Lenten Reflections; The Conversion to Catholicism of Dorothy Day on Fire For the Faith

Selected Lenten Reflections:  Dorothy Day on Fire for the Faith.

The Catholic bishops of the United States has unanimously recommended the canonization of Servant of God, Dorothy Day.  On March 16, 2000, the Vatican granted the Archdiocese of New York permission to begin Dorthy Day canonization process. In 2021, her cause for Sainthood moved forward. 

Dorothy Day (1897-1980) was a devoted Catholic convert whose life testified to the radical love of a living God. Not raised particularly religiously, she pursued a rather bohemian lifestyle as a writer in her early adulthood.


Dorothy Day's conversion is described in her 1952 autobiography, The Long Loneliness. Her message is that, women in their life in general, and her specifically, are subject to a deep and long loneliness from the repeated losses of life, and that the only resolution for this long loneliness is to be found in the sacrifice of service to others and in a community doing so.

With the birth of her daughter, she became increasingly interested in faith, and apparently heeding the warning of  St. John the Elder to the church of Laodecia  she 

caught fire for the faith in 1927 when she converted to CatholicismShe never lost her heart for the margins of society:  "To Laodicea. “To the angel of the church in Laodicea, write this: “‘The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the source of God’s creation, says this:“I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth."

The Catholic Catechism (696) teaches that  "While water signifies birth and the fruitfulness of life given in the Holy Spirit, fire symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions. The prayer of the prophet Elijah, who "arose like fire" and whose "word burned like a torch," brought down fire from heaven on the sacrifice on Mount Carmel. This event was a "figure" of the fire of the Holy Spirit, who transforms what he touches. John the Baptist, who goes "before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah," proclaims Christ as the one who "will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." Jesus will say of the Spirit: "I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!" In the form of tongues "as of fire," the Holy Spirit rests on the disciples on the morning of Pentecost and fills them with himself The spiritual tradition has retained this symbolism of fire as one of the most expressive images of the Holy Spirit's actions. "Do not quench the Spirit."

In Dorothy Day’s ‘Letter to an Agnostic’ essay  first published in America on Aug. 4, 1934, Dorothy writes in part:  "You know the reaction of my friends to religion, that it is a deliberate turning away from life. We Catholics know, with a supernatural knowledge, not with a worldly knowledge, that this is not so, just as we know the existence of God and love Him with our will, which is a power of our souls?" She continues ..." 
As a convert I can say these things, knowing how many times I turned away, almost in disgust, from the idea of God and giving myself up to Him"

Observing that "The thing you do not understand is the elemental fact that our beginning and our last end is God. Once that fact is accepted, half the struggle is won. If we wish to go on struggling, not to be content with the minimum of virtue, of duty done, of “just getting by,” then we should account it a great honor that God has given us these desires, to serve Him and to use ourselves completely in His service."

Conluding "Perhaps the main trouble is that to you Christianity is too simple. To you Christianity is the accepted thing, so you rebel, and knowing that your rebellion deprives your soul of life, you turn on religion and call it morbid."

 In 1933, with Peter Maurin, she published the first Catholic Worker, a newspaper dedicated to promoting Catholic social teaching and pacifism - with roots traced to the 19th century encyclical Rerum novarum of Pope Leo XIII.  Rerum novarum, or Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor, is an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on 15 May 1891. It is an open letter, passed to all Catholic patriarchs, primates, archbishops and bishops, that addressed the condition of the working class.

Dorothy Day is widely considered one of the great Catholic lay leaders of the 20th century. Co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement and the publication that became its voice, she worked indefatigably to promote peace, social justice, non-violence, and direct aid to the poor and destitute,manifested in Christian voluntary poverty and direct works of mercy. More than 100 Catholic Worker communities and Houses of Hospitality were founded across the U.S. and abroad. Then and now these houses offer food, clothing and shelter to those in need.

