Dorothy Day (1897-1980), co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement, has recently been proposed for canonization. Through her houses of hospitality, the practice of the works of mercy, and her prophetic work for peace and justice, she offered a radical witness to the gospel in action. But it was as much in her everyday life as in her public activities that she expressed her spirituality and found her path to holiness.

This anthology explores the key themes that underlay her spirituality, beginning with the call to see Christ in the poor. Day’s spirituality was deeply influenced by the “Little Way” of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, which showed the path to holiness in the daily exercise of patience, charity, and forgiveness. Dorothy extended this principle to the social dimension, the significance of the little protests we make or fail to make. She believed that each act of love, each witness for peace, increases the balance of love and peace in the world.

Robert Ellsberg, publisher of Orbis Books, worked with Dorothy Day for the last five years of her life, including two years as managing editor of The Catholic Worker. He has edited five previous volumes of her writings, including Selected Writings (Christopher Award Winner), her diaries (The Duty of Delight), and her selected letters (All the Way to Heaven).