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Pilgrimage to Cuba–Part I

Dorothy DayByDorothy Day

Summary: Departs for Cuba to see for herself life under Castro’s communism, especially farming communes, the life of the family, and religious freedom. Humorously comments on the 40 rules in fine print on her steamship ticket. Deflects critics who say she won’t be truthful and see much. Reaffirms her pacifism even though Cuba “is an armed camp.” ” I will try to make the Cuban story come alive.” (DDLW #793).The Catholic Worker, September 1962, 1, 6.

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On Pilgrimage (February 1965)

Dorothy DayByDorothy Day

Summary: Travels to North Carolina and Georgia to speak and visit friends. Recapitulates basic Catholic Worker ideas in a question and answer format. Comments on the government’s war on poverty, Communism in Cuba, the role of the Church in society, Vatican II, and the gap between haves and havenots. Keywords: war, voluntary poverty, work (DDLW #822). The Catholic Worker, February 1965, 1, 6.

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On Pilgrimage: January

Dorothy DayByDorothy Day

Summary: Deep in winter at her daughter’s farm in West Virginia they await the birth of Tamar’s third child. Reflects on country life and a woman’s spirituality in the midst of small children and housework. Describes her efforts at prayer. Reflects on the handicrafts Tamar practices and the worth of a country economy, a way to be co-creators with God. Notes the duty to find joy and resist despair. Long quotes from Eric Gill on a decentralized economy. Keywords: family, poverty, personalism, distributism, capitalism, socialism, communism. (DDLW #476: Catholic Worker Books, New York, 1948, pp. 3-26.)