family

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    Having a Baby—A Christmas Story

    Avatar photoByDorothy Day

    Summary: A reprint of her description of the labor and birth of her daughter Tamar in 1928. The memoir describes waiting to begin labor and commenting on the women around her at Bellevue Hospital clinic. Assisted by her cousin Carol, she returns to Bellevue several days later when her labor pains begin. Vivid description of the pain she endured, her thoughts, and of the people she encounters during those hours. Tender description of breast-feeding and her first few days with her daughter. (DDLW #583) The Catholic Worker, December 1977, pp. 8, 7

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    On Pilgrimage (January 1963)

    Avatar photoByDorothy Day

    Summary: On a speaking trip, weary of Winter travel, she mentions the strong interest in Cuba and the social changes in Latin America among her listeners. Visits her family in Vermont and extols family life as the ordinary way of working for the common good. Observes a group of men who had made “a cursillo, a course in Christianity” praying together and asks all to pray for men joined together in love. (DDLW #799). The Catholic Worker, January 1963, 2, 6.

     

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    On Pilgrimage (January 1959) 

    Avatar photoByDorothy Day

    Summary: Discusses the principle of subsidiarity in the context of the counterproductive impact of city housing regulations on providing and obtaining housing, and announces the planned move of the CW House of Hospitality to rented apartments following the demolition of St. Joseph’s House on Christie St for a subway. Extols the importance of poverty and simple living. Recommends reading a publication of the Charles de Foucauld Association and quotes extensively from Fr. Rene Voillaume on the necessity of love as an aspect of Christian charity and missionary work. Addresses with alarm two contemporary perspectives on the family and their roots in industrialism. (DDLW #178) The Catholic Worker, Jan 1959, pp. 1, 2, 7

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    On Pilgrimage (July-August 1949)

    Avatar photoByDorothy Day

    Summary: Affirms the movement’s clear opposition to communism and refutes attempts by both communists and anti-communists to conflate CW and communism. Recounts statement of Pope Pius XII that the greatest danger to the Church is not communism, but ignorance of the Church’s social doctrine, of which communism is a consequence. Highlights statement of the Bishops of the Philippines that effective defense against communism requires addressing the injustices on which it feeds. Addresses challenges faced by families. (DDLW #164) The Catholic Worker, Jul-Aug 1949, pp. 1-2

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    On Pilgrimage: January

    Avatar photoByDorothy 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.)