Dorothy Day Sparknotes

Throughout Dorothy Day’s writing, she shares many experiences where she practiced sacramentality, mediation, and communion. In one example, she shared a story of traveling on the Third Avenue El, an elevated railroad system in New York City. In the corner of the train, there sat a “shabby” looking man with his eyes closed. He wore ragged clothes, and he was underdressed for the cold conditions. While he had his eyes closed, he continued to outrageously shout the words of what a conductor would say on a train like, “last stop, South Ferry.” Many upper class people starred at the man, and they accused him of being a drunk, homeless, and a bum. While the majority of the people saw the very worst out of the man, Dorothy Day looked at him and saw the
Day also supported this kind of railway job. In fact, she writes, “A job that meant a paycheck, a job that was useful; he was serving others, not exploiting them, not making money off their labor,” (Day 85). She also thought about his life before he was unemployed like his family, a radio to listen to, and a warm house. Dorothy Day felt compassion for someone who didn’t necessarily come off as a pleasant person. This is sacramentality for multiple reason. When we think of sacramentality, we think of noticing and celebrating God’s agape love. However, when we live a life of sacramentality, we usually think of God’s love as happy things in life like nature or very loving people. Yet God’s love is all of the engraced, so even the homeless man on the Third Avenue El was engraced too. Dorothy Day felt for this man, and she wanted his life to be better. In addition, Dorothy Day’s practice of sacramentality was at a remarkable level. It is easy to recognize the great parts of God’s love, yet Dorothy saw the goodness in the marginalized. She wanted to help the people who suffered from the social