ByCatholicWorker.org
Tyler Hambley writes about how his encounter with a Catholic Worker community led to personal transformation and a deeper, richer understanding of community–and his faith. This essay is reprinted from the April issue of The Catholic Citizen, a ministry of the Church of the Assumption in St. Paul, Minnesota.
ByCatholicWorker.org
In this interview with Jeff Dietrich and Susan Pollack, originally published in the December 1971 Catholic Agitator, Dorothy Day discusses her journey from socialism to anarchism and Catholicism, highlighting how her early readings of Jack London and Upton Sinclair influenced her political views. Day emphasizes the spiritual and practical aspects of anarchism, rooted in the belief that social change must start from the bottom up. She praises the anarchistic nature of the Catholic Church, where conscience is supreme, and shares her thoughts on the intersection of anarchism and Catholicism. Day recounts her collaboration with Peter Maurin in founding the Catholic Worker movement, focusing on the principles of hospitality, community, and voluntary poverty. She stresses the importance of living out one’s beliefs through direct action and personal sacrifice, citing the influence of figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez.
ByDorothy 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.
ByDorothy Day
Summary: Revels in the beauty and worship of newly composed liturgical music. Gives details of her visit to the Taena community in England and eulogizes Fr. H. A. Reinhold for his labor activities. Mentions a new edition of Ammon Hennacy’s autobiography, praises his activism and nonviolent stance but rejects his criticism of Scripture. (DDLW #863). The Catholic Worker, March 1968, 1, 2, 8.
ByDorothy Day
Summary: Admits that it is a struggle to reconcile personal goals and life in community, especially on the land. Says there are many ways to get away from the city. Keywords: farming communes (DDLW #650). The Catholic Worker, May 1953, 2.
ByDorothy Day
Summary: Poetically expresses the essential charism of the Catholic Worker Movement–poverty, community, and love found in eucharistic companionship. [Note: this text became the Postscript of her autobiography The Long Loneliness. (DDLW #867).
