Dorothy Day (1897 - 1980) was an American journalist, social
activist and devout Catholic convert. In 1933, with Peter Maurin,
she established the Catholic Worker, creating a community dedicated
to direct aid for the poor and homeless, solidarity with the
dispossessed, and social change. Day participated in the labor
struggles of the 1930s, the Civil Rights movement, and nonviolent,
pacifist opposition to WWII, Vietnam and Cold War militarism, and
her cause for canonization is open in the Catholic Church.
Robert Ellsberg was part of the Catholic Worker community in New
York City for the last five years of Dorothy Day's life (1975-80),
and served for two years as managing editor of The Catholic Worker.
He has also edited Dorothy Day- Selected Writings and All the Way
to Heaven- The Selected Letters of Dorothy Day, and is the author
of All Saints.
"The Duty of Delight is indispensable reading for anyone who cares
deeply about God, about the world, or about humanity--in other
words for anyone who wishes to learn how to love." –James Martin,
SJ, author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything
"These diaries, and the splendid work of the editor, are a gift to
each of us. Instead of simply talking about justice, peace, the
poor, the reader is invited to encounter the reality of each
situation, event, and person with a mentor and a guide who can be
trusted to shine the necessary light which illumines: Dorothy Day.
The ordinariness of her life speaks to the extraordinary power of
grace in action." –Catholic Press Association
"To read these diaries is to enter the world of Dorothy Day, to see
that world as she did, and to hear firsthand her conversations with
herself and God. The reader is privileged to be invited into this
intimate dialogue. . .. Dorothy Day’s life speaks for itself, and
here in these diaries it speaks loudest of all, confirming what she
believed: Duty expressed in love gives joy and delight." –National
Catholic Reporter
“The Duty of Delight is an enlightening read. Robert Ellsberg
has done a magnificent job of editing Dorothy's journal entries
from the 1930s to her death in 1980. Here we discover the
extraordinary vision and work of the Catholic Worker movement
through the ordinary daily events of a woman who worked tirelessly
as a devout Catholic and servant of the poor. I recommend it highly
to those who want to apreciate more fully the life of a radical
follower of Jesus Christ.” –Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New
York
“No Catholic has inspired me more than Dorothy Day. When I awakened
to the struggles of the poor, she was there. When I first committed
my life to non-violence, she was there. When I first thought
of writing about my experiences on death row, she was there. When I
struggle to pray and stay close to the suffering Christ, she’s
still there. What a spiritual treasure in this intimate record of
the sturm und drang of Dorothy’s spirit – her passionate loves and
losses, confusions, and daily struggles to serve the unwashed,
unfed, and often, un-sober, of America’s streets. There’s a
starkness to her soul. She even talks about delight as a duty. You
sense in her a steel-ribbed, relentless will, and yet, on every
page is her acknowledgement of God’s saving grace and tender
mercies – the two magnetic poles of Dorothy’s vibrant life. Thank
you, God, for giving us this gospel of Dorothy.” –Sister Helen
Prejean, CSJ, founder of The Moratorium Campaign and author of Dead
Man Walking
“Dorothy Day is perhaps the most significant figure in
Western Christianity during the twentieth century. And there is no
greater caretaker of these personal scrap-notes and journals than
Robert Ellsberg. This book is bound to become a classic, just
as Dorothy has become a legend. But let us not forget, Dorothy’s
famous line: ‘Don’t call us saints… we don’t want to be dismissed
that easily.’ She was just as ordinary as she was radical, and that
is part of her charm. Let her life disturb and inspire you…
not to become her – but to become you.” –Shane Claiborne, activist,
founding member of The Simple Way, and author of The Irresistible
Revolution
“The Duty of Delight is an astonishing ‘act of community’—a
chronicle , so lovingly and carefully edited by Robert Ellsberg
that each entry comes soaked with the heart of the Gospel and the
power of transformative love. The sacred is present in every
ordinary recounting.” –Gregory Boyle, S.J., Founder and Executive
Director of Homeboy Industries and author of Tattoos on the
Heart
“These diaries embody Dorothy’s powerful conviction, lived over
many decades, that true holiness is found in the most ordinary
aspects of our daily life, and that grace is always present in the
midst of struggle. The deeply human side of Dorothy that comes
alive in these pages is a sign of great hope for all of us who seek
to live a faith-filled life in a complex world.” –Sr. Mary
Scullion, RSM, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Project
H.O.M.E.
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