'Dear Friends' April 2010
|
Week of April 5,
2010
The Dazzling Light of Easter
Dear Friends:
The
concluding prayer of Pope Benedict's
address on Good Friday
is one
 that
speaks to a lot of caregivers and care-receivers:
"Grant us, Lord, to carry our cross with love, and
to carry our daily crosses in the certainty that
they have been enlightened by the dazzling light of
Easter. Amen."
You were in our thoughts and prayers at Mass on Easter.
Please keep us in yours.
- - -
We're so pleased to welcome Carrie W. of
Massachusetts as the newest member of the
Friends of St. John the Caregiver. Please keep
her and her intentions
in your prayers. She has promised to pray for you and
yours.
Again
this week we cordially invite you to join the Friends
of St. John the Caregiver. (FSJC's programs include
YourAgingParent.com and
CatholicCaregivers.com.) You can find out more about
becoming a member here.
No meetings, no dues. All we ask is that
you pray for caregivers and those receiving care. Our members include
caregivers, care-receivers, and those who support both
(including quite a few former caregivers).
You can:
sign up on-line here
or call us toll-free at
1-800-392-JOHN (5646)
or
print and mail an application form.
God
bless you!
Monica and Bill
To contact us
To join
FSJC
To make a
donation
To view or make prayer
requests
Materials order form
Past "Dear Friends" notes
"Among Friends" quarterly newsletter
|
|
Week of April 12,
2010
Taxes, Camels, Straws and Caregiving
Dear Friends:
This
Thursday, April 15, is the deadline for filing federal
income taxes here in the United States. And, more
locally, here in
 Washington
state the legislature has been considering adding a
sales tax on beer, gum, candy and more. Proponents point
out the increase -- a fraction of a percent -- is
miniscule.
Alone, it is. Added to taxes already on the
books, it isn't.
That had us thinking about how "taxing" --
at times -- caregiving can be and how at first glance
one more small duty can appear miniscule, too.
Likewise, it is. And isn't.
Who makes that determination? You do. No
one else can. From the outside looking in, it may seem
this additional chore is no big deal. From the inside
looking out, if you've reached your limit, it is. (The
proverbial straw that threatens to break the camel's
back.) What
is that "limit"? Again, only you can say. And sometimes
you have to say. Not only for your sake but for the sake
of your care-receiver. You want what's best for him or
her and a caregiver on the edge of burnout helps neither
of you.
It can be hard to admit that you
can't do everything you want to do as a caregiver. It
can be hard to tell your care-receiver you can't do
everything he or she wants you to do. (And hard to say
"no" to other family members or health-care
professionals who can seem to assume your energy, time,
and resources are limitless.)
Here are three topics that may help you say
"no" when that's exactly what needs to be said. The
first is "The Stages
of Caregiving", the second is
"Stress", and the third is
"Guilt."
- - -
This week we're happy to welcome Marie S. of New
South Wales, Australia, as the newest member of the
Friends of St. John the Caregiver. Please keep
her and her intentions
in your prayers. She has promised to pray for you and
yours.
Again
this week we cordially invite you to join the Friends
of St. John the Caregiver. (FSJC's programs include
YourAgingParent.com and
CatholicCaregivers.com.) You can find out more about
becoming a member here.
No meetings, no dues. All we ask is that
you pray for caregivers and those receiving care. Our members include
caregivers, care-receivers, and those who support both
(including quite a few former caregivers).
You can:
sign up on-line here
or call us toll-free at
1-800-392-JOHN (5646)
or
print and mail an application form.
God
bless you!
Monica and Bill
To contact us
To join
FSJC
To make a
donation
To view or make prayer
requests
Materials order form
Past "Dear Friends" notes
"Among Friends" quarterly newsletter
|
|
Week of April 19,
2010
Caregiver as Dragon-Slayer
Dear Friends:
This
Friday, April 23, is the feast of a saint whose exploits
are more than epic, they've grown into the stuff of
legend . . . and
 myth.
St. George lived in the Middle East in the early
centuries of the Church, not medieval Europe. He died
for the faith but -- we feel pretty safe speculating --
he never slew a dragon.
As the authors of "Saint
of the Day" explain: "The story of George's slaying
the dragon, rescuing the king's daughter and converting
Libya is a twelfth-century Italian fable. George was a
favorite patron saint of crusaders, as well as of
Eastern soldiers in earlier times. He is a patron saint
of England, Portugal, Germany, Aragon, Catalonia, Genoa
and Venice."
Caregivers are known to battle their share
of "dragons," too, aren't they?
From the multi-headed monster known as the
phone system (trying to get a straight answer from an
HMO for example: "For information about a policy, press
1. For a list of available physicians in your area,
press 2. For inquiries about payments . . . ") . . .
