Blog-News Archive

For Dorothy Day, the Catholic Worker community afforded a context in which the daily realities of life were fully experienced and faith, hope, and love were tested. Community is a reminder of what we often forget, that love is not … Continue reading →

Dorothy Day always insisted that it was the joy of her daughter’s birth that brought her to God: “I was happy but my very happiness made me know that there was a greater happiness to be obtained from life than … Continue reading →

On her reception of the Laetare Medal at the University of Notre Dame in May 1972, University President Father Theodore Hesburgh stated that Dorothy Day was the single most influential Catholic of the last fifty years. “She’s represented the Church … Continue reading →

Dorothy Day was an outspoken critic of our social order, what she once referred to as our “dirty, rotten system” that denies the most vulnerable the right to a living wage, safety and security. Throughout her long life, she embraced … Continue reading →

The recording of Nov 12th’s discussion is up.  https://youtu.be/Fh49mgOtDCs There is still time to register for the third Zoom event on the 19th.  

The zoom discussion of Day and the Benedictine Oblates on Sat 5th is now up on Youtube: https://youtu.be/yPQfLzqWlNI Also, there is still time to register for this Saturday’s event: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85306893939?pwd=WUkxb2lEbVJoR0lQWFNuQXh1U056Zz0 Attend and listen to our three panelists who have integrated Benedictine spirituality … Continue reading →

 On November 8, 2022, we celebrate Dorothy Day’s 125th birthday!   The Guild will mark this milestone with a year-long celebration of Dorothy Day’s birth and life and her continuing inspiration to all to live our lives governed by the … Continue reading →

Blessed are the peacemakers. With deep sadness, the Guild mourns the loss of longtime Catholic Worker, Tom Cornell, who died peacefully early this morning.  We also rejoice in his life!  As a young man, Tom embraced the Catholic Worker vocation in … Continue reading →

“I was surprised that I found myself beginning to pray daily. I could not get down on my knees, but I could pray while I was walking.” - Dorothy Day, The Long Loneliness The Dorothy Day Guild invites all our … Continue reading →

“There I offered up a special prayer, a prayer which came with tears and with anguish, that some way would open up for me to use what talents I possessed for my fellow workers, for the poor.” ― from The Long Loneliness

When we asked the esteemed American Catholic historian and the Guild’s good friend, David O’Brien, to write a reflection for the Winter 2021 newsletter, commemorating the historic send-off of Dorothy Day’s Cause to Rome, we received, not surprisingly, more than … Continue reading →

MASS AT ST. PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL TO CELEBRATE SEND-OFF On the 89th anniversary of a young Dorothy Day’s famously praying, after covering the 1932 Communist-led Hunger March in Washington, D.C., that some way would open up for her as a Catholic … Continue reading →

November 8, 2021: Dorothy Day’s 124th birthday Dorothy Day did not set out to become a saint, although she often quoted a famous statement that “The only tragedy in life is not to be a saint.” She simply spent a … Continue reading →

In anticipation of our upcoming commemoration of the the 40th anniversary of Day’s death on November 29th 2020, we remember the eulogy given by Father Geoffrey B. Gneuhs, O.P. at the funeral of Dorothy Day, Nativity Church, New York City, … Continue reading →

The Dorothy Day Guild asks its members and others to “spiritually gather” (in the words of Pope Francis) to pray a novena for solidarity and compassion in this challenging time. Her conversion cost her dearly, but Dorothy always insisted that … Continue reading →

The Dorothy Day Guild asks its members and others to “spiritually gather” (in the words of Pope Francis) to pray a novena for solidarity and compassion in this challenging time. As we look outward at the tragedy of illness, we … Continue reading →

The Dorothy Day Guild asks its members and others to “spiritually gather” (in the words of Pope Francis) to pray a novena for solidarity and compassion in this challenging time. It is tempting to become immobilized by feelings of grief, … Continue reading →

