We are a community dedicated to living out the Gospel values of loving our enemies and doing good to those who do all manner of evil against us and attempting to take responsibility for the needy sisters and brothers in our society. We follow the tradtion of the Catholic Worker Movement started by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin in 1933 in New York. We believe in nonviolence as a way of life, gentle personalism, and the works of mercy. We choose to live a life of voluntary poverty, to live simply so that others may simply live.
In addtion to housing, we provide food, clothing, used furniture (when possible) etc. which are donated to us by the public, to help our guests and others others in need of such items. We also try to root out the causes of poverty and violence by non-violently protesting and refusing to cooperate with the military and the U.S. government. We refuse to pay for the making of weapons and war and choose to use our money to help those lacking the basics of life. We protest injustice, oppression and discrimination in the world, and work for nonviolence to be taught and lived in our homes, schools, churches, and institutions.
Our community members do not receive compensation for working at our houses, and many of them have jobs on the outside to provide for their own personal needs and the needs of the houses. Anyone who wishes to live a life of voluntary poverty, dedicate their life to those in need and oppressed, live a life of nonviolence and gentle personalism, and is willing to live in community is invited to join the Casa Maria Community. We accept volunteers of any race, religion, nationality or sexual orientation.
We depend on the donations of our volunteers and others wishing to to maintain the houses. All donations received are used solely to help the homeless and needy who lack the basics of life. We do not receive any government, Archdiocesan, or corporate funds. This goes along with our personalist philosophy and not wanting to create partnerships that may compromise that personalism. As such, we have never applied for tax-exempt status. We have no desire to receive government support for our work and do want to risk becoming a social agency. This is our home. We also pick up used furniture and appliances (when possible) and accept household items, food, clothing, etc. at our front door. We charge nothing for these items nor for our services which we give to those in need. We attempt to create a society in which it is easier for people to be good and trust God will provide the means for us to continue our work with the economically and spiritually poor in our society.
Tags: catholic worker Economic Justice Fair Trade & Globalization Faith and Spirituality
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