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Reflections on Work (December 1946)

Summary: Reports on the hard life and work of the coal miners of Western Pennsylvania and the strike demands of John L. Lewis. “We want to change man’s work; we want to make people question their work; is it on the way to heaven or hell?” Emphasizes the holiness of work and the sacramental quality of property. (DDLW #229). The Catholic Worker, December 1946, 1, 4.

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On Pilgrimage – September 1946

Summary: Surveys the rural area around the Easton, PA, farm from “a distributist point of view” visiting a bookbinder’s shop and complaining about polluting factories. Laments that the Catholic Worker hasn’t produced more craftsmen. Enumerates all the work projects underway and the schedule of retreats. Joyfully announces the birth of her second grandchild, Susanna. (The Catholic Worker, September 1946, 1, 2, 6. DDLW #428).

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The Church and Work

Summary: Discusses in length the modern industrial problem of the machine and its relation to factory, land and worker. Explains the C.W.’s attempt to gain the workers back to Christ, by explicating a philosophy of work that distinguishes between those machines that are the extended hand of man and those that make man the extended hand of the machine. Such a philosophy sees people as cooperating with their creator, and to labor is to pray. Criticizes American Catholics for not applying Papal teaching to the work area and shows a particular acrimony to a priest who tell workers to sanctify their surroundings instead of changing it. (DDLW #154). The Catholic Worker, September 1946, 1,3,7,8.

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 On Pilgrimage – July August 1946

Summary: Reports on hearing Canon Cardign speak of the Catholic Action movement which is reaching the workers with the Church’s social teaching. Endorses non-violence, withdrawal, and getting at the roots in any mass movement. Eulogizes Sidney Hillman for his ground-breaking work in the garment industry. Notes that Peter Maurin received sacramental anointing and requests prayers for a labor leader who stopped practicing his faith. Quotes from Eric Gill’s stations of the cross. (The Catholic Worker, July August 1946, 1, 2, 7, 8. DDLW #427).

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On Pilgrimage – June 1946

Summary: Underscores the importance of Baptismal vows as the foundation of the lay apostolate, including lay retreat houses. Describes an ideal structure for lay communities. Also decries the warehousing of mental patients in “vast concentration camps of human misery.” Begs for more men’s clothes. (The Catholic Worker, June 1946, 1, 2, 8. DDLW #426).

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Love Is The Measure

Summary: In the face of a world in turmoil–atom bomb tests, food shortages, impending strikes, destitution–an exhortation to “love as Christ loved, to the extent of laying down our lives for our brothers.” Tells of a priest whose work made him “a perfect fool for Christ.” Says “we confess to being fools and wish we were more so.” (DDLW #425). The Catholic Worker, June 1946, 2.

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Atom Bomb And Conscription Still Issues To Be Faced

Summary: Condemns further atomic bomb testing and quotes the New York Times* concerning a resolution supporting this view recently introduced in the Senate. Likewise opposes conscription (the draft) and its extension when there is no war as usurpation of authority regarding the destiny of the individual. (The Catholic Worker, April 1946, 1, 2. DDLW #422).*

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On Pilgrimage – April 1946

Summary: Describes the surroundings at Maryfarm in Easton, PA: the animals, including the goat genealogy, the workers and the types of services they render,a welcome change in schedule and the new St. Joseph outdoor shrine. Boasts of the visitors,readers of the Catholic Worker, who come to discuss by the hundreds. (The Catholic Worker, April 1946, 2. DDLW #423).

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On Pilgrimage – March 1946

Summary: Quotes from Cardinal Newman’s Lenten sermons on the Cross and austerity. Comments on the sacrifices daily living requires, notes visitors: a priest and a former lieutenant, and upholds discussion as a necessity for indoctrination and clarification of thought. Contrasts the death of a Catholic worker with the birth of a baby to the wife of a political prisoner in jail for refusing conscription. Tells of the closing of the Boston House of Hospitality and ends by commending the volunteers who sell the newspaper. (The Catholic Worker, March 1946, 2. DDLW #420).

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Clothes 

Summary: Describes how a needy person, a veteran, became the recipient of clothing that was donated that very same day and comments on the way “cards and papers” are becoming necessary to establish one’s identity. (The Catholic Worker, March 1946, 8. DDLW #421).

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Clothes

Summary: Describes how a needy person, a veteran, became the recipient of clothing that was donated that very same day and comments on the way “cards and papers” are becoming necessary to establish one’s identity. (DDLW #421). The Catholic Worker, March 1946, 8.

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On Pilgrimage – February 1946

Summary: Explains why she is changing the name of the column to On Pilgrimage.* A diary-like record of people and events around the Worker in January 1946–looting in the neighborhood, running out of coal, medical visits, butchering a hog. Comments on worthwhile work. (The Catholic Worker, February 1946, 1, 2, 6. DDLW #419).*

Called To Be Saints

Summary: Emphasizes the need to strive for holiness. Lists the various retreats offered on the farm and notes secular writers and books with the same message. Quotes St. Thomas who describes holiness as “the end to which one must tend.” (The Catholic Worker, January 1946, 2. DDLW #418).