Catherine de Hueck Doherty: "With God, Every Moment Is The Moment of Beginning Again."

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 God 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 canonization 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 Jesus, 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 saint 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.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
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

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Catherine de Hueck Doherty

The Catholic Community at Connecticut College  November 8, 2008

Doherty (1896-1985) grew increasingly uncomfortable with her privileged life.

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

“Christ always comes to us in others.”

“Acquire inner peace and a multitude will find their

“Action should be the fruit of the spirit. It should not be

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

“A saint is a sinner who loves.”

Questions for contemplation

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