Labor Day 2020 “Jesus was a Blue-Collar Guy”
Labor Day 2020 “Jesus was a Blue-Collar Guy”
When I was a young priest, I would hear about priests in our diocese who were very active in the labor movements of the first half of he 20th Century. The church, at that time, stood with unions and many priests helped organize them. Priests would be seen on the picket line. The Popes wrote encyclicals advocating for the rights of workers.
Unions helped lift much of the Catholic population out of poverty. Certain benefits came about, like health care, retirement plans, a living wage, and these benefits allowed people to buy and own homes and send their children to college.
How long ago all of that seems now. If I look at my hometown which was once an “union town” with a half dozen factories where blue collar workers made decent money and the houses were maintained and social services were strong that seems like a distant memory. Now the population has been cut in half and street after street of dilapidated housing is the norm. Few factories remain.
My Dad was one of those factory workers. I remember him going to the picket line in the middle of strikes. He was never very happy about labor disputes. He wanted to work and keep his pay coming into our home. He was fearful he would lose his livelihood.
On this Labor Day many in our society will have barbeques, but there will be no big parades and speeches about better wages to come. Hopefully this Labor Day will remind us that employment and fair wages are an inoculation against a cultural decline. Let’s pray that the COVID 19 pandemic is behind us soon so that we need not fear for our health or our jobs.
Jesus was a working man. He chose to make his living by the sweat of his brow. When we see the person, who fixes our highways or constructs our house or collects our garbage or grows our food we need to remember they are Jesus incarnate.
Reflection Questions:
- Did I, in some way, benefit from the efforts of Labor Organizers? Should we remember where we came from?
- Does the church still align itself with the working person? Is that very important?
Dear Parishioners,
Yesterday our 9 a.m. Mass was rained out for the first time this summer. We truly have been blessed with the weather we have had each Sunday.
When it rained this Sunday, we moved into the church and we livestreamed the Mass for those who were stuck at home. Hopefully, you were able to at least watch.
We will be offering Mass outside until October 11. If there is foul weather again, we will have Mass in church and parishioners are welcome to attend. We can accommodate people as long was we can remain physical distance and follow other protocols. I also remind you that there is a Mass at 11 a.m. That Mass has not exceeded recommended capacity so if the 9 a.m. is rained out parishioners could probably come to the 11 a.m.
As always, we remember that there is no Mass obligation in force at the present time.
May Our Lady and the Angels and Saints watch over you today.
Fr. Mark