Posted on 09/02/2019 9:07:05 AM PDT by Salvation
Labor Day makes me mindful of our interconnectedness; we need one another in order to survive. Consider how we are each called to contribute as well as how we benefit from the labor of others:
Even that simple can of corn you pull from the grocery store shelf has thousands of people standing behind it: from those who stock the shelves to the truckers who transport the product to the store; from the regional warehouse workers to the rail operators who supply the warehouse; from the farmers and harvesters to the granary workers. Then there are others such as those who supply fertilizers that aid in growth and those who developed innumerable agricultural technologies over the years. People also labored to build the roads and rails over which the products travel. Others supply fuel for the trucks, combines, and locomotives. Coal miners work hard to supply the electricity needed all along the way. Still others in banking and business take risks and supply the funds to run agricultural, transportation, and food distribution businesses and networks. The list of people who have worked so that you and I can buy that can of corn at the store is almost endless.
Thanks be to God for human labor; we help each other to survive!
As today is Labor Day in the United States, it seems good to reflect on some teachings about human labor from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC). In the list below, the text from the catechism is italicized while my comments appear in plain red text.
1. Human labor precedes Original Sin and hence is not an imposition due to sin but rather part of our original dignity.
God places [Man] in the garden. There he lives “to till it and keep it.” Work is not yet a burden, but rather the collaboration of man and woman with God in perfecting the visible creation (CCC #378).
Note that our dignity is that we are to work with God to perfect creation. Adam and Eve were told by God to fill the earth and subdue it (Gen 1:28). Radical environmentalism often presents a far more negative view of humanity’s interaction with the environment. While we have not always done well in treating the environment, it is wrong to think of the created world as better without humanity’s presence. Rather, it is our dignity to work with God in perfecting nature. Note also the description of work as not burdensome prior to the advent of sin. Man and woman did have work to do, but it was not experienced as a burden. Only after Original Sin did work come to be perceived in this way: Eve would bring forth her children in pain and Adam would only get his food by the “sweat of his brow” (Gen 3:16, 19).
2. Human work is a duty and prolongs the work of creation.
Human work proceeds directly from persons created in the image of God and called to prolong the work of creation by subduing the earth, both with and for one another. Hence work is a duty: “If anyone will not work, let him not eat” [2 Thess 3:10]. Work honors the Creator’s gifts and the talents received from him (CCC #2427).
See again the emphasis on our dignity as collaborators with God in the work of creation and in perfecting what God has begun! Not everyone can work in the same way. Age and handicap may limit a person’s ability to perform manual labor. Further, talents and state in life tend to focus one’s work in specific areas. All, however, are called to work in some way. Even the bedridden can pray and offer their suffering for the good of others.
3. Work can be sanctifying and redemptive.
[Work] can also be redemptive. By enduring the hardship of work in union with Jesus, the carpenter of Nazareth and the one crucified on Calvary, man collaborates in a certain fashion with the Son of God in his redemptive work. He shows himself to be a disciple of Christ by carrying the cross, daily, in the work he is called to accomplish. Work can be a means of sanctification and a way of animating earthly realities with the Spirit of Christ (CCC #2427).
In his mercy God has not forsaken sinful man. The punishments consequent upon sin, “pain in childbearing” and toil “in the sweat of your brow,” also embody remedies that limit the damaging effects of sin (CCC # 1609).
Sin has brought upon us many weaknesses and selfish tendencies. Work can serve as a remedy through which we are strengthened unto discipline, contribution to the common good, and cooperation with others in attaining good ends.
4. Work is an acceptable sacrifice to God.
[The] laity, dedicated as they are to Christ and anointed by the Holy Spirit, are marvelously called and prepared so that even richer fruits of the Spirit maybe produced in them. For all their works, prayers, and apostolic undertakings, family and married life, daily work, relaxation of mind and body, if they are accomplished in the Spirit—indeed even the hardships of life if patiently borne—all these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. In the celebration of the Eucharist these may most fittingly be offered to the Father along with the body of the Lord (CCC # 901).
5. To work is to participate in the common good.
Participation [in the common good] is achieved first of all by taking charge of the areas for which one assumes personal responsibility: by the care taken for the education of his family, by conscientious work, and so forth, man participates in the good of others and of society (CCC # 1914).