The Dorothy Day Guild asks its members and others to “spiritually gather” (in the words of Pope Francis) to pray a novena for solidarity and compassion in this challenging time. At the Catholic Worker, Dorothy Day strived to be faithful … Continue reading →

The Dorothy Day Guild asks its members and others to “spiritually gather” (in the words of Pope Francis) to pray a novena for solidarity and compassion in this challenging time. All are affected, but the devastation of this pandemic is … Continue reading →

The Dorothy Day Guild asks its members and others to “spiritually gather” (in the words of Pope Francis) to pray a novena for solidarity and compassion in this challenging time. It was Dorothy’s reading of muckraking literature like Upton Sinclair’s … Continue reading →

The Dorothy Day Guild asks its members and others to “spiritually gather” (in the words of Pope Francis) to pray a novena for solidarity and compassion in this challenging time. Dorothy vividly remembered the California earthquake of 1906, which she … Continue reading →

The Dorothy Day Guild asks its members and others to “spiritually gather” (in the words of Pope Francis) to pray a novena for solidarity and compassion in this challenging time. During the influenza epidemic of 1918, Dorothy worked for a … Continue reading →

The Dorothy Day Guild asks its members and others to “spiritually gather” (in the words of Pope Francis) to pray a novena for solidarity and compassion in this challenging time. The gospel reading for today is St. Luke’s account of … Continue reading →

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to sweep through the world, we find ourselves confined to an endless Good Friday. Clinging to the promise of Easter is not an easy task. Dorothy Day’s life of solidarity with suffering people is a … Continue reading →

WASHINGTON — If you met Dorothy Day, you were changed, said panelists at a Jan. 27 discussion following an advance screening of a new documentary, “Revolution of the Heart: The Dorothy Day Story,” which profiles the co-founder of the Catholic … Continue reading →

“March 19.  The feast day of St. Joseph.  In his reliance on God’s providence, he inspires the Worker’s own.  When unpaid bills mounted high, his intercession was actively sought, prompting the practice of “picketing” his statue.  “St Joseph never fails.  … Continue reading →

A reminder that an exciting exhibit of artwork exploring Day’s legacy will be up for the holiday season in New York. We hope to see some of you at the opening reception Dec 16th. A New World Contemporary Art Exploring Dorothy Day’s … Continue reading →

An upcoming NY event that might be of interest Kate Hennessy, granddaughter of Dorothy Day, will share excerpts from her book, Dorothy Day: The World Will Be Saved by Beauty: An Intimate Portrait of My Grandmother. Featuring stories of both … Continue reading →

The Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage at Loyola University in Chicago, IL will be hosting: Revolution of the Heart: A Symposium on Dorothy Day, February 16,17 2017. Speakers will include Robert Ellsberg and Kate Hennessy. The event is free and … Continue reading →

(We thank Marie Dennis for her generously granting In Our Time this interview.  Marie is co-president of Pax Christi International.  A mother of six who lives in a Franciscan community in the inner city of Washington, D.C., she is the … Continue reading →

Easter greetings of peace and joy! “We are not expecting utopia here on this earth. But God meant things to be much easier than we have made them. A man has a natural right to food, clothing, and shelter. A … Continue reading →

“I believe, because I wish to believe, help Thou my unbelief. I love because I want to love, the deepest desire of my heart is for love, for union, for communion, for community.” -Dorothy Day, the Catholic Worker, May, 1978

Happy Feast of All Saints Dorothy was struck with how we tend to put saints on a pedestal rendering them irrelevant. For her, saints were not only constant companions but daily guides. “Thank God for the saints whose feast days come … Continue reading →

“In these times when social concerns are so important, I cannot fail to mention the Servant of God Dorothy Day, who founded the Catholic Worker movement. Her social activism, her passion for justice and for the cause of the oppressed, … Continue reading →

WELCOME, POPE FRANCIS ! “We must talk about poverty, because people insulated by their own comfort lose sight of it.” – Dorothy Day

