Dorothy Day's Christian Influence

The assignment analyzes the profound impact of Christianity on Dorothy Day's life. Students are tasked with examining how her Christian beliefs manifested in her actions, particularly her dedication to social justice, pacifism, and hospitality towards the poor and marginalized. The essay requires close reading and analysis of Day's life and writings to demonstrate the connection between her faith and her social activism.

CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE ON DOROTHY DAY
CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE ON DOROTHY DAY
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CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE ON DOROTHY DAY 1
CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE ON DOROTHY DAY
In a society that glorifies fame, wealth, and heroism through televisions and books one is
left with only one question to ponder, what makes an authentic hero? Is it courage, conviction,
determination, dedication, or leadership? To many who know her story, Dorothy Day
encompasses all the mentioned qualities. She is a woman of compassion, who prioritized the
lives of the poor before her own. She is an epitome of what a leader can be, not by transforming
others but by transforming themselves. All through her life, Dorothy was a harbinger to the
church, an activist for the poor, and a leader to the state. Dorothy came into the world on 8 th
November 1897 at Brooklyn in New York. Her parents were Mr. John Day and Ms. Grace Day;
she was a third born in a family of five1. She was opposed to organized religion in her high
school days because she never witnessed religious people assisting the poor and the needy in her
environs. Her conversion and religious progress was a gradual process that eventually left her a
staunch Catholic. This essay, therefore, will focus on how Christian beliefs influenced her life
and how her life reflected these beliefs.
Dorothy Day’s legacy manifests a radical movement which alleges fidelity to the church
and the gospel. Besides, it reveals personification of the gospel in an icon which is engrossed in
social issues of her generation. In an era characterized by prevalent violence, totalitarian
governments, racial discrimination, and desire for self determination, Dorothy’s encouraged
responsibility towards the needy and the poor, non-violence, and loyalty to God and to
community2. This legacy was inspired by her admiration of the apostolic church, in the book of
1. Philip Sheldrake. Spirituality: A brief history. John Wiley & Sons, (2013), 3.
2 Lance Byron Richey. "Stages Along Life's Way: House of Hospitality and the Development of

CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE ON DOROTHY DAY 2
Acts of the Apostles. She thus felt that the apostolic era should challenge a Christian in building
community, serving the poor, and growing in faith. Her love of scripture especially the Gospels,
Psalms, and the Pauline writing inspired her convictions. Besides, the teaching and the examples
of Jesus Christ were at the core of her social work.
The preferential option for the poor, made Dorothy Day utilize her energies to ensure she
is in solidarity with the poor. The Latin American theology which advocated for the preferential
for the poor inspired her in the works of mercy. Furthermore, in her desire to identify with the
poor, she vowed to voluntary poverty which made her connect easily with the sick, homeless,
and the desperate in the society. Her value of God’s creation also propelled her in doing the
works of charity and mercy. She felt that any form of oppression or devastating poverty robed
people of their freedom, life, and dignity. As a result, she gave herself to enhance the fullness of
life for the fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
Similarly, Dorothy Day was motivated by her desire to imitate Jesus Christ’s
condemnation of injustices. Although speaking against injustice appeared folly during her time,
Dorothy just like Christ was cognizant of the injustice systems. Consequently, she persevered
different forms of intimidations and ridicule to oppose injustices. These acts of courage made her
stand as a prophetic witness who manifested her beliefs through public works and words. Just
like Paul the Apostle or Christ, she believed in taking her message to people in the streets 3. Her
Dorothy Day's Spirituality." American Catholic Studies 126, no. 1 (2015), 37.
3 Benjamin T Peters. "Ignatian Radicalism: The Influence of Jesuit Spirituality on Dorothy Day." The
Catholic Historical Review 103, no. 2 (2017), 299.

CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE ON DOROTHY DAY 3
message was opposed to using of any form of violence in solving human problems. She thus
enhanced human dignity through almsgiving, prayers, civil disobedience, and fasting. The story
of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well was also very inspiring to her especially as far as
reaching people were concerned.
After conversion to Catholicism, Dorothy Day was so much influenced by sacramental
celebrations, particularly the Eucharist; she thus relied on the Eucharistic celebration for spiritual
edification. Moreover, Eucharist made her perceive the world, nature, its people and creation to
full of God's love and splendor4. This perspective of the universe made her reach the poor
regardless of ethnicity or race. Besides, it made her develop a sense of appreciation in both good
and bad times. This sense of gratitude eventually led her to fully trust in God's providence in the
course of her charity work. As a result, she was known as a woman, who expressed appreciation
to God, to people around her as well as to all who supported and read her magazine.
The life and work of Dorothy Day reflected strong Christian beliefs and well-founded
theological convictions. These Christian beliefs can be witnessed in her life. For example, she
accepted voluntary poverty, therefore residing in a house of hospitality together strangers and
with derelicts. Besides, she embraced unconditional pacifism as well as working against various
form injustices to the point of imprisonment5. This choice of life explicitly illustrated Christian
4 James D Kirylo, and Boyd Drick. "Personalism, Humanism, and a Freirean Spirituality Toward
Humanizing Humanity." In Paulo Freire, pp. 27-39. SensePublishers, (Rotterdam, 2017), 89.
5 Robert Ellsberg. "Dorothy Day: A Saint for Our Time." Spiritus: A Journal of Christian
Spirituality 16, no. 1 (2016), 15.

CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE ON DOROTHY DAY 4
personalism which was inspired by a complete identification with the Sermon on the Mount. As
a consequence, Dorothy Day spent her entire life after conversion doing the works of mercy. In
doing so, she prioritized God above all else. Dorothy Day’s conviction that Christ was in the
stranger made her an icon of the Christian faith6. She was immersed in believing that God is to
the poor and needy to the point of concluding that, those who cannot recognize the face of Christ
in the poor and the needy are atheists. Through her, Dorothy Day assisted Christian in
recognizing that Christianity was an exercise in futility without hospitality, because God was
synonymous with hospitality7.
In conclusion, it is vivid that Dorothy Day’s conversion and spiritual development
manifest how Christian beliefs can transform an individual to become the epitome of those
beliefs. Despite Dorothy Day appreciating that God is manifested in other numerous ways, she
was convinced that God was ultimately revealed to us through others. Therefore, every Christian
must strive to an agent of grace to the other person. Christians are bound only for one purpose- to
realize God’s agapic love. This agapic love is realized once Christians accept to be sacraments
to each other. It is thus logical to conclude that, God has given us the gift of one another as a
preview of how heaven will be like.
6 Ronald A, , and SJ Harmless William. "Bibliographies for Theology: Spirituality and Mysticism:
Spirituality in the Modern World." (2017), 8.
7 Jessie Bazan. "Dorothy Day: The Contemplative Catholic Worker." Obsculta 10, no. 1 (2017),
75.

CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE ON DOROTHY DAY 5
Bibliography
Bazan, Jessie. "Dorothy Day: The Contemplative Catholic Worker." Obsculta 10, no. 1 (2017):
73-86.
Ellsberg, Robert. "Dorothy Day: A Saint for Our Time." Spiritus: A Journal of Christian
Spirituality 16, no. 1 (2016): 1-20.
Kirylo, James D., and Drick Boyd. "Personalism, Humanism, and a Freirean Spirituality Toward
Humanizing Humanity." In Paulo Freire, pp. 27-39. SensePublishers, Rotterdam, 2017.
Peters, Benjamin T. "Ignatian Radicalism: The Influence of Jesuit Spirituality on Dorothy Day."
The Catholic Historical Review 103, no. 2 (2017): 297-320.
Richey, Lance Byron. "Stages Along Life's Way: House of Hospitality and the Development of
Dorothy Day's Spirituality." American Catholic Studies 126, no. 1 (2015): 25-41.
Sheldrake, Philip. Spirituality: A brief history. John Wiley & Sons, 2013.
Simkins, Ronald A., Michael G. Cameron, John J. O'Keefe, and William SJ Harmless.
"Bibliographies for Theology: Spirituality and Mysticism: Spirituality in the Modern
World." (2017).