It often seems challenging or almost impossible to live out the Sermon on the Mount. Implementing it even in small ways often involves creative thinking outside of the usual patterns of thought as well as discernment about what is happening in our world. A friend recently told us that she went to her parish to… continue reading
The Incarnation Brings God’s Prodigal Mercy to the Peripheries
December 9, 2017 by
Several years ago a priest visited us at Casa Juan Diego and noticed our book, Mercy Without Borders newly published by Paulist Press. When he asked where it was available, someone told him, through amazon.com. The priest laughed and laughed, saying how funny that was—our being down here hidden away with the poor and our… 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
A Voice Crying Out In the Desert
May 2, 2016 by
Mark, a Catholic Worker at Casa Juan Diego, graduated from Texas A & M University. I come from a family of migrant workers. My grandparents would travel from the Texas border to Wisconsin, Montana and Wyoming during the summer months to work in the fields and work as laborers. My parents would also go up… 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
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
Christ’s Presence Illumines Sorrows and Joys at the Houston Catholic Worker
September 16, 2015 by
Kathleen is a student at the Univ. of Notre Dame. She spent eight weeks at Casa Juan Diego this summer. The last of the women had just gone upstairs after coming down for a nighttime glass of water, and it was finally quiet. I shut off the kitchen lights, checked the lock on the back… continue reading
Vatican Document Jolts Church: Themes of Jubilee Year of Mercy Inspired Catholic Worker
July 22, 2015 by
We, like many others, were surprised when Pope Francis declared a Year of Jubilee to begin on December 8 this fall. We were especially surprised and moved when he revealed that the theme of the Jubilee Year would be mercy. In the ancient tradition of a Year of Jubilee, slaves and prisoners were to be… continue reading
What Pope Francis Means By a Culture of Encounter
July 1, 2015 by
In a homily given on his first Pentecost as our pontiff, Pope Francis suggested that the word “encounter” is central to the way he thinks of Christian relationships. In the homily he encourages the faithful to be fearless in the ways in which they look beyond their own needs and wants to those of others…. continue reading
Friend of Casa Juan Diego Becomes Bishop of Victoria
June 16, 2015 by
Casa Juan Diego receives encouragement from many sources. but especially has received encouragement from Fr. Brendan Cahilll, who will be ordained the new Bishop of the Diocese of Victoria, Texas, on June 29. Fr. Brendan has impressive credentials. He has served in several parishes. He has more recently been Director of Clergy Formation and Chaplaincy… continue reading
