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Dorothy Day

Dorothy Day Quotes

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Famous Dorothy Day Quotes

“Over and over again, people had to disobey lawful authority to follow the voice of their conscience. This obedience to God and disobedience to the State has, over and over again, happened throughout history. It is time again to cry out against our 'leaders,' to question (since it is not for us to say that they are evil) whether or not they are sane.”

PeopleStatesEvilVoiceLeaderHappenedCryAuthorityConscienceObedienceSaneDisobedienceCivil DisobedienceObedience To God
Author:Dorothy Day
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“Poverty is a strange and elusive thing. ... I condemn poverty and I advocate it; poverty is simple and complex at once; it is a social phenomenon and a personal matter. Poverty is an elusive thing, and a paradoxical one. We need always to be thinking and writing about it, for if we are not among its victims its reality fades from us. We must talk about poverty because people insulated by their own comfort lose sight of it.”

PeopleIfsThinkingNeedsWritingMatterRealitySocialLosesSimplePovertyStrangeComfortSightVictimComplexesPhenomenonFadesElusiveParadoxicalPersonal MatterSimple And Complex
Author:Dorothy Day
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“The theoretician of the Marxist revolution in Cuba certainly wasn't Castro. It was Don Carlos Rafaelo Rodriguez. He was the theoretician and very often people say he will take over. But I don't believe it. I think that it's a very good combination - the Catholic man working together with a man like that who has everything pretty well planned.”

PeopleThinkingMenBelieveWellsTogetherRevolutionCatholicDon't BelieveVery GoodCombinationWorking TogetherCubaMarxistCastro
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“True love is delicate and kind, full of gentle perception and understanding, full of beauty and grace, full of joy unutterable. There should be some flavor of this in all our love for others. We are all one. We are one flesh in the Mystical Body as man and woman are said to be one flesh in marriage. With such a love one would see all things new; we would begin to see people as they really are, as God sees them.”

PeopleMenShouldKindSaidBodyJoyUnderstandingLove IsGracePerceptionMen And WomenAll ThingsFleshGentleDelicateMysticalOur LoveFlavorTrue Love IsAll Things New
Author:Dorothy Day
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“People say, what is the sense of our small effort? They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time. A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that spread in all directions. Each one of our thoughts, words and deeds is like that. No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless. There is too much work to do.”

PeopleFeelsCausesEffortStepsToo MuchDown AndLaysCastsDeedsSpreadHopelessOur ThoughtsBricksPondsRipplePebblesOne Step At A TimeToo Much WorkSmall Efforts
Author:Dorothy Day
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“Maybe I was praying for him then, in my own way. Does God have a set way of prayer, a way that He expects each of us to follow? I doubt it. I believe some people-- lots of people-- pray through the witness of their lives, through the work they do, the friendships they have, the love they offer people and receive from people. Since when are words the only acceptable form of prayer?”

PeopleWayBelieveDoeFormI BelieveMy OwnPrayerDoubtPrayingOffersWitnessAcceptable
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“One of the greatest evils of the day among those outside of prison is their sense of futility. Young people say, What is the sense of our small effort? They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time; we can be responsible only for the one action of the present moment.”

PeopleMomentsActionYoungTimeEvilEffortStepsResponsibleLaysPrisonPresent MomentBricksBeing ResponsibleFutilityOne Step At A TimeSmall Efforts
Author:Dorothy Day
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“Love and ever more love is the only solution to every problem that comes up. If we love each other enough, we will bear with each other's faults and burdens. If we love enough, we are going to light that fire in the hearts of others. And it is love that will burn out the sins and hatreds that sadden us. It is love that will make us want to do great things for each other. No sacrifice and no suffering will then seem too much.”

PeopleIfsWantLoveGivingHeartEnoughProblemLightSeemsSufferingWishMy OwnSinLove IsFireToo MuchSacrificeBearsSolutionsHatredGive MeFaultsCome UpBurdenGreat ThingsClarityBad PeopleLove Each OtherBurn Out
Author:Dorothy Day
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“What we would like to do is change the world - make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves as God intended for them to do....We can, to a certain extent, change the world; we can work for the oasis, the little cell of joy and peace in a harried world. We can throw our pebble in the pond and be confident that its ever widening circle will reach around the world. We repeat, there is nothing that we can do but love, and, dear God, please enlarge our hearts to love each other, to love our neighbor, to love our enemy as well as our friend.”

PeopleWorldWellsHeartLittlesJoyCertainCan DoEnemyPleaseDearNeighborCirclesAround The WorldCellsRepeatsChanging The WorldShelterLove Each OtherPondsBe ConfidentPebblesDear GodOasis
Author:Dorothy Day
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“We want no revolution; we want the brotherhood of men. We want men to love one another. We want all men to have what is sufficient for their needs. And now - strange thought - the devil has so maneuvered that the people turn from Him because those who profess Him are clothed in soft raiment and sit at well-spread tables and deny the poor.”

PeopleMenWantNeedsWellsTurnsPoorStrangeRevolutionDevilTablesDenySpreadSufficientBrotherhoodWant MeLove One AnotherBrotherhood Of Man
Author:Dorothy Day
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“I do not know how to love God except by loving the poor. I do not know how to serve God except by serving the poor.... Here, within this great city of nine million people, we must, in this neighborhood, on this street, in this parish, regain a sense of community which is the basis for peace in the world.”

PeopleKnowsWorldCommunityPoorCitiesMillionsKnow HowStreetsBasesNineGod LoveNeighborhoodServingServing GodGreat CitiesHow To LoveParish
Author:Dorothy Day
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