The Dorothy Day Guild is collecting physical petitions in support of the cause for Day’s canonization. If you can, please follow the link, print out the petition, fill it out and mail it in. Petitions will become part of the … Continue reading →

“Thank God for turtles in backyards, For smell of horses and the wagon load of celery, For scrubbed sweet potatoes Baking in a push cart oven, For the smell of charcoal on a dull fall day. For chestnuts, too, and … Continue reading →

‘So in this month of thanksgiving, we can be thankful for the trials of the past, the blessings of the present, and be heartily ready at the same time to embrace with joy any troubles the future may bring us.’ … Continue reading →

Happy Birthday, Dorothy Day. Nov 8th, 1897.“I wanted life and I wanted the abundant life. I wanted it for others too. I did not want just the few, the missionary-minded people like the Salvation Army, to be kind to the … Continue reading →

“The only way to live in any security is to live so close to the bottom that when you fall you do not have far to drop, you do not have much to lose.” -Dorothy Day, Catholic Worker. April 1953

  “The main thing is not to hold on to anything.” -Dorothy Day The Catholic Worker, May 1952  

Guild Executive Committee member Geoffrey B. Gneuhs provides us with a report of his experience at the recent conference "Dorothy Day: A Saint for Our Time": What we would like to do is change the world...by crying out unceasingly for the rights of the workers, the poor, of the destitute. We can throw our pebble in the pond and be confident that its ever widening circle will reach around the world." ---Dorothy Day St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Florida, hosted a conference on "Dorothy Day: A Saint for Our Time" March 7-8. Dr. Francis Sicius, a history professor at STU and a biographer of Peter Maurin, organized the convocation. Those of us from northern climes were quite delighted with the beautiful campus, the hospitality of the students, and the wonderful warm, sunny weather. Attended by nearly one hundred people, over the two days, from across the country, the university and the Miami area, the conference was a gathering of scholars and workers as Peter Maurin would have wished. There were 25 papers and talks delivered by college professors and a high school teacher, as well as from representatives of several Catholic Worker communities. Discussions ranged from Dorothy's spirituality and the influence of the Fr. Lacouture/Fr. Hugo retreat, to her prayer life, to what her understanding of being a radical in the Christian sense meant, as well as to her spiritual and practical understanding of pacificism. One paper by Harry Murray of the Rochester CW confirmed that Peter Maurin was not a pacifist, as he registered for the Selective Service in 1942---and gave Dorothy Day as his contact person! Other talks discussed Dorothy's deep faith centered on the Mass and her commitment to the Church as well as her unique way of living a life of holiness while dedicated to justice. There were also presentations about life in various Catholic Worker communities. The conference discussed how to make Dorothy and her saintly life better known to more Catholics and others, including this new website and other social media, through teaching in schools and colleges, as well as at the parish level. On Friday night, three students, a pianist, soprano, and tenor, gave a superb concert of arias in recognition of Dorothy's love of opera Lance Richey announced that the University of St. Francis, Fort Wayne, Indiana, will host a conference next year May 13-15, 2015, on "Dorothy Day and the Church: Past, Present, and Future." The meeting concluded with a Mass in the light-filled, pastel, adobe-like chapel, with an outdoor reception afterward. There was a great spirit, vitality, and camaraderie during the two days that reflected a renewed commitment to the inspiration and example of Dorothy, thirty-three years after her death.  - Geoffrey B. Gneuhs

The Dorothy Day Guild is happy to announce the re-launch of its website dorothydayguild.org This year, 2014, marks the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I -- "the war to end all wars." How poignant that designation in light of the last century of relentless violence and mass destruction! Among her many gifts to us, Dorothy Day helped to recover peacemaking as an essential element of the Christian vocation. We see this 2014 re-launch of the Guild website not only as a way of furthering a call for her sainthood but also as a way of invoking a new time when peace will end all war.

From back in 2008, the text of a talk by Jim Forest on the Houston Catholic Worker website: http://cjd.org/2008/08/01/reflections-on-dorothy-day-and-the-catholic-worker-movement/