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.