“I have not yet resisted unto blood,” Dorothy Day commented, after surviving a drive-by shooting at Koinonia Farm. She had endured many hardships–jeers, threats, and insults, being shoved into paddy wagons and jailed–but her acts of protest against war and social injustice had never put her life at risk. She had never been shot… continue reading
La Révolution du Coeur: Le Café Dorothy and The Catholic Worker in France
November 1, 2019 by
More French-speaking guests have been arriving at Casa Juan Diego from Africa. We have been fortunate to have volunteers who speak French and some of our Catholic Workers who have never studied French have begun a study of the language. Last spring we also had a visit from Pierre from Paris, who told us about… continue reading
“When I Was Hungry”: A Reflection on Volunteering At Casa Juan Diego Men’s House
May 28, 2018 by
My wife, Blossom, our 2 children (at the time), and I left Houston in 2003. In 2010, we began returning each year for one week. These have been rich experiences, both in the privilege to encounter Christ in the poor and in the camaraderie and fellowship we share with Mark, Louise, their family and the… continue reading
How Mark Zwick Met Dorothy Day and the Seeds Were Planted For the Houston Catholic Worker/Casa Juan Diego
May 20, 2018 by
Mark visited Dorothy Day’s Catholic Worker on several occasions. One visit was with his mother Florence to Peter Maurin Farm on Staten Island in 1956, when they spent the better part of a day with Dorothy. Mark sometimes accompanied his mother to New York when she went on buying trips for her family department store… continue reading
Communion of Saints, Cornerstone of the Catholic Worker: The Heart Is Made for Heroism
April 24, 2017 by
The day after Mark’s funeral (Mark Zwick, December 22, 1927-November 18, 2016) Father Rafael Dávila mentioned that our Wednesday night liturgy on that day would be the first time that Mark accompanied us at Mass from heaven. His comment brought to us a new level of awareness of the Communion of Saints, enshrined in Church… continue reading
Sarah Maples, miraculously recovered from a brain tumor, later diagnosed with another one
April 17, 2017 by
Sarah Maples, a friend of Casa Juan Diego and an advocate for the canonization of Dorothy Day, died at her home near Athens, Oklahoma on March 11, 2017. She was 67. In 2009, when Sarah was suffering from a brain tumor and had been given a terminal diagnosis, her friend Dr. Richard Fossey began to… continue reading
Why Are We Called Catholic Worker? On the Origins of the Catholic Worker Movement
November 11, 2016 by
The Houston Catholic Worker is rejected by some because of its name. Some reject it because of the word “Catholic.” Others because of the word “Worker”. Others say they would never pick up a paper with such a name. The word “Houston” is not a problem: the paper is written for the people of Texas… continue reading
Communion: A New Easy Essay
November 6, 2016 by
1. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us in teaching 1397 that the Eucharist commits us to the poor. 2. Dorothy quoted Fr. Lacouture: “If we cannot see Jesus in the poor man, we surely cannot see Him under the poverty-stricken veils of bread.” 3. In both the Mass and in sharing a meal with a poor… continue reading
Called to Be Saints: John Hugo, the Catholic Worker, and a Theology of Radical Christianity
July 22, 2016 by
Benjamin T. Peters. Called to Be Saints: John Hugo, the Catholic Worker, and a Theology of Radical Christianity. Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 2016, 586 p. Reviewed by Mark and Louise Zwick In this landmark study of Fr. John Hugo and the retreat that had a profound influence on Dorothy Day, Benjamin Peters argues that Hugo’s… continue reading
The Poor Are the Wealth Of the Church
February 26, 2016 by
One of the most interesting stories of martyrdom in the early Church is that of St. Lawrence. Lawrence was a deacon in Rome in the year 258. Pope Sixtus ll put him in charge of the treasury of the Church. Lawrence suspected that the Roman emperor would be looking for anything of value in the… continue reading
