The Dorothy Day Guild is beginning a novena to Dorothy Day today; it ends on December 7th, the day before the documentation for her cause for canonization is being sent to the Vatican. Incidentally, there will be a Mass celebrating this on December 8th which will be live-streamed.
The Guild’s Facebook Page contains the text of the Novena, but I will share the first day here. You can go to their page for the remaining days. (I do not think that you have to be a Facebook member to be able to view it.) On second thought, perhaps I will post the daily prayers here. But look into their Page, just in case.
Deo Gratias: A Novena of Gratitude Giving thanks for the Valiant Life and Witness of Servant of God Dorothy Day
Day 1, Christian Vocation
“Every Catholic faced with a great need starts a novena.”
–Dorothy Day, The Long Loneliness
The Dorothy Day Guild invites members and others to gather for a novena of thanks for the witness of Servant of God Dorothy Day, and to celebrate the advancement of the cause for her canonization.
Today, we pray in gratitude for Dorothy’s wholehearted response to living out the demands of the gospel. Although she grew up in a nominally religious family and later espoused a bohemian lifestyle, Dorothy searched for God from an early age. While she joined with leftists to support workers’ struggles, her heart was called to a deeper solidarity, in the Mystical Body of Christ. After first baptizing her daughter, Tamar, she too became a Catholic – joining the Church of the immigrant poor.
During his address to the United States Congress in 2015, Pope Francis said, “I cannot fail to mention the Servant of God Dorothy Day, who founded the Catholic Worker Movement. Her social activism, her passion for justice and for the cause of the oppressed were inspired by the Gospel, her faith, and the example of the saints.”
Dorothy wrote, “The lives of the saints… are too often written as though they were not in this world. We have seldom been given the saints as they really were, as they affected the lives of their times … too little has been stressed the idea that all are called.” She also wrote, “Holiness is not a state of perfection but a faithful striving that lasts a lifetime.” – The Duty of Delight: The Diaries of Dorothy Day
Servant of God Dorothy Day, intercede for us; pray that we grow in courage and faith to follow our own path to holiness.
As we give thanks for Dorothy Day’s life – and pray for the Church’s recognition of her
holiness — let us ask her to join us on our own pilgrimages. May her example of “faithful striving” inspire perseverance in all people of faith; may we take heart from her generous and courageous response to God’s call.
Let us pray…Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be OR the Holy Rosary
Prayer for the Canonization of Servant of God Dorothy Day (1897 – 1980)
God our Father,
Your servant Dorothy Day exemplified
the Catholic faith by her life
of prayer, voluntary poverty,
works of mercy, and
witness to the justice and peace
of the Gospel of Jesus.
May her life inspire your people
to turn to Christ as their Savior,
to see His face in the world’s poor, and
to raise their voices for the justice
of God’s kingdom.
I pray that her holiness may be recognized by your Church
And that you grant the following favor that I humbly ask through her intercession:
(here mention your request)
I ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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