Celebrating and Remembering
Labor Day traditionally marks the end of Summer and we settle back down to the routine of our more humdrum lives. In lots of countries the traditional day for honoring workers is May 1st (The Church celebrates this as the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker) and speeches and military parades take place. In our country the celebration is more lowkey and we mark the day with cook-outs and just general relaxation. However we do it, it is important that we do take a moment to think about the dignity of work. In the Bible there are two attitudes to human labor. In Genesis 3.17 we read: “Cursed be the ground because of you! In toil shall you eat its yield all the days of your life.” This is the result of the sin of Adam and Eve in trying to place themselves as equals with God. But it isn’t the first reference to work. In Chapter 1 we read: “God created man in his image, in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them, saying: “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all living things that move on the earth.” (vv. 27 & 28).
This is a different approach. Now work is not seen as a curse, something to be avoided, but rather a natural part of what it means to be a human being. The difference lies in how we look at it. If we see our work, whatever it may be – carpenter, teacher, shop assistant, homemaker, retiree – as in some way participating in God’s work of Creation then we are much more likely to find it fulfilling and rewarding. If we think about our work as drudgery then it becomes something to be avoided. Work is our way of participating with God in bringing about His kingdom of peace and justice and thereby hastening the return of Christ for which we pray at every Mass. Looked at that way, it’s definitely something to be celebrated.
This coming weekend (Sept. 11/12) marks the sad anniversary of the terrible events of 9/11 nine years ago. I’m sure that each of us remembers exactly what we were doing when we heard the news. Now, almost a decade later, we still feel the shock and the horror that human beings can be that incredibly evil. But that raises the question as to whether we are going to allow ourselves to be defeated by the power of evil. If we lash out unthinkingly at anyone
who isn’t like us, who dares to disagree with us, we are allowing evil to dictate our actions. For example to equate Muslim with Terrorist is a huge mistake. There are a million times more God-fearing, loving, caring Muslims than there are terrorists. This doesn’t mean that we don’t take all the necessary precautions to protect ourselves, our nation and our allies. But it does mean that we don’t act out of hatred and ignorance.
This Saturday (9/11 itself) we are having a special Mass to commemorate that terrible day. Mass is at 8.30a.m. Please come and join us and together we can pray for peace, for justice for all and for the wisdom to find God’s way to rebuild the world that was so badly shaken by this unspeakable crime.
God Bless
Fr. Robert.
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