In Search of the Family Maurin
Matthieu Langlois and James Murphy share their original research excavating information about just a few of Peter Maurin’s 23 siblings. Originally published in The Catholic Worker, May 2023.
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Two Agitators: Peter Maurin – Ammon Hennacy
Here is the full text of Two Agiators: Peter Maurin – Ammon Hennacy, a 56-page pamphlet published by the New York Catholic Worker in 1959. The pamphlet includes essays by Hennacy, “Easy Essays” by Peter Maurin, and an introduction by Dorothy Day.
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Biography of Peter Maurin
This essay by Jim Forest on Peter Maurin was written for The Encyclopedia of American Catholic History published by the Liturgical Press.
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A Collection of Peter Maurin’s Easy Essays
Peter Maurin dispensed his vision for a Christian social order in short, memorable blank verse poems that he called “Easy Essays.” Here are 82 of his Easy Essays, organized into 11 themes.
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Peter Maurin’s farm-rooted vision
Seventy years after his death, Peter Maurin’s vision of a revolution marked by a synthesis of cult (religion), culture (learning and arts), and cultivation (agriculture) is gaining traction among a whole new generation of Catholic Workers living on the land. By Maria Benevento. Reprinted with permission from The National Catholic Reporter, May 15, 2019.
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Why Peter Maurin Matters
Peter Maurin’s influence on the Catholic Worker Movement is often overlooked, even in Catholic Worker circles. But he was the intellectual author of the movement, and gas much to teach the movement even today. A talk by Paul Magno presented at the Dorothy Day Centenary Conference, Marquette University, October 10, 1997.
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Vision Gives Us Life: A Lesson from Peter Maurin
A reflection on the prophetic vision of Peter Maurin.
By Paul Magno. Reprinted from The Little Way, the paper of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, Washington, DC, Spring 1996.
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Peter Maurin: To Bring the Social Order To Christ
For some time, Peter Maurin and Dorothy Day, along with the Catholic Worker movement they founded, have been thought by many to exemplify the prophetic voice in the twentieth century. However, the Catholic Worker movement is not without critics. Does a small movement, founded in the Depression, emphasizing personalism and the land, hold any hope for the massive social reconstruction necessary in an urban-bureaucrat age? An essay by Marc Ellis excerpted from Revolution of the Heart.
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Peter Maurin Farm
Summary: Explains Peter Maurin’s ideal of “agronomic universities”–communal farms founded on a philosophy of work, especially manual labor. While an ideal, farm communities often suffered from too little skill and community conflicts. Lauds the new Peter Maurin farm on Staten Island and envisions deepening one’s spiritual life in work on the land. (DDLW #923). The Catholic Worker, Oct/Nov 1979, 1, 2, 7
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Peter Maurin 1877-1977
Summary: Recounts her first meeting with Peter Maurin in 1932, his teaching style, his personal example, and his platform for the Catholic Worker: “Roundtable Discussions, Houses of Hospitality and Farming Communes–those were the three planks in Peter Maurin’s platform.” (DDLW #256). The Catholic Worker, May 1977, 1, 9.
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The Day I Met Peter Maurin
A first-hand account of meeting Peter Maurin. By Stanley Vishnewski. Taken from Wings of the Dawn by Stanley Vishnewsi and reprinted in The Catholic Worker, May 1976, p.1, 5.
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Introduction (Two Agitators)
In her introduction to the 56-page pamphlet “Two Agitators: Peter Maurin — Ammon Hennacy” (The Catholic Worker, New York, 1959) Dorothy Day sketches a portrait of Peter Maurin and Ammon Hennacy and provides some background on their place in the Catholic Worker Movement. She marks similarities and differences between the two men, noting that their humility expressed itself in very different ways. Both men believed in the power of ideas and lived in a way that communicated their ideas as powerfully as any of their words.
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Peter’s Program
Summary: Outlines Peter Maurin’s program for social reordering. Calls for a Green Revolution, a return to the villages. Finds his whole message embodied in personalism, which begins with oneself. Blames the C.W.’s problems in its lack of ability to limit itself. (DDLW #176). The Catholic Worker, May 1955, 2.
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Personalist Peter Maurin
Summary: Summarizes Peter Maurin’s worldview and discusses his new social order and how his life embodied his ideas. Reveals the sources of his thought such as Proudhon, Kropotkin, Guardini and Karl Adam. (DDLW #170) The Catholic Worker, May 1953, 1-2.
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Peter Maurin
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.
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The Story of Three Deaths: Peter Maurin, Lawrence Heaney, Willie Lurye
Summary: A loving obituary for Peter Maurin giving the details of his death and burial. Speaks of his last five years of illness, the day he died, his wake and funeral. Emphasizes the ways “He was another St. Francis of modern times.” (DDLW #495). The Catholic Worker, June 1949, 1, 2.
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Background for Peter Maurin
Summary: A chapter from her unpublished book “Peter Maurin.” Comments on P. Maurin’s thoughts on capitalism and socialism and the idea that Papal Encyclicals try to make an “acquisitive society functional.” (DDLW #151). The Catholic Worker, February 1945, 3,7.
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Peter Maurin: Impressions By One of His Fellow Workers
Summary: A sketch of Peter Maurin describing his philosophy, demeanor, and many sayings. Mentions that he lives what he preaches, practicing detachment from material goods. Notes that many Jews have come to the Catholic Worker during the recent wave of anti-Semitism in New York because they see Peter as an ally. (The Catholic Worker, May 1940, page 11)
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1930s | Dorothy Day | Dorothy Day's Writings | History of the Catholic Worker Movement | Peter Maurin
House of Hospitality: Foreword
In this introduction to “House of Hospitality,” Dorothy Day provides a detailed account of the beginnings of the Catholic Worker. As a journalist covering the Communist-led march on Washington in December 1932, Dorothy yearns and prays to find a way to work for the poor and oppressed. She meets Peter Maurin who “indoctrinates” her in Catholic social teaching and his program to change the social order: starting a newspaper, houses of hospitality, roundtable discussions and farming communes. Includes several of Peter’s essays and details about starting the newspaper and their first houses of hospitality. (DDLW #435).
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What the Catholic Worker Believes
Peter Maurin’s “Easy Essay” outlining the program of the Catholic Worker.
