Dorothy Day's Pilgrimage Continues at Casa Juan Diego

The Pilgrimage Continues...
THE BEAUTY OF THE HOUSE OF GOD

by Christy Schaitel

Christy is a Catholic Worker and graduate of the Univerity of Wisconsin
at Eau Claire.

Last week a seven-year-old boy staying with his battered mother and
younger sister asked me something which I will never forget. He asked
me, "Is this the house of God?" It wasn't the first time I had heard
Casa Juan Diego referred to in this way. At the previous Wednesday
night Mass, a Nicaraguan man finished recounting his tale of arriving at
Casa Juan Diego by saying, "...and now here I am at the house of God."

I wasn't quite sure how to respond to the boy, so I finally told him
that God is everywhere, including Casa Juan Diego. He kind of shrugged, as if not entirely satisfied by my response, but his question started me thinking. Where would a seven-year-old child come up with such an idea? Perhaps from his mother? But where would she have gotten the idea? Then again, maybe he just thought God might find Casa Juan Diego a nice place to live.

Certainly there is nothing luxurious or extravagant about the house
itself. Most of the furniture is simple and second hand, many of the
walls, bare. It is a functional structure designed to meet the basic
needs of battered and immigrant women and their children. It is not a
lifestyle padded with material comforts, even given the amazing
generosity of those who daily bring donations to us.

Again, why would this child suppose that God might choose for his
Dwellings a place like Casa Juan Diego? Only a few miles down the road
are some of the most beautiful homes in Houston--homes with perfectly
manicured lawns, swimming pools, and even tennis courts.

I suppose this depends on how one defines beauty. Recently, I walked
into the T.V. lounge to find that a guest had decorated one of the walls
with a tiny picture of Jesus in a simple plastic frame. All around the
picture of Jesus were pictures of "Clifford the Dog" that she had cut
out of a book. It is as lovely an interior decoration as I've ever
seen.

I wonder, also, if these mammoth, forbidding homes have enough space to hold all of the love that Casa Juan Diego does. That's not to say that
there is constant harmony here or that everyone is always smiling and
kind, but there is always a sense of cariño. Most of the women I have
met have an unshakeable faith in God. When I ask them how it is that
they've come to Casa Juan Diego they often recount a long, sad story,
but quite frequently they say that it was God who led them here.

Though it's certainly not the only one, in many ways, Casa Juan Diego is
a house of God. For the women and children who come to our door, it
provides a true sanctuary from the violence that has plagued them in
their native countries, in this one, and in their own homes. One woman
who had just arrived from Nicaragua after two month en camino told me
that we were the first kind people she'd met since leaving her country.
The first to help her.

If this is true, then I am sad--yes, for this woman, but also for those
who missed out on the chance to be the hands of God. I am reminded of a phrase in the Bible which is frequently spoken at Casa Juan
Diego--Matthew 25:3l, ff.)--which speaks of how we serve Jesus himself in serving the poor. What an honor and a privilege it is to be a part of this.

Houston Catholic Worker, Vol. XV, No. 4, May-June 1995.