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Love in Action at Casa Juan Diego During COVID-19

Weeks before the formal stay at home orders were issued, we were planning as best we could to take care of our guests and the many community members we serve. Casa Juan Diego is a literal hive of activity throughout the day, with constant interaction of staff with both guests and community. We have on… continue reading

Activate Catholic Antibodies Against the Coronavirus and the Virus of the Soul

Facing Crises With the Antibodies of Catholicism How does one continue the Works of Mercy in the midst of a pandemic? How can one help to keep faith and hope alive when people are worried and anxious and ill and some in their desperation become angry and have even sought scapegoats? We often hear of… continue reading

Exhausted Catholic Workers rest with social distancing

Our CW’s at Casa Juan Diego, pictured below, are risking much to provide food to the poor and continue housing immigrants and refugees. One man walked from east Houston to receive food this morning because so many pantries have closed. We are preparing many things also for the sick and injured each day, the paralyzed… continue reading

Solidarity and the Unity of Suffering

Evan is a Catholic Worker at Casa Juan Diego. He came to us from a Trappist monastery. Growing up, it was a tradition for my family to travel into downtown Chicago to see a stage rendition of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Though I knew the story well, it never failed to excite my imagination, perhaps… continue reading

The Joy at Casa Juan Diego Is Fuller With You In It and With Your Help

Meg is a Catholic Worker at Casa Juan Diego. She graduated last year from the University of Notre Dame. “The only answer in this life, to the loneliness we are all bound to feel, is community.” Dorothy Day, The Duty of Delight: The Diaries of Dorothy Day, p. 184 Passing through the front door to… continue reading

Thanksgiving Letter

Life at Casa Juan Diego is like being in front of an eternal conveyor belt with countless people, with never ending needs passing by. People come for food, for hospitality, for advice, for help to survive, for ways to engage the legal system, for ways to help children succeed in school, for a wheel chair… continue reading

Christmas Letter 2019

Dear Friends of Casa Juan Diego, Thanks be to God and generous people, Casa Juan Diego has completed its 39th year. Because of your generosity thousands of poor people have been served and many refugees and immigrants and their families have been helped. Our Houses of Hospitality have been full for many months. The food… continue reading

A Meditation on the Incarnation

Reflection on the Good News announced by the angel on that Holy Night when Jesus was born brings to us an awareness of the profound beauty and reality of the Incarnation, but also the contrast of the harsher reality of the world of that time, as well as that of our own time in history…. continue reading

Death While Waiting at the Border

A few days ago, we received word that the brother of a current guest of Casa Juan Diego, who had been forced to await his day in a U.S. Court in one of the refugee camps just across the border in Mexico, had been murdered. We don’t know the details yet, but a fellow migrant,… continue reading

Cultivating Hope in Troubled Times at Casa Juan Diego: Samaritans and Solidarity

  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