Prosper the work of our hands... Happy Labor Day!

Image: CA.gov

Teach us to count our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Relent, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
Fill us at daybreak with your love,
that all our days we may sing for joy.
Make us glad as many days as you humbled us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.
Show your deeds to your servants,
your glory to their children.
May the favor of the Lord our God be ours.
Prosper the work of our hands!
Prosper the work of our hands!
- Psalm 90

Several hot button issues of Catholic teaching are frequently hit by the media - while others go almost unnoticed.

This Labor Day weekend is a good opportunity for us to remember the wealth of Catholic teaching on concerns and issues related to labor and justice for workers. The Catholic Labor Network provides an excellent collection of resources on such issues with links to documents as old as the papal encyclical of 1891 and as recent as the 2010 Labor Day statement of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

This Labor Day weekend, please take a few minutes to click on the links above and do a little holiday reading.

This prayer for Labor Day weekend comes from the Archdiocese of Detroit:

Loving Father,
on this weekend, when we rest from our usual labors,
we pray for all who shoulder the tasks of human labor—
in the marketplace, in factories and offices,
in the professions, and in family living.

We thank you, Lord, for the gift and opportunity of work;
may our efforts always be pure of heart,
for the good of others and the glory of your name.

We lift up to you all who long for just employment
and those who work to defend the rights and needs
of workers everywhere.

May those of us who are now retired
always remember the valuable contribution we make
to our Church and our world
by our prayers and deeds of charity.

May our working and our resting give you praise
until the day we share together in eternal rest
with all our departed in your kingdom
as you live and reign
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

Happy Labor Day!


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