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Casa Juan Diego, House of Miracles

I sat in the comedor of Casa Juan Diego and heard a story of a woman who, upon arrival, had been referred to a local hospital. She had massive burns on her leg from the exhaust pipe of a truck. She had ridden several days and nights in order to get to Houston. She had travelled from El Salvador…. continue reading

Is Immigration Catholic?

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

Mrs. Santiago Must Die: The Slope is Slippery

Dr. Clifton is a Catholic neurosurgeon who works frequently with people who have head injuries or are dying. His wife, Karen, has helped to supply many practical needs for Casa Juan Diego over the years, and currently provides sandwiches for the men on the streets. Mrs. Santiago Mrs. Amy Santiago was 80 years old and… continue reading

Casa Don Bosco Serves Immigrant Teens

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

Heart of the World, Center of the Church: Can CEO’s and Stockholders be Saved?

Who then devised the torment? Love. Love is the unfamiliar Name Behind the hands that wove The intolerable shirt of flame Which human power cannot remove. We only live, only suspire Consumed either by fire or fire. (T. S. Eliot) How different our world looks today from the Civilization of Love called for by recent… continue reading

Peter Maurin, Saint and Scholar of the Catholic Worker

This “interview” is what might taken place in such an interview, presenting Peter Maurin’s ideas. Houston Catholic Worker: What do you call your approach? Peter Maurin: Christian personalism, which makes each person responsible for the suffering Christ who stands before him in the person of the poor. It differs dramatically from an economic order characterized… continue reading

Peter Maurin, Saint and Scholar of the Catholic Worker

The Core Ideas–the Vision The person who created the Catholic Worker philosophy, and in partnership with Dorothy Day, lived the vision of the Catholic Worker movement, is Peter Maurin. Peter Maurin taught Dorothy Day not everything she knew, but just about everything. They met in 1933, Peter having been sent to Dorothy Day by George… continue reading

Saint Therese’s Little Way demands Love in Action

Loving one Difficult to Love There’s one sister in the community who has the knack of rubbing me up the wrong way at every turn; her tricks of manner, her tricks of speech, her character, just strike me as unlovable. But, then, she’s a holy religious; God must love her dearly; so I wasn’t going… continue reading

Saint Therese of Lisieux inspired Dorothy Day

The ninth article in the series on the influences on Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin in founding the Catholic Worker features St. Therese of Lisieux. It would be hard to imagine two more unlikely soul mates than Dorothy Day and Saint Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower. Dorothy Day cofounded the Catholic Worker Movement with… continue reading

Who Are These Terrible Immigrants?

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