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May 1: Memorial of St Joseph the Worker (Workers’ Day)

MAY GOD BLESS ALL WORKERS

Dear friends in Christ, on this first day of May and the day the world honours workers, the Church presents us St Joseph as a model that should inspire all workers. St Joseph was a humble worker, a carpenter, who was chosen by God to be the foster father and guardian of His Beloved Son Jesus.

God’s choice to enter into human history through the house of a simple, poor and humble worker demonstrates how God values everyone in their little works and it challenges us to recognize the dignity of work, even the poorest of all works, as well as the dignity of all workers, even those who do seemingly unimportant tasks. Let us remember that God can also choose to reveal himself to others from our humble homes and through the little work of our hands. Thus, we must do our works conscientiously, using them to serve both God and humanity. We should approach every work we do reverence and commitment, even if it is not seen or appreciated.

Work is not merely a means of earning a living, it is also a vocation, a means through which we collaborate or cooperate with God in the work of creation and of caring for the creatures of God. Contemplating Joseph as a model of workers is meant to enable all workers to grasp the meaning of human labour as a way of sharing in the creative power of God and cooperating in the building of a more just and Christian society. So, the church challenges us to use every work we do to assist in making the world a better place for everyone.

On this day also, the Church remembers all workers who work in inhuman conditions, workers whose rights, welfare and dignity are denied or not recognized by those who employed them. We pray that God will come to their aid and also touch the hearts of their employers to pay attention to their rights and welfare.

May God bless all workers and the work of their hands. Amen

Fr Isaac Chima