Labor Day

Over the past year, Pope Francis has drawn our attention to problems in the world of work that seek to undermine the dignity of the person and threaten the stability of society.  As the pope recently remarked, work “comes from the first command that God gave to Adam.  There has always been friendship between the church and work, starting with a working Jesus.  Where there is a worker, there is the gaze of love of Jesus and the church.”

What does the Lord’s “gaze of love” see today?  Surely he honors parents and grandparents who offer their work for their family and future.  In turn, we thank God for the vocation of work, which, helps children grow into adults, and strengthens cooperation across all people in our society.  “Brother work, “as Pope Francis calls it, is essential to our faith.

God’s “gaze of love” also honors all those who are struggling with work.  A lack of work can be devastating to the human person, and it can undermine solidarity and destabilize society.  Pope Francis told a gathering of factory workers in Genoa, “When you don’t work, or you work badly, you work little or you work too much, it is society that enters into crisis.”

Our Lord’s “gaze of love” embraces women and men who work long hours without rest to provide for their loved ones; families who have to move for work; workers who endure unsafe working conditions, low pay, and health issues; women who suffer wage disparities; those who suffer the effects of racism in the workplace.

What, then, is to be done?  Pope Francis calls us to action.  We are all part of one body in Christ.  We are called to recognize our role as consumers.  When we purchase goods, are we motivated to protect the dignity of the people making or selling the products we use?  Catholic Relief Services has a website where you can purchase goods from companies that value fair prices, safe working conditions and environmentally sustainable practices at home and around the world.

Business owners and managers can look at workplace policies to ensure that the dignity of the human person is prioritized over profit.  These are challenging things to do.  As followers of Jesus, we judge economic choices and institutions by how they protect or undermine the life and dignity of the human person, support the family, and serve the common good.

On this Labor Day, let us give thanks to God present to us in the Eucharist as we toil for our heavenly home.  Let us give thanks for the human vocation to work, and strive to make our businesses, our communities, our nation, and our world places where the human person can fully thrive.  And let us give thanks, finally, for the opportunity to encounter Christ present in those in need.  May we all seek to adopt God’s “gaze of love” as our own.

Paul A. Magnano

Pastor