by Mona Shaw
Many know
about Dorothy Day’s work with the poor and her anti-war activism. Not as much
is known about her as a brilliant intellectual and gifted writer. Her book All
the Way to Heaven is one of my favorites. It’s just not merely food for
thought, it’s an endless and sumptuous banquet. Her keen intelligence led to
acts of profound and comprehensive wisdom.
Brian
Terrell (a life-long Catholic Worker, who lived with Day) told me a story about Dorothy several years ago that has catalyzed
endless insights as it continues to refuse to leave my daily consciousness.
It seems
that one day at Mary House, a man arrived and gave Dorothy a valuable diamond
ring from an estate. Dorothy thanked the
man and noted it was lovely and generous.
She, then,
called to a homeless woman who was a guest of the house.
“Mary,”
Dorothy said, “I think this ring will fit you.”
She placed
the ring on Mary’s finger
“It does
fit. It looks so pretty on you. It’s yours.”
Unsurprisingly
she was criticized for this. How much could have done for the poor if she had
sold the ring instead? But, in her
infinite wisdom, she knew that selling this bauble would perpetuate it as a symbol
of class oppression. She knew that long after the proceeds from its sale were
spent, it would land on some wealthy woman’s hand as a flagrant witness of class
supremacy. She resisted class inequality by taking one tiny weapon away from
the war on the poor. It was a brave, longer
lasting, and more powerful gift to the poor.
This remains
a prevailing guide in much that I do.
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