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
Is Immigration Catholic?
December 1, 1996 by
Q.: Are you in favor of immigration? A.: Absolutely not! We oppose undocumented immigration because it destroys families, separates parents and children and ruins marriages. Q.: That doesn’t sound like someone who has had over 30,000 immigrants pass through their doors, does it? A.: We pick up the pieces, as it were. After people are… continue reading
Casa Don Bosco Serves Immigrant Teens
November 1, 1996 by
John Bosco was born August 16, 1815. From as early as nine years of age he had a sense of his vocation: to be a friend to youth and to emanate the Love of Christ such that many young people would want to receive this gracious Love. Through many trials of misunderstanding and political jealousies,… continue reading
Who Are These Terrible Immigrants?
June 1, 1996 by
It was mind boggling. We were sitting in this beautiful dining room meeting one gracious woman after another, all bright blue-eyed and all asking about our work. Sister Loyola Hegerty, former Mother Superior, made a point of introducing us to all these Sisters of Charity and bragging on us, how we have served thousands of… continue reading
Reflections of a Guilty Bystander
April 1, 1996 by
Justin Vorbach was a teacher in Seattle for two years before coming to live at Casa Juan Diego as a Catholic Worker. I came to work at Casa Juan Diego in August. The past six months have been challenging but ultimately very rewarding. One rewarding experience has been studying U.S. history with Jacobo, a sixteen-year-old… continue reading
