Dorothy Day was a woman who wanted a life of depth and meaning. Her goals went far beyond success and achievement. She desired not only to do good, but to be good. At age 30, she converted to Catholicism and became a champion of the poor, shaped by the values of simplicity and surrender. She became known for opening “houses of hospitality” for people who needed food and shelter.

Day is one of the people featured in a book titled The Road to Character, by New York Times columnist David Brooks. He sees the culture around us as being focused on what he calls “the Big Me,” which emphasizes external success. To get ahead in this culture, we tend to concentrate on “resumé virtues,” which are focused on “achieving wealth, fame and status.” In place of these virtues, he challenges us to concentrate on our “eulogy virtues,” the things that will be talked about at our funerals. These “exist at the core of our being: kindness, bravery, honesty or faithfulness.” (David Brooks, The Road to Character, Random House, 2016.) They tend to be seen not on our resumés, but in the relationships we have formed.

Dorothy Day had tremendous “eulogy virtues.” She learned how to make use of suffering, taking the bad things in life and turning them into something beautiful. So did civil rights pioneer Bayard Rustin, who learned to put himself in the background for the good of the cause. His story was told in the movie Rustin, which was nominated for an Academy Award. Both Dorothy Day and Bayard Rustin not only did good, but they were good. They were living for their eulogies, not for their résumés.