The end of Dorothy Day’s autobiography: “But the final word is love. At times it has been, in the words of Father Zossima, a harsh and dreadful thing, and our very faith in love has been tried through fire.
Tag Archives: Dorothy Day
The generosity of life I seek
Dorothy Day had in incredibly influential man in her life, challenging her to the work she carried among the poor. His life had a profound impact on her. His name was Peter Maurin. She would describe him in her book, The Long Loneliness, as one who sought the common good. He was grounded in hisContinue reading “The generosity of life I seek”
Why I am not an ideologue
I am working my way through The Long Loneliness, an autobiography of Dorothy Day. As she was beginning her work in journalism, it was 1917 in New York City. A massive time of upheaval. She was still not convinced of Christianity, but her work in journalism kept her from attending any meetings of Socialists, thoughContinue reading “Why I am not an ideologue”
EVERY generation deconstructs… and some even reconstruct
I am reading The Long Loneliness, an autobiography of Dorothy Day. It struck me how she went through her own “awakening” in the early 1900s in much the same way I did when I was in college. I reflect on that because “deconstruction” is the “buzz word” of our time… and it’s not really atContinue reading “EVERY generation deconstructs… and some even reconstruct”
Throw the pebble
“People say, what is the sense of our small effort? They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time. A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that spread in all directions. Each one of our thoughts, words and deeds is like that. No one hasContinue reading “Throw the pebble”
The way of community
“I still think that the only solution is the land, and community, a community which is unjudging and which forgives ‘seventy times seven,’ as Jesus Christ said. We who think in terms of community at least have the assurance, the conviction, that we are on the right path, going in the right direction, taking theContinue reading “The way of community”
Be Faithful, Leave the Rest to God
“The main thing is never to get discouraged at the slowness of people or results. People may not be articulate or active, but even so, we do not ever know the result, or the effect on the souls. That is not for us to know. We can only go ahead and work with happiness atContinue reading “Be Faithful, Leave the Rest to God”
A life of peace
“Near the end of (Dorothy) Day’s life, Robert Coles asked her if she had any plans to write a memoir. She was a gorgeous and prolific writer, so it was a natural question to ask. She told Coles that she had once thought of doing that, and had pulled out a piece of paper andContinue reading “A life of peace”
May the love of God wake you in the morning
“Woke up this a.m. with the feeling very strong — I belong to Someone to whom I owe devotion. Recalled early love and the joyous sense of being not my own, but of belonging to someone who loved me completely.” — Dorothy Day, from The Reckless Way of Love
Apprentice 2 Jesus 