News From Home
February 2026
This Month…
In the Catholic Church, the month of February is dedicated to the Holy Family.
The Holy Father’s intentions for this February 2026 are for children with incurable diseases, and that children suffering from incurable diseases and their families receive the necessary medical care and support, never losing strength and hope.
A Kiss from Jesus
By Sister M. Anselma
Dear Family and Friends,
“Every snowflake is a kiss from Jesus.” – Mary Bohley, resident of MOGCH
I have such mixed feelings about snowstorms at this phase of my life! This Wisconsin girl wants to run outside, throw my head back, and let my tongue catch the gentle snowflakes floating down from above. I want to stand in the dark of night in the middle of the yard and listen to the profound silence that envelops you as the snow falls like a blanket calming everything in a gentle embrace. There is so much beauty in the gift of snow!
But the flipside of my current reality is that snowstorms are a lot of work for those of us trying to keep life for our residents as normal as possible despite the extreme weather outside. Our leadership team has a well-tuned plan for dealing with staffing, transportation, and other contingencies that happen in snowstorms.
Here are some of the responsibilities members of our team assumed during the recent storm:
- 24/7 dispatch for those needing help getting to work. Thank you, Audrey, Traci, Paulette, and Sister M. Jessica for monitoring our dispatch phone, and Sister M. Clara for keeping a detailed spreadsheet of all transportation needs! There were constant updates and changes!
- 5 drivers getting through uncleared roads to ensure our Mission Partners had the ability to come to work and serve our residents. This team of drivers, Robin, Kayla, Sister M. Luka, Sister M. Stephania, and Sister M. Anselma, provided 118 rides back and forth to work in 48 hours!
- Parking lot and sidewalk clearing. Our maintenance team started early in the AM before day shift, and then started all over when the ongoing snow coated everything again. Thank you, Ron, Terrell, and Byron!!
- When the transport car got delayed with ALL of the evening shift dietary servers on board, Sister M. Paula, Sister M. Elena and Sister Mary Paul jumped to service, following Chef Stephanie’s instructions and helping out until the normal crew arrived. Food was served on time to our hungry residents! Thank you, Sisters and Stephanie!!
- Staffing management: our leaders worked to find creative solutions for the unexpected. Thanks to their work, we were fully staffed throughout the storm!
After one of my driving shifts, I saw a small group of our residents gathered at the windows to watch the snow falling and the beauty outside. In the midst of the conversation, Mary Bohley (who turns 100 years old this month!!) exclaimed, “every snowflake is a kiss from Jesus!”
Her beautiful perspective made me see all of the gifts that were coming to us through this snowstorm!
I saw that effort meets effort! As our leadership team stepped into the gap to assist our Mission Partners getting to work, you saw such a strong and positive response from our Mission Partners. They willingly trudged through snow and slippery conditions to get to the car. They bantered light-heartedly in the car on the long rides to and from work. And there was such a happy, positive vibe among the team as they served our residents together.
Together, we were able to give the gift to our residents that they can enjoy the beauty of the snow, free of worry.
Thank you, Jesus, for every snowflake and every gift that came to us through the recent storm!
In His Merciful Heart,
Sister M. Anselma
Administrator
News Flash!
Father Dan Kavanagh, our beloved Chaplain, has been appointed as Pastor of St. Mary Magdalen Parish in Brentwood, and will be leaving his ministry at the Home at the end of February. We are so grateful for all he has done to care for the spiritual needs of our residents and our Mission Partners over the past three years! Come help us show our gratitude to him on Friday, February 13th at 10:15am (following the 9:30am Mass) in the Community Room at MOGCH!
In March, you will get a chance to meet our new Chaplain, Father Bob Evans!! We look forward to welcoming him soon!! He is excited to serve in our Mission here at the Home!!
Thank You!
By Fr. Dan Kavanagh
As many of you have heard, Archbishop Rozanski as appointed me the pastor of St Mary Magdalen parish in Brentwood, effective February 28th, 2026. I am grateful to the Archbishop for entrusting me with this new assignment, but at the same time it’s difficult to say goodbye to you all here at MOGCH!
I have been your Chaplain here for the past three years, and it has been such a blessing! I think of all the different liturgies, activities, and celebrations that we have shared together and it brings so much joy to my heart! Along with these times there have been countless other moments of seeing the Lord’s love and tender mercy in the confessional, anointings, and funerals that we have shared together and for many of our past residents. It is always an honor when someone calls a priest “Father,” as I and my brother priests seek to live out spiritual fatherhood for those entrusted to our spiritual care at each assignment. Thank you for trusting me to be your spiritual father here at MOGCH!
There are too many people to thank individually, but I want to single out our Sisters, our Mission Partners, and our Residents.
Dear Sisters: Your love for Jesus that you live through your vocation is truly a witness to us all! Many folks don’t see the countless hours in prayer and devotion to our Lord that you do to fuel the fire of God’s love in your hearts in the way that you are always caring for our MOGCH family. (Much of that prayer starting before the sun even makes an appearance on the horizon!) Your faith helps to lay the foundation for what makes the environment here at our Home so special, and it has had a tremendous impact on me and my own priesthood. Each day I would pray that I never take for granted seeing a smiling sister walking the halls; it’s a normal occurrence here but I don’t know if I’ll ever have another assignment with that same experience again on a daily basis!
Dear Mission Partners: Your devotion and love for the mission here at the Home is evident to everyone that comes through our doors. I have seen countless examples of sacrificial service and devotion to our residents and their families from so many of you. I pray that you each know how seen, known, and loved by the Lord you are! I am thankful for the many times of laughter, prayer, and even tears that we have shared navigating through the highs and lows of life – never alone, but always together with the Lord.
Dear Residents: I want to thank you for your openness in welcoming me as a spiritual father into your life on so many occasions! I will always have fond memories of our bible study discussions together, and the laughs that we have shared during so many different activities! I pray that you may continue to enjoy each day here at the Home growing deeper in relationship with the Lord and each other.
Let’s keep praying for each other!
Fr. Dan Kavanagh
Photos From Home
Joke of the Month:
What kind of meal do you serve on Valentine’s Day?
A hearty one!
