Educating, Inspiring, and Motivating Christian Women

Dorothy Day – Entertaining Angels

I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.
Dorothy Day

d-d-entertaining-anglesRecently I came across a DVD that does a pretty fair job of telling the story of Dorothy Day’s life.

In our busy world it is often easier to watch a good video than to find time for books. I would still recommend reading the biography of Dorothy Day as well as her own writings. They are very inspiring.

The video is titled: Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story.

It is done by “Paulist Pictures”. You can get the DVD from Amazon or many other religious organizations that sell books and biographies of historical Christians.

I thought that the production of the movie was well-done. The actors, Moira Kelly as Dorothy Day and Martin Sheen as her friend and mentor Peter Maurin were very believable in their parts. Often other movies are ruined by the shallowness of the acting but in this production Moira Kelly and Martin Sheen gave very strong performances.

I really appreciated the introduction to the movie – It showed Dorothy in prison in the early 1960’s for protesting the war in Vietnam. It gave the viewer a glimpse of another facet of her life besides caring for the poor. Dorothy believed in peace and justice and was willing to practice what she preached! She went to prison several times.

The scene in the prison may or may not have been a real event in her life, but it pictures for the viewer just how much Dorothy loved the ‘unlovely’.  She comforts a woman cell mate who is quite agitated, seemingly coming off of drugs. As Dorothy sits with the woman’s head in her lap, the woman vomits on Dorothy whose reaction is only kindness and concern. The woman is moved by Dorothy’s kindness and wants to know “What is the story of your life?”

Dorothy begins a reminiscence. She reflects back to the time that she lived like a bohemian in Greenwich village along with friends who were trying to find answers to poverty in socialism and communism. No one in the crowd believed in God. Dorothy herself was very skeptical.

Over the next few years Dorothy suffered from failed love affairs and had many heartbreaks. But she encounters a wonderful nun who shows her love. The nun is also engaged in helping the poor. Dorothy wonders what the nun gets out of it. Dorothy finds out that just helping others gives you great joy.

I won’t give away any more details. I hope that this has whetted your appetite to see a film about a very courageous woman. A woman who did many things that she regretted in her early life but found forgiveness and love in the Lord Jesus. A woman who did not look back but spent her time helping others more unfortunate than she was.

In our day especially, women can be encouraged that they can do great things for God. Dorothy was a single mother with no money whose legacy includes over 100 “soup kitchens” and other places of charity for the poor. She ministered to the lives of thousands of angels.

And if you have some time, read the books too!!

Following are some pictures of the real Dorothy along with some of her most famous quotes.

quote-the-gospel-takes-away-our-right-forever-to-discriminate-between-the-deserving-and-the-dorothy-day-44-23-97

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Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it.

~ Marian Wright Edelman
Women of Peace and Justice
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9)

“The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.”

-Psalm 33:5

People are longing for peace and justice. The women whose stories are in these pages followed the Lord Jesus Christ in his way of compassion and justice for the world. The Gospel message is better presented when Christians match their actions to their words in acts of mercy and love. These women pursued a God of peace and justice who respects all persons, especially the lowly, the weak, the forgotten, the marginalized, and the poor.

Lasting peace comes through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. True justice comes from God. “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Romans 5:1-2). Justified women and men who have the peace, comfort, and assurance of God’s forgiveness have the privilege and the responsibility to advance true justice as they spread the gospel of peace in word and deed. From Shiphrah and Puah to Dorothy Day, the women in these stories are a shining example for Christ’s followers who have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to take the message of hope to a lost world.

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with hour God.” (Micah 6:8)

Women of Faith and Courage
Women of Faith and Courage
Stories of Women in the Bible and History

The women gathered in “Women of Faith and Courage” by Mary Walker are not included merely to inspire for a moment. Their stories carry biblical, historical, and spiritual weight. Each life adds something essential to the wider testimony of faith, reminding readers that Christian history is fuller, more textured, and more instructive when women are remembered with honesty and depth.

That is why the title resonates beyond simple encouragement. It offers recovery rather than novelty, substance rather than sentiment. “Women of Faith and Courage” by Mary Walker is especially well suited for readers who sense that important voices have been minimized and who want to engage stories that restore perspective, memory, and meaning.

Women of Truth and Righteousness
Women of Truth and Righteousness
“I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help” (Psalms 40:10).

During its two-thousand-year history, the Christian faith has been influenced and passed down by faithful women. The women whose stories are in these pages were martyrs and nuns, mystics and scholars, writers and reformers, preachers and missionaries, abolitionists, and evangelists. These women are examples to us of faith, perseverance, forgiveness, fortitude, and truth and righteousness.

In this book, we will recount the stories of many women from the Early Church to today who sought to follow their callings to serve in God’s kingdom. There are very important reasons for learning about the lives of the female saints beyond giving them the recognition that they deserve for their achievements. We can learn much from the stories of the lives of the women in this book. Women and men are heirs to the promise and have a joint responsibility to practice truth and righteousness and to take the gospel to the lost (Galatians 3:26-29). These dedicated women faced many barriers and confronted many obstacles in their paths as they sought to serve Christ. They did not seek God’s truth and righteousness for themselves but for God’s glory.

“For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.” (Psalms 33:4-5).

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