Sofía has been a volunteer at Casa Juan Diego for ten years. In January of 2021 I discovered that I was pregnant. The emotion was huge. We could not believe that soon we would be a family of five. The normal symptoms of pregnancy began. Nausea, insomnia, sleepiness… the “normal” and “expected.” During the 10th week,… continue reading
Raising a Prophetic Voice: Civil Disobedience,Divine Obedience and the Catholic Worker
November 9, 2019 by
Casa Juan Diego is a busy place, powered by an amazingly hard-working core of full-time, live-in Catholic Workers and aided by a vast and varied troop of part-time volunteers. Multi-tasking is a must, since the phone and the doorbell never stop ringing. Meals and meetings take place against the background hum of the immigrant mothers… continue reading
Reflections at Casa Juan Diego on Tropical Storm Imelda and Climate Change
September 21, 2019 by
Continuing Mark Zwick’s tradition of sharing the faith in the light of current realities with the guests of Casa Juan Diego, last night we reflected with the 35 men at Casa Don Marcos on the recent tropical storm here and climate change. We shared a section of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si on climate change, mentioning… continue reading
Ben Salmon, Catholic Conscientious Objector
July 22, 2019 by
Michael J. Baxter co-founded and lived and worked at Andre House in Phoenix (1984-88) and the Peter Claver Catholic Worker in South Bend (2003-09). He directed the Catholic Peace Fellowship from 2001-2012. He currently teaches Religious Studies and Catholic Studies at Regis University in Denver and is completing a collection of his essays on Catholic… continue reading
Grassroots Transformation: A Christian Response to Pollution From Discarded Plastic
March 19, 2019 by
Colleen, a recent graduate from Purdue University, is a Catholic Worker at Casa Juan Diego Because Pope Francis composed such a beautiful discourse on our common home in his 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si, I will interlace his writings and mine in the piece that follows. His both tender and impassioned reflections cannot be overstated nor… continue reading
The Eighth Work of Mercy And Caring for Our Common Home to Prevent a Refugee Crisis
November 3, 2018 by
In his Message for the 2016 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation entitled Show Mercy to our Common Home, Pope Francis unexpectedly announced an addition of two works of mercy to the original 14 – one corporal and one spiritual – compiled into a single phrase: “care for our common home.” We… continue reading
Pope Rejects Possession of Nuclear Weapons; Catholic Worker Pacifism Influences Church Teaching
March 8, 2018 by
“To be true followers of Jesus today also includes embracing his teaching about nonviolence,” Pope Francis said in his January 2017 World Day of Peace message.1 The issue of nonviolence has particular urgency in this moment, when more nations are acquiring nuclear weapons, when reckless, bellicose rhetoric prevails, and when false alerts of incoming missiles… 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
New Pastoral Letter From San Salvador: I See Violence and Strife In the City
June 3, 2016 by
El Salvador is again overwhelmed with violence. At Casa Juan Diego we are very aware of the critical situation for Salvadorans because of the refugees who come to our doors and tell us their stories. In response to a crisis situation in which the death toll from homicides is one of the highest in the… continue reading
Blessed Oscar Romero on Christmas
December 1, 2015 by
Excerpts from the Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent on the fourth of December of 1977: “Christ, the Center and the End Of All Human History.” A Calling For Christmas Regarding Christmas, beloved brothers and sisters, I want take as a guide, and propose to you all, an initiative of the Diocese of Santiago… continue reading
