Mary the Apostle House Opens in Erie

After much discernment, searching and a couple small miracles, we are happy to announce the opening of Mary the Apostle House.
Located in Erie’s former Polish neighborhood of 22nd by Ash, members of the Mary the Apostle Catholic Worker live with our neighbors struggling against the demons of poverty, drugs and violence.
The patron of our Catholic Worker is Mary of Magdala, the “apostle to the apostles.” We have chosen Mary the Apostle, or perhaps she has chosen us, as a sign of solidarity with the poor who are cast off without adequate care from church or state. Mary too cast her lot with the poor, particularly a poor, wandering, first century rabbi we call Jesus.
Mary was a witness to the torture and death of Jesus, a faithful disciple to the end, even while the others fled. We are also witnesses to violence and death—corporal and spiritual— in our neighborhood and city.
However, hope is not lost. Mary’s faithfulness brought her to witness the joy of Christ’s resurrection. We pray that we may be faithful in our home, so that we may witness the little resurrections around us each day.
Much work has been done to restore our house since we first moved in at the end of August, 2006. A portion of the roof has been replaced; all the carpet and flooring has been removed and is in the process of being replaced (with much gratitude for donated materials and labor). We have come a long way but still have more work to do. We must finish our kitchen and pantry before we can put our dream of sharing food with our neighbors into action.
We have begun in prayer, inspired by monasticism which has been part of the Catholic Worker since its conception and also in solidarity with many communities of the new monasticism.

Mary the Apostle Catholic Worker

We've just opened... and have just signed up for this blog thing. More to come. Please check back soon.

Peace.

"Our problems stem from our acceptance of this filthy, rotten system." - Dorothy Day