When asked what we do at Casa Juan Diego, I used to respond with generalities, abstractions that didn’t really answer the question. Over the years, though, I have responded more and more by telling stories about what happens when Catholic Workers and newly arriving migrant persons interact. Although each story is unique, they do fall… continue reading
Tenderly to the Poor in the Catholic Worker
September 9, 2024 by
Within The Catholic Worker, there has Always been emphasis placed on the woks of mercy, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the harborless, that it has seemed to many of our intellectuals a top-heavy performance. There was early criticism that we were taking on ”rotten lumber that would sink the ship. “Derelict” was… continue reading
Reconstructing the Social Order Through the Works of Mercy in an Age of Migration: Reflections from the Houston Catholic Worker
June 12, 2024 by
“You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name,” Exodus 20:7. To “misuse” God’s name is to appropriate his name to justify self-interest, violence, murder….. (La Civiltá Cattolica) The fabric of our social order is being harmed and even destroyed… continue reading
Only Say the Word and I Shall be Healed: Reflections from Casa Juan Diego
June 5, 2024 by
Grace came to the Houston Catholic Worker last summer after her graduation from the Catholic University of America. Her fluency in the French language has been a real gift for a number of our guests. In the middle of this past Lenten season, I went on retreat. A priest and spiritual director recommended that… continue reading
From Union Square to Rome at Eighty-Five: New Foreward by Pope Francis to Dorothy’s Book
February 17, 2024 by
Preservation of the Faith Press published Dorothy Day’s From Union Square to Rome on November 26, 1938, about eighty-five years from Orbis Books’ release of a new edition with a Foreword by Pope Francis. In August 2023, the Vatican Press published an Italian translation with Pope Francis’s original Italian Foreword. As with many authors, Dorothy… continue reading
The Canonization Process for Dorothy Day
February 3, 2024 by
Hello, and greetings from the Dorothy Day Guild! You might know that we received a really important canonization update last month: the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in Rome appointed Monsignor Maurizio Tagliaferri as the relator for Dorothy’s cause! Our Guild steering committee, George Horton, Deirdre Cornell, and Dr. Kevin Ahern, met with our… continue reading
Casa Juan Diego in Houston, Saint Juan Diego, and a New Life in Christ
November 19, 2023 by
Two years ago, God blessed me with the opportunity to be a Catholic Worker for the summer. Before arriving in Casa Juan Diego, I was not entirely sure what living there would entail, but I knew I wanted to spend my summer doing service and learning more about the Catholic faith. One of the requirements… continue reading
“We imagine that their sufferings are one thing and our life another” – Leo Tolstoy
September 9, 2023 by
At our Friday evening meeting just before Pentecost, we shared with the men of Casa Juan Diego the reading from the Acts of the Apostles about the coming of the Holy Spirit. When the Apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, began to speak in different languages, those in the large crowd from many nations heard… continue reading
The Crown of Martyrdom, the Cult of the Dead, and Recent Martyrs
June 6, 2023 by
Martyrs for the Faith – Then and Now Some of the most well-known martyrs who died for their faith are from the earliest years of the Church – beginning with Jesus the Christ himself and then Stephen and many others martyred in Roman times. Over the centuries, Christians have continued to face persecution and martyrdom…. continue reading
Veronica’s Veil – Working Amidst Impossible Situations at the Houston Catholic Worker
March 10, 2023 by
Marjorie began as a Catholic Worker at Casa Juan Diego this past summer after her graduation from Saint Francis University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In Catholic tradition, there is a saint named Veronica who, as the story goes, was so overcome by the sight of Jesus carrying his cross on the road to be crucified that… continue reading
