Winner of a 2025 CMA Book Award from the Catholic Media Association: Catholic Social Teaching (First Place).
In an era where social media metrics dominate our sense of connection and happiness, Colin Miller presents a refreshing perspective in We Are Only Saved Together. Drawing from the rich traditions of the Catholic Worker movement, Miller illustrates how true fulfillment lies not in virtual validation but in authentic relationships, shared experiences, and the pursuit of the common good. This timely reminder shows us how the joy we are made for is found in the practice of the Gospel, in the company of others, and especially in friendship with the poor.
While completing his doctoral work in theology at Duke, Miller befriended a group of homeless men who were living outside their church building. As these encounters led to conversations that led to friendships, Miller realized that the Gospel was not primarily about feeding the homeless or meeting their physical needs but about being a community, and this is the antidote to the loneliness, isolation, and emptiness that plagues our world. Along the way, he discovered Dorothy Day, Peter Maurin, and the Catholic Worker movement. Inspired by their work, he cofounded a Catholic Worker House dedicated to common prayer, material simplicity, fellowship with the poor, good work, and everyday community.
This book is not a call to become a strange, marginal, or fringe Catholic; it is a call to become fully Catholic by embracing the essential traditions that have always been at the heart of the Church and finding Christ in the places he promised to meet us: in worship, in community, in the poor. Following the little way of St. Thérèse of Lisieux (one of Dorothy Day's favorite saints), Miller shares practical ideas to consider when seeking to encounter Christ in these places, such as
- exploring the power of shared meals and feasts;
- reframing our encounters with people in poverty through a surprising look at the Good Samaritan parable;
- ideas on how to live close to the land;
- discerning the qualities that bring dignity to our work; and
- steps to embrace voluntary simplicity.
We Are Only Saved Together is not about becoming a Catholic Worker; it's about becoming a disciple who discovers friendship, adventure, and joy in the Gospel. It's about pursuing a holiness so old it looks new.
Are you ready for an adventure filled with meaningful friendships, community with the poor, and good works? It might not always be easy, but it is definitely worth it. Let's go!
Colin Miller is the director of the Center for Catholic Social Thought at the Church of the Assumption in St. Paul, Minnesota. Miller cofounded a Catholic Worker House in Durham, North Carolina, where he lived and served for several years as a priest in the Episcopal Church. Under the influence of Dorothy Day, Peter Maurin, Augustine of Hippo, John Henry Newman, and of many homeless people, Miller was received into the Catholic Church in 2016. After teaching theology for two years, he relocated to Minneapolis where he helped found the Maurin House, a Catholic Worker House devoted to common prayer, material simplicity, and service to the poor.
Miller earned a bachelor of arts at the University of Minnesota, a master of arts in religion at Yale University, and a PhD from Duke University.
He lives with his family at the Maurin House, a Catholic Worker community in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Seth Haines is a writer, photographer, and author of The Book of Waking Up: Experiencing the Divine Love that Reorders a Life and Coming Clean: A Story of Faith.
