DOROTHY DAY
Dorothy Day is a modern day saint. I remember reading about Dorothy Day in
the 1940's when I was in grade school. I went to hear her speak one night in
Washington, D.C. By that time I was less than a year from ordination. So, I was
several years older than when I first read of Dorothy. Somehow I had not
envisioned Dorothy as having aged liked the rest of us.
I expected to see and hear a vigorous and dynamic person who would
challenge and inspire me to go forth and reshape the world. What I saw and
heard was someone quite different. A distinguished looking elderly woman
wearing her hair in a bun. She wore no makeup or jewelry. She could have
been any other woman her age.
When she rose to speak she was very soft spoken. It was difficult to hear what
she said, even with a microphone. I remembered more the externals of the
event than what Dorothy said. Dorothy was escorted to the stage by the
president of Trinity College and the head of the student body. During the
entrance ritual the choir of Trinity College sang a musical rendition of the 34th
chapter of the prophet Ezekiel.
In that chapter the prophet severly criticizes the priests who served
themselves rather than served the people. But in the chapter God says: "I
myself will look after and tend my sheep. ... I will rescue them ... I will lead
them ... gather them from foreign lands ... bring them back to their own country
... the lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up,
the sick I will heal ..." Ezekiel 34:11-16
Dorothy's words that night were not all that impressive. But the words she
spoke with her life were those of the prophet Ezekiel. Dorothy was a light and a
haven to the lost, the strayed, the homeless, the injured, the sick. Twenty years
after her death Catholic Worker houses she founded continue to do the work
she began.
Recently I contacted the web site of The Catholic Worker. The person who
replied told me it was so nice to know that there were still a few priests out
there who knew about Dorothy and The Catholic Worker. I couldn't help but
think of the song the Trinity College choir sang the night I heard Dorothy speak.
If you would like to know more about Dorothy's life, her work or the movement
she left behind check on the web at
www.catholicworker.org
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We'd like to hear from you bill crumley
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CHURCH
3041 CHITIMACHA TRAIL
CHARENTON LOUISIANA 70523
USA
337-923-4281
