Dorothy Day has died. However, her spirit is alive and well; its presence was recently felt in Houston. The Houston Catholic Worker has opened its doors. Her work goes on, maybe not in the perfect spirit of the New York Catholic Worker, but hopefully in the same spirit. She no longer writes her column, “On… continue reading
Miracle After Prayers to Dorothy Inspires New Convert: My Long, Circuitous Journey into Catholicism
July 5, 2013 by
At Casa Juan Diego we all rejoiced when we learned that Sarah Maple’s aggressive brain cancer had been cured through prayers to Dorothy Day. This past Easter, Sarah came into the Catholic Church. When she received the sacrament of Confirmation, she chose Dorothy as her confirmation name (there are several saint Dorothy’s). This is her… continue reading
Pope Wants a Church of the Poor and For the Poor, But a Well-known Catholic Writer Rejects Saint Francis of Assisi
July 5, 2013 by
The very first thing our new Pope did was to choose the name of Francis for St. Francis of Assisi. No Pope has ever been named Francis before. If Pope Francis had not done anything else, just claiming the name of Francis would have had a tremendous impact. (Para leer este artículo en español, haga… continue reading
Hospitality and Honeybees: Worker Bees Inspire Catholic Worker
July 3, 2013 by
Casa Juan Diego’s hospitality has been stretched to new limits in recent months as we welcomed a colony of honeybees to make themselves at home in our garden. The ecological importance of bees is undisputed, but so are the heart-wrenching obstacles to their survival. An absence of honeybees and their pollination work would greatly destabilize… continue reading
His Daughter Died of Sadness. Separated From Her Father By Economics As She Lay Dying
July 3, 2013 by
Andy and Blossom Wright were Catholic Workers in Houston for eight years. They now live in Wisconsin and recently visited with their four children. We asked Andy’s help in getting Daniel to the bus station. “Ella se murió de tristeza.” She died of sadness. This was the analysis of Danielʼs housemate here in Houston, the… continue reading
How It All Began
June 18, 2013 by
We debated about calling the new/old section in the Archives, “What Were You Thinking?” or “The Early Years” or “Our Kids Think This Is Normal?” or “Giving It All Away” or “The Fire Years,” or “Youthful Energy,” but we chose “How It All Began.” In 1980 something very profound was happening in our community. Homeless refugees… continue reading
Casa Juan Diego, New Catholic Worker House, Opens to Serve the Poor
June 16, 2013 by
Casa Juan Diego is the result of allowing ourselves to dream. The vision of a Catholic Worker house on Washington Avenue in Houston established to serve the poor and Spanish speaking first came to us in 1979 while working in St. Theresa’s social service office. We had been readers of Dorothy Day’s Catholic Worker paper… continue reading
End Forced Medical Deportations with Houses of Hospitality
June 12, 2013 by
Robby Caceres was a young, undocumented day laborer who was cut down by a heat stroke while working on a roof last summer. Dazed with grief and fear, his brother and a cousin, also young 20-somethings, came to Casa Juan Diego with a plea for help. It turned out Robby’s heat stroke was no ordinary… continue reading
Why Are Cuban Refugees Coming to Casa Juan Diego and Catholic Charities in Houston?
April 9, 2013 by
For more and more new Cuban refugees, the perilous journey to the U.S. is coming to an official end at Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Over the past ten months, the agency’s midtown office has brimmed with scores of bedraggled immigrants, many having just made the 2,400-mile journey from Ecuador by any means… continue reading
Immigration, the Invisible Hand of Agribusiness, and Farm Workers
March 31, 2013 by
Mark Muller is the Food and Community Fellows Program of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy About a year ago, Don Lassus reviewed the book Tomatoland in the Houston Catholic Worker. This article takes the perspective of the campaign to address the mistreatment of the agricultural workers in Immokalee, Florida, in the larger context… continue reading
