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    Dorothy Day

    DorothyDay
    Archbishops compared her to Gandhi and Martin Luther King, the New York Times spoke of the “end of an era,” wealthy admirers organized a memorial mass, and homeless men wept. Who was this old woman who owned nothing but a creaking bed, a writing desk, an overflowing bookshelf, a teapot, and a radio? Born in Brooklyn in 1897, Dorothy’s early years were marked by dramatic twists and turns. There was journalism school, and then a taste of the bohemian Twenties, first in New York City, then Italy, then Hollywood, and finally Staten Island. These were whirlwind years, and left her reeling from a broken marriage, an abortion, and a series of unhappy relationships.   Read Full Biography
    When Dorothy Day died in the cramped Lower East Side room she called home, hundreds of thousands of people mourned.

    But there was also an unforgettable night in a Greenwich Village bar where her friend, the playwright Eugene O’Neill, recited “The Hound of Heaven” for her – a poem whose obscure but deep message left her reeling and, she later said, eventually brought about her conversion.

    In 1926 Dorothy had a baby daughter, Tamar – an event that profoundly changed her. Leftist friends (she was a Communist) mocked her new interest in the Gospels (they felt religion was a crutch for the weak), but Dorothy dug in her heels. Jesus promised the new society of justice they were all looking for, she said; and if Christians tended to be soft-minded hypocrites, that was not Jesus’ fault. She was determined to give him a try.

    By the time Dorothy died in 1980, it was clear she had done more than try. Shaken by the hopelessness of the unemployed millions during the Depression years, she dropped all ambitions of becoming a famous writer and spent the rest of her life serving the poor (in whose face she saw Jesus), spreading her views of nonviolence (she was imprisoned many times for acts of civil disobedience), and passionately reminding readers through her books and newspaper articles that Christ demanded more than tithes, hats, and flowers on Sunday.

    As far as Dorothy could tell, he demanded the readiness to wash vegetables, cut bread, and clean up after hundreds of noisy, often ungrateful guests, day after day, year after year. This she did gladly at the New York Catholic Worker – a communal hospitality house she founded and ran for the unemployed and homeless.

    On a practical level, Dorothy’s witness lives on in more than 150 Catholic Worker Houses across the country. There is also the enduring challenge of her non-nonsense attitude to faith: “The mystery of the poor is this: that they are Jesus, and whatever you do for them you do to him.”

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    Acclaim

    • Charles E. Moore, in Following the Call, brings us a rich opportunity, individually and collectively, to enter into the “good trouble” of Jesus and his soul-shaking Sermon on the Mount.

      Friends Journal

    • This handsome hardback has brief readings from some of the world’s leading literary and spiritual writers, offering just enough meaty and aesthetically-rich writing to please and challenge anyone who wants to dip in to a more mature sourcebook.

      Hearts and Minds Bookstore

    • Lent is a season of restraint, but this compiled book is a Lenten (and paschal) smorgasbord, offering more than 70 excerpted readings for Lent and Easter. Inside you’ll find writings of spiritual leaders, theologians, literary favorites, mystics, and justice heroes, including Clarence Jordan, Kathleen Norris, Ernesto Cardenal, Simone Weil, Wendell Berry, Madeleine L’Engle, Philip Berrigan, and Oscar Wilde, to name a few.

      Sojourners

    • There are no words more important than the Sermon on the Mount. And I can think of no better cloud of witnesses to reflect on those words than the people in this book. It is a gift to the world.

      Shane Claiborne, author, activist, and co-founder of The Simple Way and Red Letter Christians

    • A treasure chest of wisdom drawn from some of the greatest thinkers and saints the church has known.

      Greg Boyd, Senior Pastor, Woodland Hills Church

    • From Teresa of Avila to Mother Teresa, from Martin Luther to Martin Luther King, from Francis of Assisi to Francis Chan, from Dorothy Day to Dorothy Sayers, these excerpts can deeply enrich personal study and devotion. But they are also meant to be read and discussed in community and then acted on. Prepare yourself for a healthy feast, but then prepare yourself for obedience and service in the church of our Lord Jesus Christ!

      Craig L. Blomberg, Denver Seminary

    • Beautiful and challenging? Yes, indeed. Ecumenical and faithful? Certainly so. This book... is the most delightfully curated, fully inter-denominational book we’ve seen in a long time.

      Hearts & Minds Bookstore

    • As I read this collection, I tried to imagine the authors of the various reflections in conversation. What would Leo Tolstoy say to Karl Barth, or Francis of Assisi to Wendell Berry? The more I read, though, the more I started to imagine all of them in one place—listening to Jesus give the Sermon on the Mount. And, before long, I found myself blending into the crowd with them, hearing these strange, arresting, upending words of life. This book will prompt you to surprise, to delight, to melancholy, to argument, and, at every turn, will lead you back to Jesus.

