The Spirit of Christmas is very important to Casa Juan Diego. We cannot survive without it. We ask your prayers that the Spirit of Christmas be with us—that there will be “Room in the Inn.”
We remember with the birth of Jesus our shared heritage with the Jewish community. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a young Jewish woman. Jesus was a Jew who preached in the synagogue. Some of the readings and the Psalms that we read at Mass and the tradition of hospitality that it is so important to the Catholic Worker movement have come to us from the Jewish tradition in the Bible. Mary and Joseph found hospitality in humble circumstances for Jesus’ birth.
At this writing all the beds in our humble houses of hospitality are full and people have been sleeping on overflow cots. New immigrants and refugees appear each day at our doors in search of a place to stay.
The days remain long at Casa Juan Diego as our Catholic Workers and our immigrant guests welcome those who are homeless after journeying months or even several years to find a new home, those who are hungry, those who are powerless.
The food lines grow longer. Many of those who come to Casa Juan Diego for food each week are immigrants who are new to the country. Citizens also come for our simple fare: rice, beans, tortillas or bread, fruits, and vegetables, sometimes milk and canned protein. We are able to give food to many hungry families because of you, our readers, and the help of our volunteers. You help us give bread instead of a stone.
Because the Houston Food Bank has told us they will not be able to provide the large amounts of food that they did in the past (especially during the time of COVID), we will need to be purchasing additional food for the hundreds who come for groceries each week, as well as providing food for the often 80 guests of our houses.
Our medical clinics continue to see more patients, thanks to the volunteer doctors, translators and others who help.
Our most expensive program is our assistance each month to the paralyzed, the wounded, who are not able to receive help from the government. They have nowhere else to turn.
Casa Juan Diego provides these services and keeps its houses open entirely through voluntary contributions. Many of the funds come at Christmastime. All monies received go to the services of the poor. There are no salaries or administrative costs at Casa Juan Diego.
We thank you for allowing the miracle of Casa Juan Diego to go on for another year. We are writing to ask you to remember Casa Juan Diego during the holidays. We need your gift to continue another year.
May the Spirit of Christmas be with you all, in your homes and in your lives. We pray that this be so.
Gratefully,
Louise Zwick and all at Casa Juan Diego
Houston Catholic Worker, Vol. XLII, No. 4, October-December 2022.
