< 1 min readErnie was born and raised on Tucson’s Southside and is a pillar of the Santa Cruz Catholic Church. He is a manager at Purcell Tires and cooks one Sunday a month here along with his wife Becky. He is without a doubt the #1 FOOD EXPERT at Casa Maria! He knows and loves everything about all kinds of food! This article ‘Lifegiving Bread’ by Brian Doyle in America magazine (3/28/16) makes me think that Jesus also was enamored of food kinda like Ernie! Only maybe he was a bit more skinny. Enterate at http://americamagazine.org/issue/lifegiving-bread ________________________ JESUS ACTUO UN POCO COMO LO

2 min readApparently he would have approved of us not taking the ‘blood money’ we were offered a few years ago by Walmart. Check out this little gem we got from America magazine (3/21/16). Pope Francis: ‘Take Your Check Back’ Speaking out against exploitation and unfair wages for workers, Pope Francis told benefactors to forget about donating money to the church if their earnings came from mistreating others. “Please, take your check back and burn it,” he said to applause. “The people of God – that is, the church – don’t need dirty money. They need hearts that are open to God’s

2 min readIntro by Cesar Aguirre As a recovering addict and reformed Hustla (I’m still a Hustla but only in legit dealings focused on unity and rebuilding community), drug addiction and the incarceration of sick people for “drug crimes” are issues that are very important to me. As someone who has been through the legal system because of crimes committed stemming from drug and alcohol abuse I can tell you that there is zero support for addicts in the legal system. It really is set up to hold people back and set them up for failure instead of helping people get clean

< 1 min read    They worked real hard here at the soup kitchen today in honor of the late great United Farm Worker Union founder Cesar Chavez. They also attended the every Monday mass here, which today was a dynamic communion service led by Brother David Buer, OFM. ________________________________________ Ellos trabajaron muy duro hoy en la cocina gratis in honor de Cesar Chavez, el fundador de United Farm Workers Union. Tambien fueron a misa aqui. La misa hoy fue muy dinamica gracias a Brother David Buer OFM.

< 1 min readWith Brian, Laura, Elsa, y Mari Fuentes and Father David Guzman

2 min readby Brian Flagg How is the City going to balance their budget this year? I attended yesterday’s City Council meeting along with Kassandra Manriquez and Mary DeCamp and heard City Manager Mike Ortega lay out a menu of spending cuts and tax increases that could fill what he claims is a $25 million budget gap next year. You can see it all online. Maybe I’m dense and/or delusional, but under the leadership of Mike Ortega things don’t seem as threatening as usual for poor people, especially bus riders. Cuts in bus service up to $2.5 million and up to $1

3 min readThanks to Sofia, Luis (both are puro Mexico) and all the farm. The diners here especially like the organic hard-boiled eggs we put in the lunch bags, thanks to all the chickens Luis cares for at the farm. It is quite a place, located off River Road near the Jewish Community Center. Check it out at http://www.feliciasfarm.org/ by Sofia Forier-Montes I started as the farm manager for Felicia’s Farm last January, and one of the first things I did was go to Casa Maria to see how their operation is run and to talk to people about what kind of vegetables

3 min readby Brian Flagg I just finished reading about all the highlights of the Holy Father’s trip to Mexico in the most recent America magazine. I particularly liked how he preached to the bishops of Mexico in Mexico City on February 13. He called on them to live as humble pastors, “not princes,” to be close to the poor and oppressed and to prophetically denounce the evils of society. He revealed that his main reason for visiting Mexico City was to pray before the revered image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, whom is at the heart of the spirituality of the

2 min readAuthor and retired political science profesor Jim Clarke comes here every Monday and Thursday and washes the soup pots! A week ago he and his daughter Julie Brogna, also a Casa Maria supporter, went to see the UA Wildacts come back from a nine point deficit with 1:30 left in the game to defeat the mighty Cal Bears, thanks to 3 incredible 3 pointers by Gabe York.  After the game Jim and Julie went to Old Chicago for a beer and who should enter but Gabe York! He received a big ovation and then he went and greeted everyone there.

3 min readby Brian Flagg That’s what we need in this town – Without it, every year at budget time the bus riders (represented by Bus Riders Union), the bus drivers and mechanics (represented by Teamsters) have to go to wage war with the Democrats on the City Council. The worst case scenario for all of us, the riders, the Teamsters, the Council is another strike from hell like the 42 day strike last summer. Check out paragraph #153 from his Encyclical Letter Laudato Si, in which he advocates that our faith is all about defending God’s Creation. In addition to the