Catholics who don’t know the names of Peter Maurin (1877-1949) and Dorothy Day (1897-1980) ought to do some research. These two, I am becoming more convinced, are true holy people that we can reliably follow. That is, they will lead us to Christ. But don’t be fooled: neither are easily understood given what we face today, nor are they lukewarm about the Catholic faith they wholeheartedly embraced and lived.
Writing for Crisis Magazine online, Christopher Shannon said that “Day herself considered him the holiest man she ever knew, yet conceded he was something of an eccentric. Still, she remained convinced that he was a truly Christian eccentric, a holy fool in the tradition of St. Paul, or more specifically, St. Francis.”
Read the whole essay, “Peter Maurin: A Fool for Christ“, it is worth the time.
You may also want to read other recent works on the Servant of God Dorothy Day (who was also an Oblate of Saint Benedict):
- Dorothy Day, with Francis J. Sicius, Peter Maurin: Apostle to the World (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2004).
- Robert Ellsberg, ed., All the Way to Heaven: The Selected Letters of Dorothy Day (Milwaukee: Marquette UP, 2010).
- Jim Forest, All is Grace: A Biography of Dorothy Day (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2011).
A year ago I sponsored an evening on Dorothy Day with Crossroads Cultural Center, here is the post from that event.
Paul, you are right. Peter and Dorothy are holy people worth knowing and following. I have thought for some time now that if Benedictine Oblates got behind Dorothy’s canonization cause it would also focus attention upon Oblates and draw others to follow St. Benedict. Dorothy’s life focused on prayer,work, and hospitality.
A true follower of St. Benedict! !:
Paul, you are right. Peter and Dorothy are holy people worth knowing and following. I have thought for some time now that if Benedictine Oblates got behind Dorothy’s canonization cause it would also focus attention upon Oblates and draw others to follow St. Benedict. Dorothy’s life focused on prayer,work, and hospitality.
A true follower of St. Benedict
Paul, I agree Peter and Dorothy were holy people worth getting to know and trying to follow. They showed us a way to live the Gospel in contemporary American culture.
I have thought for sometime that if Benedictine Oblates would get behind the canonization cause for Dorothy, it would at the same time educate and draw others to follow the Benedictine way of life. Dorothy’s life focused on prayer, work and hospitality. A true follower of St. Benedict!!
Sorry about the multiple postings. I had difficulties with submitting my comment.