Entertaining Angels

The Social Justice group at St. James the Less invited the parish to a viewing of the movie Entertaining Angels last evening. We had a short discussion after the movie.

This is a movie about the early years of Dorothy Day and the start of the Catholic Worker movement. Moira Kelly plays Dorothy and Martin Sheen plays a whimsical Peter Maurin.

There are a number of people around who still have a living memory of Dorothy Day (and even Peter Maurin). They claim that many of the scenes in the movie did not actually happen and are just dramatizations of her life.

Still, the basic facts are true: Dorothy was a young suffragette journalist who hung around in Marxist circles with the literary elite of New York City. She went against her instincts and had an abortion, which she regretted. The birth of her daughter coincided with her conversion to Catholicism. As a Catholic, she continued her Marxist concern for the poor but in a different way. After asking God for direction, she soon met Peter Maurin who helped guide her into publishing The Catholic Worker newspaper. In the midst of the Great Depression, they opened their home to the hungry and homeless of New York City. They lived in community and in poverty with the poor while continuing to be a voice for social change.

It is hard to imagine another American Catholic who has had as great of an impact in the last century as Dorothy Day, although she would always credit Peter Maurin for so much of what they did. In any case, they were certainly an amazing team.

Dorothy is currently up for canonization (against her wishes!) She was an influence on Vatican II, especially concerning the role of the laity. So much of the social justice activity of American Catholics today owes its start to the Catholic Worker movement. Their brand of hospitality and community living is one of the primary influences on the new monasticism. This personal approach to outreach work has influenced others far and wide. Numerous communities all over the world--some who call themselves Catholic Workers and some that do not--follow the model that Dorothy and Peter started so many years ago. Dorothy was a prolific writer.

The movie is quite powerful. There were not many dry eyes in the room at the close of the film. Many thanks to the Social Justice group for organizing this event!

NOTE: We have a copy of the movie at the Catholic Worker house and are willing to show it again anytime, so just ask!