Things and patterns have a tendency to change over time! Several decades ago, we knew that school started the day after Labor Day. This year school started in mid-August.  This Monday is Labor Day and a holiday for most of us.  Labor Day is the official ending of the summer vacation and the real beginning of the fall presidential elections.  The origins of Labor Day, is to recognize the invaluable contributions of the working man to the good of the country. In some way we all make a contribution to the strength of the economy by the work that we do each and every day.  Work is essential to our dignity as human persons; the work we do gives us purpose and meaning; our work helps our families and community function and achieve and fulfill our needs and fosters the harmony and prosperity of the society in which we live.

May we all enjoy Labor Day 2016 in a truly patriotic and civic manner with our fellow
American citizens. As a legal holiday, Labor Day has its historical roots in the struggles of the labor movement to defend and to protect the rights and the importance of the worker.  It took many decades for unions and employers to work out a fair system so that the worker in factories, in shops, in the fields, on ships, in construction, on trucks or wherever workers were hired would receive fair pay, compensation, safety and benefits. In some ways, that struggle continues in our own day.  Labor Day is a clear reminder that in our economy, the worker and the employer are engaged in an effort where both are to share in the success of the work place.  In all of the economic and financial endeavors in our community that involve the worker and human labor: justice, fairness, the health and the well-being of all involved as well as the public good are to be seriously considered.  As good as the American economic system is for all involved, improvements can surely be made, especially in providing good employment for more American citizens.

For all of us who have faith in God as our Creator and the source of all our gifts and blessings, we look at Labor Day and the work we do and the labors of our lives through the eyes of faith in the God who creates us in his image and likeness. The talents, the skills and the creativity that each one of us has all come from the Lord and we use our blessings, we develop them and we share them for the glory of the Lord, for our own well-being and enrichment and for the greater good of the community.

The very first book of the Bible, Genesis, gives us a personal relationship with the Creator and an awesome responsibility of caring for and developing our gifts and also for caring for the world that the Lord has so graciously given the human race.  I encourage you to take time and read the first two chapters of Genesis and appreciate the wonder of the creation of the world, especially the greatest of the Lord’s creation, our first parents: Adam and Eve. “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 the living things that move on the earth.’ God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good.” (Genesis 1:27-31)  May Labor Day be a time to renew our faith in the God who has created us and may we re-dedicate ourselves to using our blessings to the very best of our abilities as we do our daily work, our daily duties and our daily chores with all our heart for the honor and for the glory of the God who creates us and who has saved us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  May our constant prayer be: ‘Lord, give success to the work of our hands; Lord, give success to the work of our hands.’

The Psalm for our Sunday Mass is Psalm 90.  May this Psalm be among our favorites that we read and pray from time to time. “Fill us at daybreak with your kindness that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.”  May we have a safe, enjoyable and patriotic Labor Day 2016!  My prayers, best wishes, love and gratitude to you and to your loved ones, for who you are, for all you do for the Lord and for all you do for the good of St. Elizabeth Seton Church Parish.

SHALOM!

Fr. Gary

Homework for the week of Sept 4 – Sept 10
Luke 6:39-42