This year, Dorothy Day Guild board member and editor in chief of Orbis Books, Robert Ellsberg, will host our online reading group over the course of five Sundays in Lent. During our time together, we will work through Robert's newest edited volume of Dorothy's work, entitled Dorothy Day: Spiritual Writings. This collection,

"explores the key themes that underlay [Dorothy's} spirituality, beginning with the call to see Christ in the poor. Day’s spirituality was deeply influenced by the “Little Way” of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, which showed the path to holiness in the daily exercise of patience, charity, and forgiveness. Dorothy extended this principle to the social dimension, the significance of the little protests we make or fail to make. She believed that each act of love, each witness for peace, increases the balance of love and peace in the world."

If you do not yet have your own copy of Dorothy Day: Spiritual Writings, you can purchase a copy through Orbis Books. We also encourage book club members to request a copy through their local public library. We look forward to a series of wonderful conversations as we journey together with Christ, and with Dorothy, in the Lenten season.

Meeting schedule: Sunday evenings at 7:30 pm Eastern/6:30 pm Central

Each meeting will last one hour.

In his announcement of the upcoming 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, Pope Francis called the faithful to read the signs of the times and to search amongst them for signs of hope. The Holy Father tells us that the first of these must be “the desire for peace in our world, which once more finds itself immersed in the tragedy of war…May the Jubilee remind us that those who are peacemakers will be called ‘children of God’ (Mt 5:9). The need for peace challenges us all, and demands that concrete steps be taken.” Likewise, Pope Francis asks the wider Christian community to offer real signs of hope to the poor at home and across the world whose material needs go unmet. In the life and legacy of Dorothy Day, we read these signs.

We are currently accepting  proposals of between 300-500 words to discuss the significance of Day’s legacy in the twenty-first century for a one-day symposium sponsored by the Dorothy Day Guild and the Dorothy Day Center for the Study and Promotion of Social Catholicism on Saturday, March 29th, 2025 on the campus of Manhattan University in the Bronx, NY. This conference is open to scholars at every level and peace practitioners whose life and work have been influenced by Dorothy Day’s legacy. We particularly invite students and members of the Catholic Worker movement to submit proposals for papers, panels, and presentations of creative work. Final presentations and papers should be limited to 20 minutes. 

To encourage participation by international participants and to reduce our shared carbon footprint, the symposium will be offered in a hybrid format. Participants may choose to present in-person or over video conferencing.

Please stay tuned for further information on how to register for this event! We look forward to reading your proposals and hope to see many of you in person and online in March!