My job during the Tuesday food distributions at Casa Juan Diego is basically to organize the hundreds of people who come to the door. Most come just for food and they organize themselves, really. Before the sun comes up, they have formed a line out the door and into our parking lot and sometimes… continue reading
Cultivating Hope in Troubled Times at Casa Juan Diego: Samaritans and Solidarity
November 13, 2019 by
The Summer of Family Separation at the Border
January 8, 2019 by
About ten years ago I spent the summer in Cuba. A fascinating country, but what I remember most was how heavily policed Havana was. Uniformed law enforcement seemed to be everywhere, to the point that it felt oppressive. It WAS oppressive, a police state, they say. Last summer in Texas was the summer of family… continue reading
Children Detained: Immigration and Jesus’ Story of the Rich Man and the Beggar
June 22, 2018 by
Those of us who work closely with immigrants, who share our lives with them at Casa Juan Diego, have had to come to terms with the increasingly cruel and aggressive policies of our government towards our guests. We have gotten accustomed to it, to be honest. I am not sure this is entirely a good… continue reading
Traumatized Migrants Find Healing at Casa Juan Diego
May 28, 2018 by
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” the opening words of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities,describes nicely our recent experiences at Casa Juan Diego. Hurricane Harvey, with the heaviest rainfall in the recorded history of this country, would seem to qualify as the worst of times, except… continue reading
Immigrant Mother Struggles to Reunite with Her Children
November 12, 2017 by
It seems like we are living in the book of Job lately. Hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, wildfires; suffering and loss of almost every kind throughout the continent. In response to these tragic events, our community has been sorely tested on our call to hold as sacred the life and dignity of the human person, to serve… continue reading
A Well-Founded Fear of Persecution: Cruel Setback for Asylum Seeker
October 18, 2017 by
Every day at Casa Juan Diego we encounter a world economic system that is out of balance. On one hand, we live in one of the world’s most affluent cities in one of the world’s most affluent nations. It is hard not to notice that many people in Houston, including us Catholic Workers, have… continue reading
The Crowd Parted When Mark Zwick Arrived in His Wheel Chair
January 16, 2017 by
As his health declined, Mark Zwick was no longer able to walk the short distance to visit all the Catholic Worker houses that he and his wife, Louise founded. It was important to him that he still be connected to the work, however, so for a time he was driven by car and later pushed… continue reading
Daniel Berrigan, SJ: Our Only Weapon Is Love
July 15, 2016 by
The recent death of Father Daniel Berrigan, S.J., the famous anti-war priest, reminded me of a retreat he gave in Houston well over twenty years ago. I was a brand new Catholic convert, a pacifist and a Dorothy Day admirer, full of eagerness to serve and sacrifice. Here was a priest, heavily influenced by the… continue reading
Christmas All Year Long at Casa Juan Diego
February 9, 2016 by
As I finished my seventh Christmas season at Casa Juan Diego, I was amazed, just as I am amazed every year, by the generosity of our supporting community. The people of Houston give their money and their time open-handedly to keep our doors open and our pantry full, not just at Christmas, but throughout the… continue reading
The Pope, the Cuban Embargo, and Inequality; A Personal Note
November 14, 2015 by
As I write this, I am still reeling from that part of Pope Francis’s speech to the Congress where he singled out Dorothy Day as one of four great Americans to be honored for their work and service. Dorothy Day was the inspiration for Mark and Louise Zwick starting Casa Juan Diego. For thirty-five years,… continue reading
