Year: 1948

Summary: After a “hullabaloo” of visiting children she mentions talks and inveighs against industrial capitalism. Visits Pittsburgh and Cleveland and lauds hospitality and the works of mercy, the little way and effective way, as the foundation of the work. (The Catholic Worker, December 1948, 1,2 DDLW #262).

Summary: Repudiates John Cort and other Catholics who see distributism as an agrarian visionary dream. Quotes from Pius XI, Pius XII and Leo XIII in support of small and medium-sized businesses, employee ownership, and a back to the land movement. Discusses the evils of capitalistic industrialism and urges the long-range plan of distributism. (See DOC #159 and DOC #160) (The Catholic Worker, December 1948, 1,3. DDLW #161).

Summary: Briefly summarizes recent Friday night talks at the Catholic Worker on Ireland, worker priests, use of force, and conscientious objection to conscription. Lists many visitors, tells of pleasant days at Maryfarm, and describes conditions in city-run homeless shelters. (The Catholic Worker, November 1948, 1, 2. DDLW #471).

Summary: Praises the Catholic Arts Quartrly edited by Ade Bethune and says it portrays Peter Maurin’s synthesis of Cult, Culture, and Cultivation. Urges readers to buy her books. (The Catholic Worker, October 1948, 7. DDLW #491).

Summary: Describes the joys and struggles of dealing with small children during their family retreat at Newburgh. Notes that they raise a lot of food but still are in debt to the grocer. Asks St. Joseph–“Through you, of course.”–to take care of the bill. (The Catholic Worker, October 1948, 1, 2. DDLW #489).

Summary: Attends the trial of Catholic Worker Bob Ludlow who was arrested for picketing with others outside a school. Notes how the judge handles numerous cases of public drunkenness and vagrancy related to homelessness. The judge dismisses the picketers after voicing his opposition to their views. She thinks of Thomas Moore’s trial and martyrdom. (The Catholic Worker, October 1948, 1, 7. DDLW #488).

Summary: Graphic account of Mary Frecons work in a black section of Harrisburg, PA,–the spirited church services, the smell of rats, the care for the dying sick. Emphasizes the unity of body and soul and the need for “blind faith” in such conditions. “How little it all is, as obscure as the life of the Blessed Mother, and as ‘little’ as the life and sufferings of the Little Flower!” (The Catholic Worker, October 1948, 6, 8. DDLW #490).

Summary: An essay and meditation about love in its many forms, human and divine. Quotes scripture, saints, secular writers, and especially Soloviev on love. Concludes that the Catholic Worker is ” still trying to work out a theory of love, a study of the problem of love so that the revolution of love instead of that of hate may come about and we will have a new heaven and a new earth wherein justice dwelleth.” (The Catholic Worker, September 1948, 2, 8. DDLW #470).

Summary: Opposes registration for conscription and describes their picketing a sign-up site. Notes how easily pickets become violent and her loathing of the use of force. Updates on construction projects and retreat work at Maryfarm. (The Catholic Worker, September 1948, 1, 6. DDLW #469).

Summary: Contrasts the hustle and bustle around Maryfarm–retreats and visitors–with the quiet life of her daughter Tamar’s farm in West Virginia. While peaceful and meditative, rural life often means loneliness, hard work, and poverty. (The Catholic Worker, July-August, 1948, 1,6. DDLW #264).

Summary: Argues that distributism is the only alternative to the US economy. Distributism is an alternative to capitalism and socialism built around “the village economy” and a more just distribution of wealth. Quotes four modern Popes in its support. Summarizes its principles with the following statements: “land is the most natural form of property” “wages should enable man to purchase land” “the family is the most perfect when rooted in its own holdings” “agriculture is the first and most important of all arts.” (See also DDLW #159 and DDLW #161) (The Catholic Worker, July-August 1948, 1,2, 6. DDLW #160).

Summary: Reports on the planting and variety of produce on the farm at Newburgh, NY, and the repair of two serviceable cars. Describes the plans for turning the barn into a dormitory for mothers and children who are on retreat. In the city, an unexpected death of a neighbor and bouts of measles and chickenpox among the children. (The Catholic Worker, June 1948, 1, 2, 7. DDLW #263).