The Works of Mercy
The Works of Mercy are an abiding norm for the Catholic Worker Movement. Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin lived lives of “active love” built on these precepts.
The Works of Mercy: An Antidote to the Mercilessness of the Day
“With the passing years, I have come to see our work of hospitality at the Catholic Worker – this doing the works of mercy – as an ever-available antidote to despair, a practical pushback against the mercilessness of the day. A welcoming cup of coffee and pot of soup are tools for defying the trench mentality that sets in when belief in goodness wanes.” Claire Schaeffer-Duffy, a member of SS. Francis and Therese Catholic Worker in Worcester, Massachusetts, reflects on the Works of Mercy in a talk she gave at the 2022 Catholic Worker Gathering.
On Pilgrimage (July/August 1975)
Poverty is a very mysterious thing. We need to be always writing and thinking about it. It would seem strange…
On Pilgrimage (December 1971)
Summary: Excerpts from her letters while on an across country pilgrimage to Wheaton and Rock Island, Illinois, then Denver, Colorado. Reasserts the need to “go to the poor” and spread the good news by speaking and the works of mercy. Comments on a prison strike noting many are in jail for petty theft while “robber barons” get away with murder. Says “Property is theft.” (DDLW #516). The Catholic Worker, December 1971, 2.
On Pilgrimage (December 1969)
Summary: Responds to those who critique their work as a band-aid for a cancer. Reaffirms the necessity for the works of mercy. Tidbits of life at the worker: getting out the paper, a trip to the sea, books arriving. Travels to PA and OH and reflects on the work of miners. Visits house in Cleveland and Detroit. Is moved by a Pentecostal prayer meeting. (DDLW #905) The Catholic Worker, December 1969, pp. 1,2,5
David Mason 1897-1969
Summary: An obituary for David Mason a Catholic Worker beginning in 1937. Details his abundant energy and work in Philadelphia, New York, and on Catholic Worker farms. His was a lifetime of doing the works of mercy. (DDLW #903). The Catholic Worker, October 1969, pp. 1,4
On Pilgrimage (February 1969)
Summary: Highlights the struggle and despair of the times, recounts a conversation on faith with Mike Gold, an old Communist friend. Discourses on penance and voluntary suffering as acts of love that increase hope. Says we each have unique vocations to the works of mercy. (DDLW #894). The Catholic Worker, February 1969, pp. 2,5
On Pilgrimage (June 1967)
Summary: Describes the flight of Catholics, clergy and laity, from North Vietnam and the work of Caritas International to get aid to all Vietnam. Says the work for peace involves the works of mercy. Recommends a book about the Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. Relates his notion of “a mysterious forth man” to guardian angels. (DDLW #852). The Catholic Worker, June 1967, 1, 2, 8.
In Peace Is My Bitterness Most Bitter
Summary: Expresses her anguish over the works of war in Vietnam, which are the opposite of the works of mercy. She is upset with churchmen calling for “total victory,” and notes that the Church is our Mother even though “she is a harlot at times.” Calls on each person to work on changing their hearts and attitude. (DDLW #250). The Catholic Worker, January 1967, 1, 2.
Reflections During Advent, Week Two: The Meaning of Poverty
Summary: Gives examples of false voluntary poverty and refutes the notion that real poverty doesn’t exist. Challenges everyone to a personal response, not a government one, to poverty and to ask ourselves “What shall we do?” Gives examples and concludes that all can do something and that whatever work of mercy we perform we “do it for love of Jesus, in His humanity, for love of our brother, for love of our enemy.” Points to the scandal of the wealth of the Church and thanks God for the sacraments and the Word in the Scriptures–our light and our food. (DDLW #560). Ave Maria, December 3, 1966, pp.21-22, 29.
What Does Ammon Mean?
Summary: Chronicles her relationship with Ammon Hennacy, describing his character and memories of him at the Catholic Worker. Praises his pacifism, voluntary poverty, works of mercy, joy, prison experiences, and compassion. Asks for prayers for his reconversion to the Church. (DDLW #826). The Catholic Worker, June 1965, 3, 7.
On Pilgrimage (January 1964)
Summary: Homey tales of a winter visit to her daughter, the story of two old guests, and their upcoming move to a new farm. Sums up their work as the works of mercy and the works of study. (DDLW #811). The Catholic Worker, January 1964, 2, 8.
On Pilgrimage – September 1960
Summary: A tribute to a hard working and sometimes problematic Lithuanian guest at Peter Maurin Farm. Quotes his recitation of his life of hard works and worries about a pension. “Here is a man who has worked hard all his life, who lives in poverty but is not destitute, and is always cheerful and ready to serve; we all love him.” (DDLW #770).The Catholic Worker, September 1960, 7, 8.
On Pilgrimage (September 1960)
Summary: Stops to see friends in Vermont on her way to a retreat in Montreal. Mentions books and machines for village economics and home industries. Recounts visiting folks on her last trip west and a miracle of an infant with polio. She delights in everyone’s practice of the works of mercy. (DDLW #769). The Catholic Worker, September 1960, 2, 7, 8.
On Pilgrimage (December 1959)
Summary: Tells of George Clements whose skeleton was found in the woods near Peter Maurin Farm. Paints a picture of the natural surroundings at the beach house. Describes the men’s house in the city, wishing they had yellow paint for the walls. Answers critics who say they have a “morbid preoccupation with misery.” (DDLW #759) The Catholic Worker, December 1959, 2, 6.
Workers of the World Unite
Summary: Celebrates the 25th anniversary of the C.W. Perceives freedom as the greatest gift to man from God, and advocates a four hour work day, child labor, private property as personal property and manual labor. Personalism works from the bottom up and reminds her readers that Jesus told people, not states, to perform works of mercy. (DDLW #177). The Catholic Worker, May 1958, 1,3,11.
Where Are the Poor? They Are In Prisons, Too
Summary: A graphic description of how she and 29 others were treated by the police, jailers, and courts after arrest for protesting air raid drills against nuclear attack. Gives a reason for the protest and decries the inhuman aspects of their treatment–crowding, lack of food, waiting. Notes: “What a neglected work of mercy, visiting the prisoner.” (DDLW #241). The Catholic Worker, July-August 1955, 1,8.
Catholic Worker Ideas On Hospitality
Summary: Defends against the charge that they do more harm than good in providing hospitality to the undeserving. Asserts that doing the Works of Mercy is following Christ and a revolutionary technique. Points to the monastic tradition of indiscriminate hospitality. Other keywords: Communism, hospices, social order. (DDLW #358). The Catholic Worker, May 1940, 10.
Aims and Purposes (1940)
Summary: Restates the central vision of the Catholic Worker Movement as working for “a new heaven and a new earth, wherein justice dwelleth.” This vision recognizes the “primacy of the spritual” and the doctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ. The Catholic Worker is “a new way of life” involving Houses of Hospitality for the daily practice of the Works of Mercy and Farming Communes where each person can take responsibility of doing their part. (DDLW #182). The Catholic Worker, February 1940, 7.
Mid-Winter
Summary: An editorial reaffirming the Mystical Body where suffering or glory for one is shared by all. Notes suffering in Mexico, Spain, and Russia. Says the Catholic Manifesto is the Sermon on the Mount and the remedy is the practice of the physical and spiritual works of mercy. Change begins in our hearts. (DDLW #925). The Catholic Worker, January 1935, 4