Monday, September 1, 2008

labor day

Genesis 1:26-2:3; Psalm 90; Matthew 6:31-34

"Man ought to imitate God both in working and resting, since God Himself wished to present  His own creative activity under the form of work and rest.  This activity by God in the world always continues, as the words of Christ attest: "My Father is working still...:  He works with creative power by sustaining in existence the world that He called into being from nothing, and He works with salvific power in the hearts of those whom from the beginning He has destined for "rest" in union with Himself in His "Father's House."

"Therefore man's work too not only requires a rest every seventh day but also cannot consist in the mere exercise of human strength in external action; it must leave room for man to prepare himself, by becoming more and more what in the will of God he ought to be, for the "rest' that the Lord reserves for His servants and friends."
On Human Work, encyclical letter by John Paul II 

It is not enough to be satisfied with making a living, but we must busy our selves with making a life.  This time of rest must be a time to recollect to discern whether or not we are headed in the right direction.  This is the way the gospel penetrates our very existence, this is the true value of Human work for the "rest" of our life.

As we make a living, we must allow the Father to work in us so that we might arrive at the reward of the work of Christ and thus we shall no longer just be making a living but we shall be making a life and thus enter into his rest.

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