header icons

Sick and Injured Immigrants Share Their Stories

Visiting With the Sick and Injured When people come to Casa Juan Diego for help, we hear many tragic stories, but see the beauty of families helping each other. When the sick or injured come for help, if there is family, or if they are able to live alone, we help them directly. We address the… continue reading

Called to Be Saints: John Hugo, the Catholic Worker, and a Theology of Radical Christianity

Benjamin T. Peters. Called to Be Saints: John Hugo, the Catholic Worker, and a Theology of Radical Christianity. Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 2016, 586 p. Reviewed by Mark and Louise Zwick In this landmark study of Fr. John Hugo and the retreat that had a profound influence on Dorothy Day, Benjamin Peters argues that Hugo’s… continue reading

Daniel Berrigan, SJ: Our Only Weapon Is Love

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

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

Why Are We Deporting Thousands Of Children Alone?

We wrote in the last issue about the Central American children who come to the United States alone and the mothers with children who are escaping imminent death in their countries but are the first to be deported when they arrive. Now the news is even worse. The Department of Security is sending deportation officers… continue reading

Personalism in Our Daily Lives

Joanna, a graduate of Wyoming Catholic College, is a Catholic Worker at Casa Juan Diego. I came to Casa Juan Diego some months ago, and as I made the long drive from home down to Houston, Texas, I began to wonder more and more as the wheels of the car brought me closer and closer… continue reading

A Voice Crying Out In the Desert

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

Rutilio Grande, SJ: Homilies and Writings

Book Review: Rutilio Grande, SJ: Homilies and Writings. Edited, Translated, and Annotated by Thomas M. Kelly. College-ville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2015. Reviewed by Mark and Louise Zwick On February 13, 1977, Mark stood next to Rutilio Grande, the priest who would soon be assassinated, as he waited in the procession to begin Mass. It was… continue reading

The Poor Are the Wealth Of the Church

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

Christmas All Year Long at Casa Juan Diego

As I finished my seventh Christmas season at Casa Juan Diego, I was amazed, just as I am amazed every year, by the generosity of our supporting community. The people of Houston give their money and their time open-handedly to keep our doors open and our pantry full, not just at Christmas, but throughout the… continue reading