      Russell Moore, Christianity Today

    • Moore has brought together compelling selections from more than a hundred writers to call for the formation of a fellowship of disciples who will simply live as Jesus taught us to live. I strongly recommend this book for study, reflection, and prayerful living.

      Richard J. Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline

    • A magnificent collection of reflections on Jesus's most familiar, and most radical, teaching.

      James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage

    • Plough Publishing has rendered all spiritual souls a great service by putting together this collection of excerpts from the writings of Dorothy Day... When she died in 1980, she owned a creaking bed, a writing desk, a bookshelf, a teapot, and a radio. Her spiritual legacy was immense.

      Spirituality and Practice

    • This book is both informative and practical – written with a short chapter for each week of the year. Designed to spark conversation within a group devotion setting, readers can dive deep into community together.… This book delves into the nitty-gritty details of Christian community living and encourages readers to confront the dissatisfaction stirred up by its challenging pages. Though not a light text by any means, this book is ideal for those seeking to approach Christian community more intentionally and comprehensively.

      Evangelical Church Library Association

    • …Drawn from the full sweep of church history and an impressive range of ecumenical voices.

      Mennonite Quarterly Review

    • If you have any degree of devotion to, affection for, or interest in Dorothy Day, The Reckless Way of Love is a must-have addition to your library. The selections are carefully, even prayerfully chosen and meticulously organized.

      Mark Gordon, The Dorothy Option, Patheos.com

    • In his speech to Congress during his 2015 visit to the United States, Pope Francis held up Dorothy Day as an example of the selflessness needed today, saying, ‘Her social activism, her passion for justice and for the cause of the oppressed were inspired by the gospel, her faith, and the example of the saints.’ In The Reckless Way of Love, a compilation of her writings, Day expounds on the driving force behind this love of service: her persistent faith in God.

      Our Sunday Visitor

    • Saints are not like the rest of us, but the Dorothy Day in these pages is. Her reflections leave one wondering whether what made her so fascinating was that she took the simple teaching of her faith at face value and to heart.

      Library Journal

    • ‘I do not need to retire to my room to pray,’ [Dorothy Day] writes. ‘It is enough to get out and walk in the wilderness of the streets.’ Walking in the wilderness of the streets is something I can do, situated as I am in a city where need and injustice abounds. As D. L. Mayfield explains in the introduction, Day was no saint: she was ‘an ordinary person simply trying to walk the road of following Christ’. This is precisely why her reflections on following Jesus are worthy of study.

      Elizabeth Palmer, Christian Century

    • This thoughtful collection of Day’s reflections incorporates abundant material for contemplation, all drawn from her extensive writings … [which] reveal Day’s signature honesty and frequent humor in addressing her hopes and fears and the sources of her inspiration.…This welcome compilation provides a window into the fundamental beliefs that undergirded Day’s life of faith.

      Publishers Weekly, starred review

    • A 2016 Englewood Honor Book – one of the thirty best books of the year for the life and flourishing of the church.

      Englewood Review for Books

    • This is a stellar contribution to our understanding of the whys and wherefores of Christian community. The 52 selections seem perfect for a year of weekly group study and the detailed discussion guide in the appendix is particularly useful for this purpose. Called to Community: The Life Jesus Wants for His People is a thoughtfully compiled and well edited guide to the subject.

      Nancy Roberts, Catholic Sentinel

    • To listen to those who have lived community across the centuries is to drink at a deep well of wisdom. The call to community is challenging, and yet the recognition of the real challenges of community both tempers naive enthusiasm and offers wise counsel to those who pursue intentional communities out of faithfulness to Christ.

      InterVarsity Emerging Scholars Network

    • Called to Community is an extraordinary and welcome addition to personal reading lists, as well as church, seminary, community, and academic library Christian Studies collections

      Midwest Book Review

    • As with the Bible, this book is not to be read alone, or lived alone, but embodied in community. Will we take up and read – and live?

      Paul Louis Metzger, Patheos

    • This book functions as a guide to community: to understanding the true nature of community, to cultivating a spirit and heart that is prepared to live in community, to learning how to desire the right kind of community, in the first place.

      Kyle Roberts, Patheos

    • This is one meaty, yet very accessible, book for those who love the Church enough to give it some serious thought, knowing that serious thought can lead to serious action. Whether in small groups or individually, as we read Called to Community, we will be hearing voices from the road, people with trail dust on their faith. They know what they’re talking about. And this invitation to come alongside them is a great place to start finding some new roads in an old faith of our own.

      David Swartz, Patheos

    • I can only hope that it will be widely read, because I am certain that contained in this book is the future of being Christian.

      Stanley Hauerwas

    • Has there ever been a more hard-hitting, beautifully written, theologically inclusive anthology of writings for Lent and Easter? It’s doubtful. Many readers may well find that this collection – a sequel to the highly successful 'Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas' – is the one book they return to year after year, forgoing their usual custom of buying a new Lenten devotional each spring. Caveat lector: no one should have this much pleasure during Lent!

      Publisher's Weekly starred review