Labor Day – The Nature of Work
Today we celebrate Labor Day. Most working people celebrate Labor Day by taking the day off from work as if “work” is something to avoid.
It is in work that we may find fulfillment. Here I want to distinguish between work and a job. Work is something we are called to do as we use our God-given gifts to make the world a better place.
In this sense I see a “job” as something we do to make money. Those of you who are retired no longer have a job but you can still use your God-given gifts to help make the world a better place.
It is in this understanding that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) call us commemorate Labor Day in a way that celebrates workers and honors the dignity of work (Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre, chair of USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. Labor Day Statement 2026. September 7, 2026).
At Mass today our responsorial psalm response is “Lead me in your justice, Lord.” As we celebrate Labor Day, justice calls us to work for fair wages, safe-working conditions, and the dignity of every worker.
In today’s gospel, we have the question of doing work on the Sabbath. Those who oppose Jesus seek to accuse him of doing work on the Sabbath. To them healing the man with the withered hand is work. Thus, it is forbidden on the Sabbath. We understand that to heal the man with a miracle is a work of God appropriate on the Sabbath.
In my second article on Pope Leo’s new encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, on Artificial Intelligence (AI), I wrote,
“It even involves how we see work. I have heard some people of how AI will make work obsolete. Here, Pope Leo writes, “Work is not considered simply as a problem to be dealt with or a means of generating income, but a fundamental good for the person, a principle of economic activity and the key to the entire societal question” (37, emphasis added). God created us and gave us gifts to use in our work for the building of humanity as we seek to build his kingdom (see 1 Corinthians 12). When we understand this, work is not simply an obligation. It fulfills us and who we are meant to be” (“Magnifica Humanitas – Introduction and Chapter 1”. June 9, 2026).
If we make work obsolete, I see two very important challenges. The first is, from the perspective of work as a job, what will people do to have money?
The second challenge is what will people do to find fulfillment in life. I think of God’s words in Genesis 2:15, “The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.” God did not create us to sit idly by. God created us for action, to care for the creation He made for us.
Whether you work or are retired, how do you use the gifts that God has given you to build up His Kingdom on earth?
In what form of service do you find fulfillment?
Peace,
Fr. Jeff