On International Workers’ Day, we join together as Mother Candida Family to reflect on one of the deepest dimensions of being human: our capacity to transform the world through daily effort. More than a need for subsistence, work is a vocation and a path to fulfillment.
Work as collaboration with the Creator
From a faith perspective, work is not a burden, but a distinction. In working, human beings not only transform matter or provide a service, but also actively participate in God’s creative work.
By putting our talents at the service of others, we complete creation, bringing beauty, order and well-being to the world. Work is the stage where we forge our character, cultivate patience, creativity and responsibility. The dignity of work does not lie in the type of task performed, but in the fact that it is a person – the image of God – who performs it. Work is at the service of the human being, and not the human being at the service of work.
A light from Fratelli tutti
Pope Francis, in his encyclical on fraternity and social friendship, reminded us that work is an indispensable dimension of social life. It is not simply a means of consumption, but a way of weaving community and dignity:
“For there is no worse poverty than that which deprives us of work and the dignity of work” (FT 162).
In the same encyclical, we are invited to ensure that society guarantees everyone the possibility of “bringing forth the seeds that God has placed in each person, their abilities, their initiative, their strength” (FT 162). The path to real development is not welfare, but dignity through work:
“In a truly developed society, work is an indispensable dimension of social life, since it is not only a way of earning one’s bread, but also a channel for personal growth, for establishing healthy relationships, for expressing oneself, for completing one’s gifts, for feeling co-responsible for the improvement of the world” (FT 162).
In the sphere of our ecclesial institutions and shared projects, this effort takes on a greater dimension. Pope Francis exalts the merit of exercising what he calls “political love”:“For an individual can support a person in need, but when he joins with others to generate social processes of fraternity and justice for all, he enters the field of the broadest charity, political charity” (FT 180).
In this encyclical he also makes an urgent appeal to the business sector to promote an active economic policy that favors “productive diversity and entrepreneurial creativity”, so that jobs can be increased rather than reduced (FT 168).
This joint work seeks not only immediate results, but also to transform structures so that decent work becomes a reality for all.
Prayer and commitment
On this day, our prayers go up especially for those who suffer the lack of decent employment or are victims of exploitation.
Let us pray that economic structures always put the person at the center.
- Let us pray for those seeking employment, so that they do not lose hope and find open doors.
- Let us be thankful for our own capacity to work and to be “co-creators” in this world that God has entrusted to us.
This prayer can help you in your experience of work, not only on this day, but also throughout the year…
St. Joseph, simple and faithful man,
you who cared for Jesus and Mary with your daily work,
also accompanies my searches, my efforts and my uncertainties.
Teach me to recognize the gifts that God has placed in me,
to work them with constancy and to put them at the service of others.
Open ways to develop a dignified, just and stable job,
where I can grow, contribute and live with hope.
Give me patience in waiting, lucidity to choose well
and strength not to give up when difficulties appear.
May there never be a lack of necessities in my home,
and also may there never be a lack of trust, unity and gratitude.
Like you, I want to learn to listen to God in everyday life,
to serve without seeking applause
and to walk with humility and courage.
St. Joseph, silent and close companion, I pray to you for my family, for my co-workers and for me. Amen.
May the example of St. Joseph the Worker inspire us to live our daily work as an act of dedication and construction of a more fraternal world.
