Day 4, Works of Mercy

Admin • Dec 03, 2022

The Catholic Worker movement led by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin sought to invigorate and give new life to the radical vision of Christianity. At the heart of that vision is the practice of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy:

- Feed the Hungry                                        – Instruct the Ignorant

- Give Drink to the Thirsty                         – Counsel the Doubtful

- Clothe the Naked                                       – Admonish the Sinner

- Visit the Imprisoned                                 – Comfort the Sorrowful

- Shelter the Homeless                                – Bear Wrongs Patiently

- Visit the Sick                                               – Forgive All Injuries

- Bury the Dead                                            – Pray for the Living and the Dead


Servant of God Dorothy Day, intercede for us; pray that we grow in courage and faith to follow our own path to holiness.


We pray for the grace and desire to bear witness to our faith through the daily practice of the works of mercy.


“When Peter Maurin talked about the necessity of practicing the works of mercy, he meant all of them. He envisioned houses of hospitality in poor parishes in every city of the country, where these precepts of our Lord could be put into effect. He pointed out that we … no longer practice personal responsibility, but are repeating the words of the first murderer, ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?” –Dorothy Day, “The Scandal of the Works of Mercy,” Commonweal, November 4, 1949


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By Claire Schaeffer-Duffy and Scott Schaeffer-Duffy 26 Apr, 2024
Sharing life with the poor in crowded row houses in a neighborhood where crack cocaine flowed freely was not for everyone. It was eventually not for us. One night at dinner, Carl noted that every man at the table had punched him or Scott at least once. The mayhem we once found exhilarating now exhausted us. Like many Catholic Worker couples, we fell in love while working at the houses. We got married in Washington, DC in 1984 on the feast of a married saint, Thomas More, and then moved to Worcester, Massachusetts. We found a cheap apartment and took jobs that gave us flexibility to focus on anti-nuclear activism. To keep life simple, we decided to do no hospitality. That decision did not hold. Shortly after our first child, Justin, was born, Scott served a thirty-day jail sentence for a protest against nuclear weapons. While in jail, he met an inmate who was due to be released before Christmas. Since Kenny had nowhere to go, we took him into our apartment until he could get settled. Hosting him reminded us that we liked the Catholic Worker’s unique combination of the works of mercy with the works of peace and justice. Together with three friends, we spent several months in prayer and discussion to discern the possibility of forming an intentional community. As part of our discernment, we gradually began to incorporate Catholic Worker practices. We ate together weekly and joined a local vigil against nuclear weapons. Inspired by the journalism of Dorothy Day, we began publishing the Catholic Radical, a newsletter that continues to this day. In the summer of 1986, our family moved into a large inner-city apartment with Dan Ethier and Sarah Jeglosky and started the Saints Francis & Thérèse Catholic Worker. 
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