The Spirituality of Catherine Doherty

Dorothy Day with Grandchildren / Hawaii Catholic Herald

Catherine (Ekaterina Fyodorovna Kolyschkine) de Hueck Doherty, CM, better known as Catherine Doherty (August 15, 1896 – December 14, 1985), was a Catholic social worker and founder of the Madonna House Apostolate. A pioneer of social justice and a renowned national speaker, Doherty was also a prolific writer of hundreds of articles, best-selling author of dozens of books, and a dedicated wife and mother. Her cause for canonization as a saint is under consideration by the Catholic Church.—Wikipedia

— Edited from articles at Wikipedia and Madonna House —

I considered Nazareth to be the centre of my vocation. Only by being hidden would I be a light to my neighbor’s feet in the slums(.)—Catherine Doherty

Catherine Doherty believed that "activism should be rooted in prayer and that faith should be brought to every aspect of daily life".

Doherty's spirituality is summarized in The Little Mandate, words which she believed she received from Jesus Christ.

The Little Mandate

1. Arise — go! Sell all you possess. Give it directly, personally to the poor. Take up My cross (their cross) and follow Me, going to the poor, being poor, being one with them, one with Me.
2. Little — be always little! Be simple, poor, childlike.
3. Preach the Gospel with your life — without compromise! Listen to the Spirit. He will lead you..
4. Do little things exceedingly well for love of Me.
5. Love... love... love, never counting the cost
6. Go into the marketplace and stay with Me. Pray, fast. Pray always, fast.
7. Be hidden. Be a light to your neighbour's feet. Go without fear into the depth of men's hearts. I shall be with you.
8. Pray always. I will be your rest.

The Duty Of The Moment

The duty of the moment is what you should be doing at any given time, in whatever place God has put you. You may not have Christ in a homeless person at your door, but you may have a little child. If you have a child, your duty of the moment may be to change a dirty diaper. So you do it. But you don't just change that diaper, you change it to the best of your ability, with great love for both God and that child... . There are all kinds of good Catholic things you can do, but whatever they are, you have to realize that there is always the duty of the moment to be done. And it must be done, because the duty of the moment is the duty of God.—Catherine Doherty

Poustinia

Doherty is perhaps best known for having introduced the concept of poustinia to Roman Catholicism through her best-selling book Poustinia, first published in 1975. A poustinia is a small sparsely furnished cabin or room where a person goes to pray and fast alone in the presence of God for 24 hours.