh circumstances does not mean we ourselves have to be harsh. Charles de Foucauld is proof of that. For fifteen years, from 1901 until his death in 1916, Charles made his home in Algeria, surrounded by the moonscape of the Sahara Desert. Famine, loneliness, exhaustion . . ….
Dear Friends of Joseph House: Picture a swiftly-moving river, tumbling over rocks, swirling with currents and eddies. Trying to swim in such a river would be a tiring, and probably frightening, experience. You would feel buffeted and pushed around by forces stronger than you. The world would seem to be rushing by. You wouldn’t know…
Charles de Foucauld (“Br. Charles”) is the spiritual father of the Little Sisters and the Joseph House. Although he is not well known to many people, Br. Charles had a deep influence on our founder, Sr. Mary Elizabeth Gintling. She considered him a saint, and now he is close to being one in fact. On…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: Here we are in the year 2021 in the 21st century. Opening up a new calendar is symbolic of a new beginning, which is something we all need right now. The year 2020 is certainly one for the history books. How many times did we hear the word “unprecedented?” How…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: This is the season for giving thanks, and the difficult times we live in only make us more grateful that the Joseph House is here to help people facing hardships. Our ministry is an expression of your compassion: thanks to your continued prayers and support, our doors remain open to…
Dear Friends of Joseph House: The stay-at-home orders we’ve experienced may have brought a renewed emphasis on your home life and its attendant joys—and tensions. Surprisingly enough, helpful guidance can be found in the tradition of monastic spirituality, which might sound otherworldly but is actually very practical and down to earth. After all, monks have…