Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Dorothy Day

Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the death of Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker Movement.

An early radical, Day became a socialist, dropped out of college, married and had an abortion before converting to Catholicism as an adult.   As this article by Andrew Hamilton says, Dorothy's was "a gospel with teeth."  She founded Catholic Worker Houses that helped (and still help) the poor--alcoholics, drug addicts and street people.

Her theology was all about pacifism, hospitality and human dignity. The poor who came to her were treated with dignity and non-violence--the first many had ever known.  Even when involved in political passive resistance (think, Gandhi and Martin Luther King) the innate human dignity of one's opponent was at the forefront.

*This* is Christianity.  This is what Jesus wants us to do.

3 comments:

TACParent said...

I love the picture you have posted here. When I think how much food we (society) throw away it saddens me to know someone would be excited to have it.

Michele said...

very nice post. i wish more people would care for one another, treat their fellow man as Jesus commanded us to do. we would live in absolute peace if the world only stopped to listen, and learn.

Staying in Balance said...

Absolutely, Michele.

Dymphna's favorite quotes


"Slavery ended in medieval Europe only because the church extended its sacraments to all slaves and then managed to impose a ban on the enslavement of Christians (and of Jews). Within the context of medieval Europe, that prohibition was effectively a rule of universal abolition. "— Rodney Stark

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