Catherine de Hueck Doherty The Catholic Community at Connecticut College  November 8, 2008

Catherine de Hueck Doherty was born to an aristocratic family in Russia, barely escaped the Revolution there and emigrated to Canada. But slowly, over the course of years, she realized was asking her to sell her possessions, live simply and work with the poor. She did as he asked.

Doherty (1896-1985) grew increasingly uncomfortable with her privileged life. She gradually sold her possessions and started several communities in which lay people could live simply in poverty. She challenged her listeners to live as Christ did in the years before his public ministry, when he was ministering quietly to those in his community.

“[By] identifying myself with the poor and living their life, living the gospel without compromise, loving always and remaining little, I would be hidden as Christ was hidden in Nazareth. I considered Nazareth to be the center of my vocation. Only by being hidden would I be a light to my neighbor’s feet in the slums,” Doherty wrote. She believed that activism should be rooted in prayer and that faith should be brought to every aspect of daily life. One of her key ideas was what she called “the duty of the moment.”

Doherty wrote, “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 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.”

“With God, every moment is the moment of beginning again.”

“Put your head into your heart and try to achieve a deep and profound interior silence. It is then, when one is deeply silent, that God begins to speak. When I say ‘God begins to speak,’ I mean that the mind is purified, the heart is at peace, and out of the depths of both come forth the gifts or the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Quietly, imperceptibly, out of this overshadowing of the Holy Spirit comes a word, a thought, a sentence, as the case may be. … You know, deep down, in quiet prayer, that you have to share it. You suddenly know that you have to say this thing, and you don’t want to.”

“God was pursuing me across the arches of time. In a sense, I wanted him off my back. I wanted to say, ‘Stop bothering me.’”

“Stand still, and allow the strange, deadly restlessness of our tragic age to fall away like the worn-out, dusty cloak that it is – a cloak that was once considered beautiful. The restlessness was considered the magic carpet of tomorrow, but now in reality we see it for what it is: a running away from oneself, a turning from that journey inward that all men must undertake to meet God dwelling within the depths of their souls. Stand still, and look deep into the motivations of life.”

“Christ always comes to us in others.”

The cause for Catherine’s was opened in 2000. She is remembered on Dec. 14. ______Father Larry LaPointe  [email protected]  www.conncatholics.com  860-439-2452 The Little Mandate

“The Little Mandate” summarizes Catherine Doherty’s spirituality. It was revealed to her by Christ, she said, in phrases and words that came to her over a period of years:

“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. Little – be always little! Be simple, poor, childlike. Preach the Gospel with your life – without compromise! Listen to the Spirit. He will lead you. Do little things exceedingly well for love of Me. Love … love … love, never counting the cost. Go into the marketplace and stay with Me. Pray, fast. Pray always, fast. Be hidden. Be a light to your neighbor’s feet. Go without fear into the depth of men’s hearts. I shall be with you. Pray always. I will be your rest.”

“Acquire inner peace and a multitude will find their salvation near you.”

“Always examine your conscience as to how you love your enemies. Only if you love them well are you fulfilling God's commandment of love.”

“Action should be the fruit of the spirit. It should not be the essence that replaces the spirit.”

“Dear , today I’ve had a rest. I did not mean to miss Mass. I just overslept.” Catherine’s journal, July 2, 1934

“Real zeal is standing still and letting God be a bonfire in you.”

“Our love, when it is without counting the cost, leads the other toward God. No matter how hard it is to love and love and love again, always the Fire and the Wind are there, so you resolutely enter the brambles. Then after you’ve made about six steps, or perhaps only three, a tremendous Wind comes like a tornado and — whoosh! there are no brambles, for they are torn from the path. All God asks is an act of faith made with love and he will do the rest.”

“A is a sinner who loves.”

“Only when you are laid into the grave will you know the dimension of the road and the country you have travelled.”

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Questions for contemplation 1. Doherty believed her “Little Mandate” was given to her by God in prayer. Has God given you similar mandates as to how you should live your life? Do parts of hers resonate with you? 2. Truths revealed in prayer have to be said even though you don’t want to say them, Doherty writes. Have you had this experience? Why wouldn’t you want to speak this truth? 3. What did Catherine mean when she said that a saint is a sinner who loves?

More information Madonna House, Doherty’s community in Ontario: www.madonnahouse.org The cause for Doherty’s canonization: www.catherinedoherty.org