Dorothy and her restless search for God

Dorothy Day, Ho trovato Dio attraverso i suoi poveri. Dall’ateismo alla fede: il mio cammino interiore [I Found God Through His Poor. From Atheism To Faith: My Inner Journey] Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2023

Who all know about Dorothy Day and her work on behalf of peace, justice and in particular the poor, the marginalized, and exploited workers. Yet, after the beginning of her beatification process in 2000, little has been known about her conversion. This first autobiography (there are others as well) reaches back to just before the Catholic Worker Foundation and recounts her restless and desperate search for the Catholic God. Pope Francis' introduction to the text is beautiful, “The way Dorothy Day recounts her coming to the Christian faith attests to the fact that it is not human efforts or stratagems that bring people closer to God, but rather the grace that flows from charity, the beauty that flows from witness, the love that becomes concrete facts”. The desire to become Catholic took shape with the birth of her daughter, helped on this path by a nun and a priest. The book, which is a real page-turner, is very good. How many Dorothy Days do we need in these times of sudden and fierce wars, but which arise out of hostilities that have never subsided and leave wounds that are unlikely to heal into paths of peace.

Rosa Lupoli is a Capuchin nun from Naples, and the abbess of the Santa Maria in Gerusalemme monastery known as the Trentatrè, founded by Blessed Maria Lorenza Longo