September 1: Labor Day

Labor Day is when much of the country celebrates a day off from work, the last hurrah of summer, sales in stores and online, lots of barbequing – and (as in our parish) a Mass of Thanksgiving for workers and for work itself.

The first Labor Day in our country was observed in 1882 and became a celebration of the working people who endured the tough times of the Industrial Revolution. 20,000 New Yorkers, laboring men, women, and children, actually took a day off from work and gave up their wages, something unheard of, to march through the city streets in parades and then gather for picnics. History was made that day. The 20,000 people represented all those who wanted to recognize not only “the worth of the worker,” but the dignity of work, the value it gives to society, and bring to light the unjust working conditions of the laborers.

Our Church spoke up as well, advocating for change during those tumultuous times. Pope Leo XIII wrote a  prophetic Encyclical called “Rerum Novarum” in 1891. The Church and unions began to struggle together, side by side, for social and economic justice.

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For reflection: We all have been called by our Baptism to work for the Kingdom of God. That’s the most important job we’ll ever have and the most significant labor we’ll ever do. And we can engage in that work by holding babies, painting walls, washing dishes, serving meals, dressing children, cleaning homes, digging in the dirt, trimming bushes, helping the elderly, writing letters, grading papers, taking temperatures, and giving hugs. 

Join us for Mass Monday at 9am as we come together in prayer to offer bread and wine, the fruit of the earth, the work of our hands, which will become for us the Bread of Life. It is especially while in church, although not exclusively there, that we are nourished to be active “co-creators” with God, building God’s Kingdom in our world by our physical and spiritual works. Let us rely on the good and powerful intercession of the patron Saint of workers – St. Joseph.