May 1, 2017 and the Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker has come and gone.
To foster deep devotion to Saint Joseph among Catholics, and in response to the “May Day” celebrations for workers sponsored by Communists, Pope Pius XII instituted this feast in 1955.
Beginning in the Book of Genesis, human work has been understood to be a participation in the creative work of God. By work, humankind both fulfills the command found in Genesis to care for the earth (Gn 2:15) and to be productive in their labors.
But the fact is that the man was placed in the Garden of Eden to lead a life of repose, not indolence, in fulfilment of the course assigned him, which was very different from the trouble and restlessness of the weary toil into which he was plunged by sin.
In Paradise, Adam was to dress the garden; for the earth was meant to be tended and cultivated by man, so that without human culture, plants and even the different varieties of corn degenerate and grow wild. Cultivation therefore preserved the divine plantation, not merely from injury on the part of any evil power, either penetrating into, or already existing in the creation, but also from running wild through natural degeneracy.
As nature was created for man, it was his vocation not only to ennoble it by his work, to make it subservient to himself, but also to raise it into the sphere of the spirit and further its glorification.
This applied not merely to the soil beyond the limits of Paradise, but to the Garden itself which was allotted to man, in order that by his care and culture he might make it into a transparent mirror of the glory of the Creator.
As the Church celebrates work and workers on May 1st, it is important to distinguish between the original nature of work delegated to man before the Fall from the experience of labor which man incurred after his sin.
All work, whether manual or intellectual, is inevitably linked with toil. The Book of Genesis expresses it in a truly penetrating manner: the original blessing of work contained in the very mystery of creation and connected with man’s elevation as the image of God is contrasted with the curse that sin brought with it: “Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life”.
Human beings experience this paradox in that they both desire work, as poignantly experienced by those seeking employment and the appeal in various contexts to a “right to work,” yet they also complain about work and the exhaustion it can bring.
So, as we earn our daily bread and strive to provide to those who depend upon us for sustenance and care, we are constantly challenged to strike a balance between the labors we endure and their ultimate meaning and purpose, to offset the burden of labor with the enjoyment of the fruits it provides.
Contrary to the Communist view that man is defined by the work he performs, the Biblical image of man is that his true nature can be perfected by his labors and the opportunities they afford him to discover his true self and his destiny as the handiwork of a generous and loving Creator.
The Marxist-Communist idealization of the “man-worker” (homo faber) has been relegated to the trash heap of so many other socio-political failures. But so too will the Socialist experiments of today which seek to provide human beings with all means of sustenance and accessibility to leisure without personal effort or investment of any kind.
Oppressive demands upon workers demean the dignity of man. But depriving or excusing man of the need and right to work destroys a person’s self-esteem and self-worth just as much, if not more so.
When societies rediscover the Biblical understanding of human work and its nature and purpose, perhaps then will the world rediscover the Divine Mind which fashioned this universe for mankind to bring it to perfection in mirroring the omnipotent power of its Creator.
Let this be the lesson of May 1st and the real celebration of the Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker.
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