. . . to the fire-breathing boss who
doesn't want to hear excuses about why you have to leave
work early again today . . .
. . . to that behemoth of fear or guilt or
exhaustion ready to pounce . . .
. . . to . . . .
You get the idea.
Care-receivers also face dragons. Chronic
pain, for example. Or an incurable disease. Or
ever-increasing dementia.
Some days, and nights, a fierce,
dinosaur-like creature would seem like a welterweight
opponent compared to the real challenges facing you and
your care-receiver. It would almost be a relief to grab
a sword and lance and -- adrenaline pumping -- have at
it!
Please know that neither of you is going
into battle alone. As we've written many times before:
Worldwide, members of the Friends of St. the Caregiver
are praying for you and your loved one.
- - -
Again
this week we cordially invite you to join the
Friends
of St. John the Caregiver. (FSJC's programs include
YourAgingParent.com and
CatholicCaregivers.com.) You can find out more about
becoming a member here.
No meetings, no dues. All we ask is that
you pray for caregivers and those receiving care. Our members include
caregivers, care-receivers, and those who support both
(including quite a few former caregivers).
You can:
sign up on-line here
or call us toll-free at
1-800-392-JOHN (5646)
or
print and mail an application form.
God
bless you!
Monica and Bill
To contact us
To join
FSJC
To make a
donation
To view or make prayer
requests
Materials order form
Past "Dear Friends" notes
"Among Friends" quarterly newsletter
|
|
Week of April 26,
2010
The 'Mary' Month of May
Dear Friends:
Once
again, and right on schedule, the lilacs are in full
bloom here in western Washington state. Somehow those
blossoms -- their
 colors
and scent -- always take us back to the May crownings of
our youth. Bringing flowers of the fairest and rarest to
honor our Blessed Mother. As we noted in a "Dear
Friends" letter a couple of years ago:
Although May is a form of "Mary," the name comes
from the Latin for the "month of Maia," the Roman
goddess of grain. The people of ancient Rome
celebrated the first day of May by honoring Flora,
the goddess of flowers, who was represented by a
small statue wreathed in garlands. A procession of
singers and dancers carried the statue past a sacred
tree decorated with blossoms. Later, festivals of
this kind spread to other parts of Europe, reaching
their height of popularity in England during the
Middle Ages. Dances around a May pole were common
and, often, a May queen was chosen as part of the
festivities.
Devotions to Our Lady on the first days of May date back to
St. Philip Neri (1515-1595) [feast day
May 26] who began the custom of decorating the
statue of Mary with spring flowers. Annibale
Dionisi, an Italian Jesuit, proposed devotions to
Mary throughout the entire month. As happened with
other pre-Christian customs and festivals, the
Church incorporated the earlier May celebrations and
gave them a Christian dimension. May began to be
celebrated in honor of Mary with many of the same
type of festivities, including floral tributes,
processions and the crowning of a statue.
That
quote is from "Encyclopedia
of Mary" (Our Sunday Visitor, 2007), a book we spent
many, many months researching and writing. What we
discovered -- not to our surprise -- is that Mary has
been loved and honored since apostolic times.
When we began the Friends of St. John the Caregiver we knew
that asking for the Blessed Mother's help and
intercession would be central to assisting caregivers
and care-receivers.
Our Lady in Need,
pray for us!
- - -
If you'd like a free holy card and prayer to Our Lady in
Need, just
send us an-email or give us a
call. We'd be happy also to send you a free copy (or
two or three or more) of "The Little Book of Caregiver
Prayers."
|
Prayer to Our Lady
in Need,
Patroness of Care-receivers
My Dear Mother, as you
stood at the foot
of the cross in need of help, your Son asked
St. John to become your caregiver.
Be with me now in my time of need.
Pray for me and for all care-receivers,
that we can accept assistance from others
as gratefully and graciously as you did. Amen. |
- - -
This week we're so pleased to welcome two new members to
the Friends of St. John
the Caregiver. "Hello" to Cathie M. in Quebec,
Canada; and Betty L. in Tennessee. Please keep them and
their intentions in your prayers. They have promised to
pray for you and yours.
Also, we cordially invite you to join! (FSJC's programs include
YourAgingParent.com and
CatholicCaregivers.com.) You can find out more about
becoming a member here.
No meetings, no dues. All we ask is that
you pray for caregivers and those receiving care. Our members include
caregivers, care-receivers, and those who support both
(including quite a few former caregivers).
You can:
sign up on-line here
or call us toll-free at
1-800-392-JOHN (5646)
or
print and mail an application form.
God
bless you!
Monica and Bill
To contact us
To join
FSJC
To make a
donation
To view or make prayer
requests
Materials order form
Past "Dear Friends" notes
"Among Friends" quarterly newsletter
|
|
|
