Happy Labor Day weekend! Like many of you, I鈥檝e been looking forward all week to the Monday holiday, thinking about how I鈥檒l take advantage of the extra time out of the office. But this year I鈥檝e also been thinking about Labor Day itself, its importance, and the ways I do – or don鈥檛 – appreciate the significance and the dignity of labor in my daily life.
Labor Day may be a secular holiday, but considering the Benedictine tradition聽of ora et labora (prayer and work),聽a holiday dedicated to labor and laborers seems particularly appropriate to life at the Abbey. In a way, prayer is an expression of our relationship with God, while work is an expression, or recognition, of our relationship with others and with creation.
Given this, and the value of Benedictine hallmarks like discipline, humility, and stewardship, I鈥檓 realizing that I don鈥檛 always recognize those whose labor is actually a ubiquitous presence in my daily life.
When I get up in the morning and switch on the light, I don鈥檛 think about those at work in the power plant supplying my electricity, or the technicians who keep it running all over the county and the state. I don鈥檛 necessarily think about the manufacturing labor involved in the dress I put on or the agricultural, transportation, and service labor that brings the fruit or the coffee to my breakfast table. When you stop and reflect on it, it’s astonishing how many people we need to be grateful for as we聽carry out our day-to-day lives.
The monks of Belmont Abbey have taught me that work is a part of the daily rhythm of our vocations. Labor allows us to exercise patience, endurance, and generosity, and it gives us the opportunity to imitate our Creator, who is, after all, at work in the ongoing creation of the world.
As we celebrate this Labor Day weekend, let鈥檚 try to value the work we do and the work we receive as means of strengthening community and embracing responsibility for each other. Let鈥檚 remember to show our gratitude to each other and uphold the dignity of work and of workers in our words and deeds.
