Labor Day
Happy Labor Day! Some of the most beautiful prayers in The Book of Common Prayer are about labor, vocation, and our dependence on one another.
For example:
The Collect for Labor Day
Almighty God, you have so linked our lives one with another that all we do affects, for good or ill, all other lives: So guide us in the work we do, that we may do it not for self alone, but for the common good; and, as we seek a proper return for our own labor, make us mindful of the rightful aspirations of other workers, and arouse our concern for those who are out of work; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
And this one from Compline (bed-time prayers):
O God, your unfailing providence sustains the world we live in and the life we live: Watch over those, both night and day, who work while others sleep, and grant that we may never forget that our common life depends upon each other's toil; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Work becomes “vocation” when it is done with a sense of higher purpose. Work isn’t simply toil when it is done from the heart - when it is done with love. We call such meaningful work “a labor of love.” A job done with love becomes a vocation, and a true labor of love!
