“The mystery of the poor is this: That they are Jesus, and what you do for them you do for Him. It is the only way we have of knowing and believing in our love. The mystery of poverty is that by sharing in it, making ourselves poor in giving to others, we increase our knowledge of and belief in love.”

—  Dorothy Day

Catholic Worker (April 1964)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The mystery of the poor is this: That they are Jesus, and what you do for them you do for Him. It is the only way we ha…" by Dorothy Day?
Dorothy Day photo
Dorothy Day 55
Social activist 1897–1980

Related quotes

Huston Smith photo

“In mysteries what we know, and our realization of what we do not know, proceed together; the larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder.”

Part of this quote may actually be by Ralph Washington Sockman.
The World's Religions (1991)
Source: Beyond the Post-Modern Mind: The Place of Meaning in a Global Civilization
Context: In mysteries what we know, and our realization of what we do not know, proceed together; the larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder. It is like the quantum world, where the more we understand its formalism, the stranger that world becomes.

Paulo Coelho photo
Muhammad photo

“Do not turn away a poor man…even if all you can give is half a date. If you love the poor and bring them near you…God will bring you near Him on the Day of Resurrection.”

Muhammad (570–632) Arabian religious leader and the founder of Islam

Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1376
Sunni Hadith

Dorothy Day photo
Vincent de Paul photo

“It is only for your love alone that the poor will forgive you the bread you give to them.”

Vincent de Paul (1581–1660) French priest, founder and saint

As quoted in Homelessness in America : A Forced March to Nowhere (1982), p. 121
Context: You will find out that Charity is a heavy burden to carry, heavier than the kettle of soup and the full basket. But you will keep your gentleness and your smile. It is not enough to give soup and bread. This the rich can do. You are the servant of the poor, always smiling and good-humored. They are your masters, terribly sensitive and exacting master you will see and the uglier and the dirtier they will be, the more unjust and insulting, the more love you must give them. It is only for your love alone that the poor will forgive you the bread you give to them.

Ursula K. Le Guin photo
Martin Luther King, Jr. photo
Bawa Muhaiyaddeen photo
William Adams photo

Related topics