MOTHER OF GOOD COUNSEL HOME
6825 NATURAL BRIDGE ROAD
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI 63121
314-383-4765
www.mogch.org
Volume 15, Issue 1
January 2013
A Few Words from Sister M. Stephanie
Dear Friends,
A blessed and happy New Year
2013 to all of you!
Here is my question: how many
have made a New Year’s resolution—
or two or three? When I was quite
young I normally made several: “I will
be friendly to everyone I meet”; “I will
get to bed on time”; “I will try to cut
down on chocolate” — and on and on
— they sounded almost like Lenten
resolutions.
As I got older and wiser (right!), I
decided in all my wisdom that resolutions were just ways of setting myself
up to fail, which really was not a good
way to live life. I would be one week
into the New Year and start feeling
guilty and miserable because I was not
living up to that New Year’s resolution. The prudent decision in this case
was, naturally, to stop making resolutions.
Since this period of profound wisdom lasted quite a few years, imagine
my surprise this last August when I
made a well-preached retreat. The retreat master was Father Dennis Gill
from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
In his opening conference he challenged us to make that retreat the best
retreat of our lives. Since this was
about my 42nd retreat, I started wondering what would make this retreat
’the best’.
Well, Father Gill was correct, it
was the best retreat I have ever had the privilege to make! Fortunately, he rightly put the
burden of the results on my receptivity to
God’s grace. Father said that the retreat master preached but could not be responsible for
my openness or indifference, so the burden
was on me.
You may be wondering what this has to do
with a New Year’s resolution. Well, Father
Gill asked us, on the second to the last day of
the retreat, what our resolutions were as we
headed back to our apostolates. Notice, he
said resolutions (in the plural). Father said
that we needed resolutions to keep us honest,
focused, disciplined, and open to God’s graces
for the future. Not one word was said about
setting myself up to fail. In fact, Father said
that the only way to succeed was to trust in
God’s grace in everything because, “without
Him we can do nothing”.
So, what are your New Year resolutions? I
challenge you to make them today. Maybe
spend some time in prayer and ask our Lord
where he is calling you more deeply in the
faith (in this Year of Faith), then make those
resolutions and trust in God’s grace to live
them.
All of the Sisters wish you all many blessings for the New Year.
Sincerely,
Sister M. Stephanie
News from Home is a monthly newsletter from Mother of Good Counsel Nursing Home for its residents and staff, families, and friends.
NEWS FROM HOME
MILESTONES
Welcome New Residents
Mrs. Alice Jedlicka
Mrs. Josephine Montileone
Mrs. Audrey DeVoto
Farewell to Our Friends
Mrs. Dolores Hurtte
With Deepest Sympathy
Mrs. Maryanne Egler
Mr. James D’Amico
January Birthdays
Residents
Josephine Montileone—2nd
Hope Miskell—4th
Felicia Amantea—14th
Bonnie Buhrman—15th
Joe Seper—21st
Shaney Klutho—23rd
Jeanne Harper—26th
Staff Members
Doretha Brothers—2nd
Sheana Sanders—3rd
Dana Davis—4th
Doris Green—9th
Bridget Barry—10th
Jane Ury—11th
Annette Hatcher—12th
Kimberly Johnson—17th
Doris Owens—17th
Vanessa Porter—22nd
Tara Gregory—29th
Carolyn Tyson—29th
Cynthia Hughes—31st
2
Devotion to Saint Timothy
On January 26th, the Catholic Church will celebrate the
Feast of Saint Timothy. Saint Timothy accompanied Saint
Paul on his second missionary journey, but after a time was
sent to Thessalonica to report on the condition of the Christians there and to encourage them under persecution, a report
that led to Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians. Paul’s second letter to Timothy was sent from Rome, while the Saint
was in prison awaiting execution. Saint Timothy, who was the
first Bishop of Ephesus, was martyred there. During his life,
he provided comfort, strength and guidance to the early
Church.
Here, within the walls of Mother of Good Counsel Home,
we have a Sister who is Saint Timothy’s namesake, and celebrates him daily. As a postulant in Germany, Sister Timothea
cared for an older Sister whose given name was the same as
Sister’s mother. Both the older Sister and the young postulant
came from the same region of Germany, and developed a kinship. This older sister was named Sister M. Timothea, and before her death she asked the Congregation Superior that the
young postulant receive this name at Profession. Sister M.
Timothea cherishes her name. First, because like Saint Timothy she traveled far from her home to serve the Lord, and also
because it is a way to continue her shared kinship with the
older Sister who had mentored her.
Sister M. Timothea calls upon St. Timothy often, when she
is asking for special guidance and help, or when she simply
wants to talk with him! Timothy, derived from Greek, means
“fearing God”. Timothea, also from Greek, means “She who
honors God”. Sister M. Timothy lives up to her name and
prays fervently to all of the Saints. However, she has a special
devotion to the Virgin Mother, St. Joseph, the Little Flower,
and Saint Anthony.
Sister M. Timothea believes completely in the power of
prayer and the graces that can be received during this Year of
Faith. She has been engulfed by prayer and praying since her
youth. She was born in Lorup, Germany, of very pious parents.
