A three day weekend! A blessing to us all!
Entering fall and celebrating the end of summer, we are greeted with this three day weekend in which we get a day off from work to celebrate our labor! To work is good. There is a nobility and sanctifying aspect of work. Man needs to work, to till the soil, build, clean, and produce things that sustain and nurture life. Work is not a necessary evil. Even in the Garden of Eden before the fall Adam and Eve worked by tilling the ground having dominion over the earth and the sea and all within them. Only after sin did it become arduous and tiresome and the earth fought against man.
St. Paul writes to the Thessalonians, “If anyone will not work, let him not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work in quietness and to earn their own living.”
Many places all over town are hiring or they can’t open because of a lack of employees. This has many causes that I will not get into here, but perhaps it stems from the thought that work is necessary only to get money so I can live. This thought devalues the dignity and nobility of work. Whether we are contractors or artists, nurses or waiters, lawyers or doctors, priests or plumbers, teachers or teamsters, we participate in the act of creating something good – a healing, a good meal or a good meal experience, a passing on of truth to students, etc…. In this participation we see the dignity and value of work. Work is not just a career, not just to produce an income. When we work, we participate in an act of creation. This is why work is good. This is why to work is essential for the human person and idleness is contrary to what it means to be a human being.
To those who labor, come and take a rest this weekend! Have a safe and restful Labor Day!
And, Geaux Tigers! Go Dawgs! Yay, college football!!
Have a wonderful week and may the Lord bless you and your families abundantly!
~ Fr. Daniel Firmin