The Catholic Church values both work and those who labor, emphasizing that there is a sacred link between faith and dignified work.
More than simply making a living, good work provides insight into who we are as human beings. Our work contributes to God’s work of creation and should be done for his glory.
At the very beginning of the Bible, God works to create Heaven and Earth. Created in the image and likeness of God, man then participates in God’s creative activity through his own work.
After the fall, sin allows man’s view of work to change, experiencing it as difficulty and suffering.
If work is misused it can become oppressive, but if used properly work can be offered to God, participating in the the redemptive suffering of Jesus and joined to the sacrifice of the Mass.
Throughout its history, the Church has held labor in high esteem, respecting the dignity of workers and defending their rights, including fair wages.
In the United States and Canada, Labor Day honors workers and is celebrated on the first Monday in September. Although it is a civic holiday, it is also a time for Catholics to reflect on how our work aligns with the work of God.
Work is an opportunity to save souls:
Using the talents that God has given for his glory:
The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.
Genesis 2: 15
God is a worker and created man for work also:
Unlike ancient cultures, Christians embraced work:
The Book of Genesis tells us that God created man and woman entrusting them with the task of filling the Earth and subduing it, which does not mean exploiting it but nurturing and protecting it, caring for it through their work. Work is part of God’s loving plan, we are called to cultivate and care for all the goods of creation and in this way share in the work of creation! Work is fundamental to the dignity of a person. Work, to use a metaphor, “anoints” us with dignity, fills us with dignity, makes us similar to God, who has worked and still works, who always acts; it gives one the ability to maintain oneself, one’s family, to contribute to the growth of one’s own nation.
Pope Francis, General Audience, 1 May 2013
Workers and their labor have value:
Workers have rights and should be treated with respect:
The sign of man’s familiarity with God is that God places him in the garden. There he lives “to till it and keep it”. Work is not yet a burden, but rather the collaboration of man and woman with God in perfecting the visible creation.
Catechism of the Catholic Church 378
Man carries his cross daily in his work:
Work should be balanced with family and prayer:
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