She was blessed to be able to study with the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George from a very young age, and has
lived her adult life as a member of this Congregation. She believes that, as a Sister, prayer is intrinsic, just like breathing.
We hope that Sister M. Timothea keeps breathing, and praying, for a many years to come!
3
NEWS FROM HOME
TOYS!
January Potluck
The Mother of Good Counsel
Join us on Tuesday,
Home Activities Department is seek- January 8th, for our Chili Poting donations of classic toys for activluck.
ity fun bags to stimulate the memories
The Home will provide beef
of our residents. We are looking for a
chili and chicken chili, corn
set of wooden blocks, a set of Lincoln
bread, dessert and drinks.
Logs, an Erector set, and a small fire
truck, preferably metal. If there are We will play January trivia afany others that you would like to doter dinner.
nate, please let us know.
Please bring a side dish that
If you can assist us, please call or
pairs well with chili.
email
Marsha
Heine
We look forward to seeing you
([email protected]) or drop the
there!
item(s) off at the reception desk.
Thank you for your help!
Mark Your Calendars!
Plan on attending the
February Mardi Gras potluck to be held on Tuesday, February 12, at 5 p.m.
Sweet Treats
Tuesday, January
15th
Alzheimerʹs Association The Alzheimer’s Association offers a great deal of support and information to those who are dealing with family members and friends with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. One avenue of support is the monthly Family Support Group Meetings, which are offered at many locations and times. One of the locations is the Mother of Good Counsel Home. The group meets the last Saturday of every month from 10:30 a.m. ‐ 12:00 noon. If you would like more information or would like to attend the meeting, please call Doris at 314‐383‐4765, or email her at [email protected]. January Coming Events
Rosary - every Wednesday Exercise Video - usually every Friday
Boeing Balladeers —Jan 3rd
Exposition/Benediction —4th Potluck—8th Birthday Party —9th
Card making —11th Treats—15th Sing-A-Long —18th Martin Luther King celebration—21st
Round Table— 25th Fold and Deliver News From Home—31st
4
For Those Who Like Words
Commemoration. Jubilee.
Anniversary. No matter which
word you use, nothing is quite
as enjoyable as a holiday, and
there is non holiday quite like
January 18, Thesaurus Day.
On January 18, 1779, Peter
Roget, the publisher of the world’s most famous
collection of related words and phrases, was
born. What drove this man to create list after list
of words and their synonyms? Roget suffered
many personal setbacks. His father and wife
both died young. Illness struck down his mother,
sister, and uncle. Apparently, list-making was,
for Roget, a coping mechanism. By the time Roget was eight years old, he was already making
lists of beasts, parts of the body, and things
found in the garden. His lists brought order to a
world that sometimes felt out of control.
In 1793, Roget went to Edinburgh, Scotland,
to study medicine. As a doctor, Roget travelled
throughout Europe. Appalled by the filthiness of
Europe’s great cities, Roget found comfort each
night compiling lists of synonyms.
He spent much of his lifetime practicing
medicine and writing about science. He cofounded the Royal Society of Medicine and established the University of London. He even invented a slide ruler that calculated exponents
and square roots. But Roget’s best-known work
came at the end of his life, in his retirement,
when he at last organized his many lists of
words. In 1852, he published his first thesaurus,
entitled: Thesaurus of English Words and
Phrases Classified and Arranged so as to Facilitate the Expression of Ideas and Assist in Literary Composition.
Since 1852, Roget’s Thesaurus (the name
was shortened!) has never been out of print. It
contains over 230,000 words. Whether used by
writers, editors, or crossword puzzle addicts, Roget’s life work is considered a treasure chest,
which is exactly what thesaurus means in Latin.
Stars and Stripes
Betsy Ross, born January 1,
1752, stands alongside George
Washington, Ben Franklin, and
Thomas Jefferson as great patriots of America’s Revolutionary War. According to legend,
Washington, then the head of the Continental
Army, visited Ross in May 1776 and showed her
a sketch of a new American flag. It bore the
familiar red and white stripes along with a circle of thirteen stars, representing the thirteen
colonies, over a field of blue. Ross, it is believed, altered Washington’s six-pointed starts
to five-pointed stars.
But did Ross really sew the nation’s first
flag? There is no evidence that Washington or
any other members of Congress commissioned
a national flag as early as 1776. The first evidence of a national flag was during the Flag
Resolution of 1777, where the so-called Betsy
Ross design was laid out by Congress. Whether
a matter of fact or fiction, Betsy Ross’s name
rings synonymous with American patriotism.
Card Care Connection
The St. Louis Review recently featured an
organization called Card Care Connection
(CCC). When the Home’s residents are choosing some of the hand-made cards they make
to CCC, where volunteers write supportive
messages to the recipients of the cards: cancer patients, old and young, who have limited
support systems and coping abilities.
The majority of the cards will go directly to
those who have no immediate family members. If you would like to follow in the footsteps of our residents, please visit the CCC
website, www.cardcareconnection.com, to
read more about their mission and how you
can help.