We work not only to benefit ourselves but also to contribute to the good of others and society in general. We do this first by caring for our own needs to the extent possible, thus not burdening others unnecessarily. We also contribute to the common good by supplying our talent and work in such a way as to contribute to the overall availability of goods and services in the community. We supply our human talent and the fruits of our labor to others, while at the same time purchasing the goods and services of others.
The key word seems to be “dignity.” Human work proceeds from our dignity as collaborators with God in perfecting and completing the work of creation. Everyone can work and should do so in the ways possible for him or her, not merely out of a sense of duty but also because it is the essence of dignity.
To return to our opening theme, here are some lyrics from the song “I Need You to Survive”:
I need you, you need me.
…
It is God’s will that every need be supplied.
You are important to me, I need you to survive.
Monsignor Pope Ping!
This basic statement is true and has always been so.
We need the support, cooperation and at times the affection of others to have the best life.
Much of that support comes from knowing we now share the same experience of being alive through God’s grace. Our life is a gift. We have choices in how to use or acknowledge that gift. I must remind myself of that every so often, so I don’t get stuck on being negative.
Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited.Jeramiah 17:5-8.“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
Democratic President Grover Cleveland was concerned that a labor holiday on May 1 would tend to become a commemoration of the Haymarket Affair and would strengthen socialist and anarchist movements that backed the May 1 commemoration around the globe. In 1887, he publicly supported the September Labor Day holiday as a less inflammatory alternative.
The date was formally adopted as a United States federal holiday in 1894. Thus, Labor Day is effectively the US' celebration of the sentiments embodied in the world's celebration on May 1...not too cool.
What IS cool, is that May 1 was established as The Feast of St. Joseph the Worker by Pope Pius XII in 1955 in order to counter communist and socialist appropriation of labor as a social good. Perhaps this sentiment is best explained by Ven. Fulton Sheen:
Communism has chosen the Cross in the sense that it has brought back to an egotistic world a sense of discipline, self-abnegation, surrender, hard work, study, and dedication to supra-individual goals. But the Cross without Christ is sacrifice without love. Hence, Communism has produced a society that is authoritarian, cruel, oppressive of human freedom, filled with concentration camps, firing squads, and brain-washings.
Thus, by extension, I consider Labor Day to be a day to celebrate the model of St. Joseph. As such, in the midst of burgers and a day off, for me Labor Day is a day to celebrate the value of work within the context of my vocation as husband/father/provider, and not some socialist/communist bastardized view of agitation, hatred, and conflict.
For those of us who see Labor Day as just a waste; it is important to both celebrate and remember that this day is also V-J Day.
U.S. Army ground troops suffered 41,592 killed and 145,706 wounded.
But also think of the second of the great commandments to love your neighbor as well.
You can only truly love others by the grace of Christ. But loving others by the grace of Christ is difference than trusting in man instead of the Lord. BIG difference.
The two great commandments BOTH NEED each other in order to work.
Take it as a gentle correction.
GMTA.
Two things:
1) “You are not under the law but under grace.” Romans 6:14.
2) And, again, loving man is NOT the same thing trusting in man
Take these as gentle corrections.
Keeping the two great commandments not only keeps the commandments, but what you posted,Romans 6:14 helps it to shine bright.
Now take that as a gentle correction.
Well, although you seem to want to contradict Scripture which says to put your trust in the Lord and not in man, your response is basically a non sequitur.
May Day goes back to pre-Christian rites and fertility rituals. Ever heard of the dance of the May pole?
Christianity turned it into a “folk” festival to override the pagan meaning.
Was it an injustice to St. Joseph to try to paste him onto a communist holiday and thereby associate him unjustly with workers of the world uniting?
ps:
Remember Wiki is not an encyclopedia.
Good reminder.
What is your problem?
I do trust in the Lord.
Thank-you for the posting. God Bless.
Bless you for stopping by and commenting.
I'm sure you do.
My first post, which you challenged, was not aimed at you (I didn't even know you were on this thread).
My posts here are not about you but about those who put their trust in man (including one's own self effort) "whose heart departs from the Lord." Easy to do when one is glorifying one's own work instead of the finished work of Christ.
Wiki is fine when corroborated; footnotes available upon request.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.