"Stretch out your hand" (Luke 6:10).
Labor Day
The healing of the man with the withered hand is appropriate to today's national holiday in honor of labor in the United States. The miracle not only healed a hand, it also restored a life by enabling that man to work, to support himself and his family, to re-enter the community with dignity and independence as a contributor.
These are all the values we celebrate on Labor Day: the availability of meaningful jobs, adequate and just pay, safe workplaces, reasonable hours, appropriate benefits, non-discrimination and fairness in hiring, responsive management. Without these rights and opportunities, a nation cannot function, and community is not possible. Every withered life diminishes the whole community.
Catholic Social Justice principles uphold these core values as necessary for human life and as a foreshadowing of the Beloved Community that Jesus preached. Our faith commits us to these goals. When we see progress here, we know we have something to celebrate.
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