Dorothy Day LOAVES AND FISHES Ch.1 A Knock at the Door

 Loaves and Fishes:

The Inspiring Story of the Catholic Worker Movement

by Dorothy Day (Author),

 Robert Coles (Introduction)

Paperback – June 3, 2003; originally published: New York: Harper & Row, 1963.

Ch.1 A Knock at the Door  

OVERVIEW

Day was living in a four -room deep apartment when she started the Catholic Worker with Peter Maurin, Besides her daughter Ramar, the family included her brother John and his wife Teresa. 

Day earned her living by freelance articles on about the social order for Commonweal and America. She had just returned from Washington covering a hunger march and a farmer's conference. 

The knock at the door was from Peter. Commonweal editor had recommended that he contact Dorothy.

Day delightfully describes the chaos of the household. Peter loved to talk about ideas with everyone he met even though he came to see Dorothy about three ideas he had for here.

First, he thought she join with him in beginning a Newspaper to help people understand the social issues of the day through discussions that lead to what he called "clarification of thought." Although he described himself a poor peasant "because he had roots" encourage people to think before they acted.

Second, he thought they should found Houses of Hospitality somewhat like the European model of hospices which provided free housing and food to guests.

Third he thought they should organize farming communes. Peter was interested in what he called a "green" revolution rather than a "red" communist revolution.  Peter's ideal community was one were cult (liturgy) culture (study) and agriculture were integrated. He was very much influenced by medieval monasticism.   

PERSPECTIVES

In her preface, Day writes that the book is the story of The Catholic Worker. She then asks the question: "What type of organization do we have? It is hard to answer that." It was ot a cooperative, a settlement house, or a mission, but did not operate on a democratic basis. Someone called it a benevolent dictatorship. Most participants describe it in terms of what they considered "home."  A former soldier experienced the army, a former monk a monastery, an Israeli a kibbutzim, a visitor from India liken it to an ashram. 

Most social scientists would say this was a book about the origins of the Catholic Worker movement. That correctly implies that institutions. In the case of the Catholic Worker there are at least three: the newspaper, the houses of hospitality, and the farming communes.  However, a too sociological perspective neglects the fact that persons are at the center rather than the periphery of the movement.