One day a woman came in and donated a diamond ring to the Worker. We all wondered what Dorothy day would do with it. She could have one of us take it down to a diamond exchange and sell it. It would certainly fetch a month's worth of beans. That afternoon, Dorothy gave the diamond ring to an old woman who lived alone and often come to us for meals. "That ring would have paid her rent for the better part of a year," someone protested. Dorothy replied that the woman had her dignity; she could sell it fi she liked and spend the money for rent, a trip to Bahamas, or keep the ring to admire. "Do you suppose God created diamonds only for the rich?"
This story reminds me quite well another one story in the gospels where Mary pours a whole bottle or very expensive perfume on the feet of Jesus.
Dorothy Day Selected writings p xlii
