+(Intro) Today is labor day and we will have the votive Mass of St Joseph the worker. It is a day to be grateful for our financial security and to be aware of those who lack this security. So, as we begin this Eucharist let us be aware of our sins and continual need of God’s grace.
(After the gospel) Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers and is traditionally observed on the first Monday in September. It was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century and became a federal holiday in 1894. At the time of the industrial revolution, many were working twelve hours a day for little pay and the union of workers brought about an important change in all this.
As I know many of you have experienced, my own parents worked hard to support our family. Though they have died, “fallen asleep” as our first reading told us this morning, I believe they are now fully alive with the Lord Jesus.
It is always necessary to see beyond our families into what God has in store for us. God is ever opening new horizons in each of our own lives, into a wisdom that goes beyond any merely human perspective. So let us be aware of where our real labor is to take us, into the eternal embrace of a loving God.
1Thess 4:13-18; Matt 13:54-58