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Peter Maurin

Dorothy DayByDorothy Day

Summary: Recalls Peter Maurin’s revolutionary vision and program for the Catholic Worker on the anniversary of his death. (DDLW #928). The Catholic Worker, May 1950, 1.The Catholic Worker, April 1962, 2.

This month is not only the anniversary of the first issue of The Catholic Worker in 1932, but the first anniversary of the death of its founder, Peter Maurin, French peasant and philosopher, who lived with delight and zest the life of a poor worker. His is the program of indoctrination and love, exemplified by houses of hospitality and farming communes which we have been trying to establish throughout the country these last seventeen years. There are at present ten houses and six farms. He envisioned a society in which “it was easier for men to be good,” a long-range program which was neither Marxist nor Capitalist. He taught the practice of the works of mercy and voluntary poverty as a way of alleviating immediate needs and making a beginning of a new order. It is a green revolution in which we can all play a part.

Dorothy Day

Dorothy Day (November 8, 1897 – November 29, 1980) was co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement along with Peter Maurin. A writer and journalist by trade, she and Maurin founded the Catholic Worker newspaper. Much of her writing on the Catholic Worker Movement website is taken from the newspaper. The Roman Catholic Church is currently considering her cause for canonization.

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On Pilgrimage 

Dorothy DayByDorothy Day

Summary: Announces a birth and eulogizes a long-time worker, John Anthony Curran. Tells of starting the farm at Newburgh, NY, and all their unpaid bills hoping someone will send money. Thanks readers for condolences on Peter Maurin’s death. (The Catholic Worker, September 1949, 1, 2. DDLW #473).

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On Pilgrimage – September 1950

Dorothy DayByDorothy Day

Summary: Notes they have differences of opinion about pacifism and the use of force. Observes that Gandhi said “anger is violence.” Speaks fondly of their Mott Street neighbors just before their move to new quarters. Struggles with the decision to acquire a farm on Staten Island and shares a meditation on “the everlasting arms which sustain us” while riding the ferry back to the city. (The Catholic Worker, September 1950, 1, 2. DDLW #614).

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On Pilgrimage – June 1947

Dorothy DayByDorothy Day

Summary: Travels by train to the Grail in Ohio, then to the Midwest praising a variety of works of mercy on the land. “A pilgrimage indeed, and a most encouraging one, visiting readers of the paper, families and cells which are growing up everywhere, grappling all of them with the spiritual weapons of hard work, poverty, and prayer.” (The Catholic Worker, June 1947, 2, 8. DDLW #454).

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Day After Day – May 1942

Dorothy DayByDorothy Day

Summary: Reviews her lecture-tour and visit to Catholic Worker groups begun on March 29th through Montreal; Baltimore, where she revisited acquaintances at St. Peter Claver’s; Cincinnati; a lecture at a girls’ school in nearby Kentucky and a visit to a state mental hospital; St. Louis where she renewed old friendships and was reminded of America’s racial problems; Oklahoma City and a visit to a federal reformatory and St. Patrick’s Guest House where she visited conscientious objectors. Muses how this journey is part of the work although she prefers settling down. (The Catholic Worker, May 1942, 1, 4, 7. DDLW #382).

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On Pilgrimage: Our Spring Appeal

Dorothy DayByDorothy Day

Summary: Appeals for help and answers the question “What is it all about, this Catholic Worker movement?” Describes the Catholic Worker as a school, a family, and a community of need. Says they are anarchist-pacifist, which is distinguished from nihilism. Asserts the primacy of conscience and “The most effective action we can take is to try to conform our lives to the folly of the Cross, as St. Paul called it.” Keywords: Catholic Worker philosophy, non-violence (DDLW #500). The Catholic Worker, May 1970, 1, 2, 11.