Early in her life she was a journalist for The Call and The Masses.   The Masses was a graphically innovative American magazine of socialist politics published monthly from 1911 until 1917, when federal prosecutors brought charges against its editors for conspiring to obstruct conscription in the United States during World War I. It was succeeded by The Liberator and then later New Masses. It published reportage, fiction, poetry and art by the leading radicals of the time such as Max Eastman, John Reed, Dorothy Day, and Floyd Dell.

Day was arrested demonstrating for women’s suffrage in 1917 as a member of suffragist Alice⁰ Paul's nonviolent Silent Sentinels. In the 1930s, Day worked closely with fellow activist Peter Maurin to establish the Catholic Worker Movement, a pacifist movement that combines direct aid for the poor and homeless with nonviolent direct action on their behalf. She practiced civil disobedience, which led to additional arrests in 1955,1957, and in 1973 at the age of seventy-five

Day resolutely resisted war and war preparations inclusive of nuclear testing and armament for over half a century. Spear-heading the Catholic Worker, she led the movement in supporting peace, civil rights, worker rights and women's rights through prayer, publications, organizing, demonstrating, and educating.


At their 2012 annual meeting, the Catholic bishops of the United States unanimously recommended the canonization of Dorothy Day. By then the Vatican had already given her the title “Servant of God,” the first step in formally recognizing Dorothy Day as a saint.

More Selected Lenten Reflections: 

Wednesday of the Fourth Week. 
Lenten Reflections: How Many Times Am Forgiven? How Many Times Do I forgive?

Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent: Selected Lenten Reflections: Getting Ready to Celebrate St Patrick's Day - The Blessing of Beer

Mother St. Joseph , Noblewoman sold it all


Selected Lent Reflections: 40 Hours of Devotion

March 8, 2024 Friday Third Week of Lent Selected Reflections: Meet/Salute The Seven Women Saints Named In The Eucharistic Prayer At Mass



March 7, 2024 Thursday of Third Week of Lent Selected Reflections: 40 Hours Devotion

March 5, 2024 Tuesday of Third Week of Lent Selected Reflections: 24 Hours for the Lord

Pope Francis will open the 11th edition of the "24 Hours For The Lord" Lenten initiative this Friday, March 8, at the Roman parish of San Pio V.

March 4, 2024 Monday of Third Week of Lent Selected Reflections: Eucharistic Miracle

Eucharistic Miracle findings presented March 4 1971: Dr. Linoli concluded the "miraculous flesh and blood," were of human origin. He presented his findings on March 4, 1971 and published in "Quaderni Sclavo di Diagnostica Clinica e di Laboratori" the same year.

March 4, 2024 Monday of Third week of Lent - Selected Reflections: See a need, fill a need, Myrtilla Miner

"If God allows me to live, I will devote my entire life to teaching slaves" - Myrtilla Miner

March 2, 2024, Third Saturday of Lent - Selected Reflections: The Power of Prayer, Padre Pio

February 29, 2024, Thursday, the Second Week in Lent - Selected Reflections: Leap for Joy!

The only Leap Year Pope is Pope Paul III, born on Italy on February 29, 1468

February 28, 2024, Wednesday the Second Week in Lent - Selected Reflections: Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican


When my neighbor fails to kill my family, then calls me to visit him in prison. What do I do?


February 26, 2024, Monday of the Second Week in Lent - Selected Reflections

"The only time our Lord asked the apostles for anything was the night He went into agony. Not for activity did he plead but for an hour of companionship." - Venerable Fulton J. Sheen

February 23 2024 Friday, First Week of Lent, Selected Lenten Reflections: Servant of God Julia Greely


February 22 2024 Thursday, First Week of Lent, Selected Lenten Reflections: Blessed Carlo Acutis Highway to Heaven

RELATED

Pope recalls importance of Holy Week in leaving lasting mark on our lives

In a video message to the Confraternities of Mérida, Spain, Pope Francis recalls how Holy Week is "a time of grace" to be dedicated to prayer and to our brothers and sisters most in need



Eucharistic Miracles of the World by Servant of God Carlo Acuti