Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day, the co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement, has always been a source of inspiration for me. I was blessed to meet her a few times and to read stuff about her. But in the last two days talking with persons who personally knew her I have come to a new understanding of her life and spirit.
It is like my intellectual or mind understanding of Dorothy Day has been deepened by a more heart understanding. I knew she always considered herself a Christian anarchist and did not vote or participate in government funding, but I did not realize how deeply this personal believe of no dependence on government or funding institutions was ingrained in her life. I knew she shunned honor and fame that came her way but now understand how humble she was, not wanting her glory to stand in the way of the message her life was to us.
Getting to know someone directly or indirectly through family and friends brings a whole new relationship to this person being someone whose spirit lives in the present. There is no substitution for personal knowledge of a person.
My new entry into the Featured Article section of www.nonviolentcow.org, called The Mystery of the Present Moment, says that we can only learn about God and form a personal relationship with God in the present moment. The author states: “The mind cannot control the present moment, the time during which things can arise, so it pretends that it does not exist.”
The present moment is heart learning. Like getting to know someone, like Dorothy Day, from experiences of the person or indirectly from family is a whole different type of learning.
This heart knowing is a powerful force and can bring major changes. Dorothy Day said: “The greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution which has to start with each one of us?”
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