It is Easter evening at Casa Juan Diego. The lights are out in most of the house since the men will be up at 4 a.m. and on their way to the Padre Jack Davis Hiring Hall where hopefully all will pick up a days’ work. Our men are mostly from Mexico and the Central… continue reading
Easter at Casa Juan Diego Center for Immigrants and Refugees; Catholic Worker Hospitality, Easter 2000
August 1, 2000 by
Despair and Hope at Casa Juan Diego, the Houston Catholic Worker
October 1, 1999 by
Despair Yesterday we found Fernando on the floor in a pool of blood with seizures that wouldn’t stop. Fernando, seriously ill with kidney failure, has lived in the States many years, but can’t get any compensation. For the rest of his life, which won’t be too long, he lives on the verge of collapsing before… continue reading
Immigrants are Not Criminals
August 1, 1999 by
Last week Noemí came to Casa Juan Diego to beg for a place to stay with her three children because her husband had been deported because of tickets. Well, not because of tickets, but because he was jailed for not paying traffic tickets on time. The Immigration and Naturalization Service has a desk in the… continue reading
Hundreds of Immigrants Arrive at Casa Juan Diego from the INS
February 1, 1999 by
On the first day of Christmas (Operation Overwhelm), the Immigration and Naturalization Service sent 44 guests from Honduras to Casa Juan Diego. On the second day of Christmas (O.O.), the INS sent 47 guests from Guatemala. On the third day of Christmas (0.0.), Immigration sent 67 Central Americans from various countries. On the fourth day… continue reading
Poor Teach Hard and Dreadful Love: A Disillusioned Catholic Worker Stays On
November 1, 1998 by
Marion Maendel came to Casa Juan Diego from the Bruderhof. She was baptized into the Catholic Church in March 2000. It’s another suffocating Houston night. Air, warm and thick as smoke, cloaks the city and settles in folds between the buildings on Rose Street. I sit in my second-story room in Casa Juan Diego House… continue reading
“The Mystery of the Poor is This: They are Christ.” (Dorothy Day)
November 1, 1998 by
Alfredo, who spent the summer at Casa Juan Diego’s men’s house, is a seminarian from Colombia with the Scalabrini Fathers, studying theology at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. It was six years ago when I first read a copy of the Houston Catholic Worker. I was in my first year of studies with the… continue reading
Many Questions: How Can You Continue the Work of Hospitality?
August 1, 1998 by
Question: You have just talked to 40 to 50 guests at the men’s house. There are 75 to 100 women and children housed in the other centers. You have provided food, clothing, medicine and medical care, dental and eye care to hundreds of others of Casa Juan Diego neighborhoods. Aren’t you and the other workers… continue reading
The Sacrament of the Poor
August 1, 1997 by
T.J., a native Texan (Brownsville) and a lawyer (U.T.) spent several months at Casa Juan Diego as part of his Jesuit novitiate. The Southern Jesuit province is restoring the original Ignatian practice of having novices live poorly with the poor. Casa Juan Diego qualifies as a site for this experience! “And the King will answer,… continue reading
Hospitality Empowers Battered Women
April 1, 1997 by
Marion Maendel came to the Houston Catholic Worker from the Bruderhof movement. She lives and works in the women’s and children’s house. There is a sentiment presently circulating among social agencies and church organizations that hospitality is out of style. Cleverly advertised, innovative new counseling programs for abused and homeless women are in. Shelter is… continue reading
Hospitality as Martyrdom
April 1, 1997 by
Now we really know why no one likes doing hospitality! Here we are knee-deep in doo doo (pronounced poo poo or ca ca in Spanish). Nothing works, nothing flows. “Back up” takes on a new meaning–no longer reinforcement, but that which went down came back up. It is not a pleasant sight. “Doc” from Crown… continue reading
