Dorothy Day wore many different hats. She was a drifter, a radical, a bohemian, an activist, and a journalist. She was an unwed mother who had aborted a previous child. She was also a convert, a mystic, and, above all, a devout Catholic. In fact, she is one of the most inspiring Catholic women of the twentieth century.

Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin cofounded the Catholic Worker Movement as a way of helping the poor and homeless in New York City. They opened a shelter (a “hospitality house”) and a food line on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and they founded a newspaper, the Catholic Worker, to draw attention to social injustice and to promote Catholic social teaching. Today, more than one hundred hospitality houses are functioning in the United States.

Dorothy Day’s influence wasn’t limited to the United States. In 2000, Pope John Paul II gave approval for her cause for sainthood to begin. In one of his final general audiences, Benedict XVI pointed to her “search for truth” and her willingness “to open herself to the discovery of faith” as a model for conversion. And last year, during his address to a joint session of the US Congress, Pope Francis included Dorothy Day in a short list of exemplary Americans, along with Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Thomas Merton.

An Active, Faithful Catholic. Very active in social and political causes, Dorothy Day remained a humble, prayerful woman. She attended daily Mass and called the Eucharist her spiritual sustenance. She had a deep love for the Scriptures—especially the psalms, Paul’s letters, and the Gospels. She loved reading about the saints and had a special devotion to Thérèse of Lisieux.

Dorothy Day stood against the thought that war and violence were credible ways to solve the world’s problems. Instead, she urged the threefold practice of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. She was convinced that without her own prayer life, she would never be able to take up the call to live in voluntary poverty and to care for the needy.

This month, as we look at the life and legacy of Dorothy Day, we are fortunate to have Robert Ellsberg as our guest writer. As a young man, Robert spent five years living in the New York house of hospitality with Dorothy. He became general editor of the Catholic Worker newspaper and eventually converted to Catholicism—all thanks to her influence. I hope that reading about Dorothy Day will help you feel a greater solidarity with the poor and needy. I know that along with a few other people, Dorothy has inspired my wife, Felicia, and me to spend our retirement years living with and caring for the poor. May the Lord bless you.

Joe Difato
Publisher
(joe@wau.org)