19th century, we would find a multiplication of groups aspiring to a Christ-like ideal and the increasing feeling that “sainthood” of a kind was within the reach of any committed practitioner of the Christian faith. Finally, we should highlight the tendency to see in the exemplum a kind of authority distinct from the law-like authority of Christian doctrine—authority that inspires imitation rather than commanding obedience. In some sense, exempla “compel” emulation, but they owe their influence principally to the voluntary actions of those who find their spirits stirred by them, not to feelings of obligation or threats of sanction for noncompliance.
Exemplarity and the origins of the Catholic Worker
There is ample evidence that the tradition of Christian exemplarity described above directly informed Dorothy Day’s and Peter Maurin’s visions for the Catholic Worker. It is in the nature of examples, however, that they tend to give rise to a multiplicity of interpretations, and it will be necessary not only to show that Day and Maurin found inspiration in the Christian exempla but to describe more precisely the manner in which they selectively appropriated the tradition for the sake of the movement. Both Day and Maurin, for instance, saw Christ’s example as a model with great relevance to their own activities. But their understanding of His example placed heavy stress on His human qualities and lent credence to their own emphasis on anarchism, decentralism, and active ministry to the poor. Day argued that
Philosophical anarchism, decentralism, requires that we follow the Gospel precept to be obedient to every living thing: “Be subject therefore to every human creature for God’s sake.” It means washing the feet of others, as Jesus did at the Last Supper. “You call me Master and Lord,” He said, “and rightly so, for that is what I am. Then if I, your Lord have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example; you are to do as I have done for you.” To serve others, not to seek power over them. Not to dominate, not to judge others.[18]
Maurin, similarly, maintained that “Self-giving love. . .was the example Christ gave to his followers and was the consistent witness
