Greetings,
May Day. It has so
many different meaning and traditions: the historic, sensual, political, labor
unionism, and theological are all intertwined.
Roberta and I were remembering that when we were in elementary school,
every May 1st every school had a May Day festival with a May Pole
Dance. It was a big deal, with all of
the mothers (the fathers were, of course, working) coming to watch. Do they even know what a May Pole Dance is
today? In the church May 1 is the
memorial for Joseph the Worker.
Certainly the pagan celebrations were not related to Joseph, but much of
the Maid Marian and later evolutions did have a connection to Mary, Joseph’s
wife. I doubt that Karl Marx’s followers
and the Russian communists had that in mind when they adopted the day for their
own purposes. Perhaps the American
workers movement seeking the eight hour work day did pick May 1, 1886, as the declaration of the new standard, were at
least aware of the connection of that day with one of the most famous laborers
in history.
This reading, from the pastoral constitution on the
Church in the modern world of the Second Vatican Council, is interesting
(though as I read it again, I could not help but be so very conscious of the
non-inclusive language). And the writers
of this in the 1960s could hardly imagine the technological revolution that
would occur in the next 50 years.
By his labor and abilities man has always striven to
improve the quality of his life. Today,
particularly by means of science and technology, he has extended his mastery
over almost the whole of nature, and still continues to extend it. Through the development of the many means of
communication among nations, the human family is coming to see itself, and establish
itself, as a single worldwide community.
As a result, where formerly man looked especially to supernatural forces
for blessings, he now secures many of these benefits for himself, thanks to his
own efforts.
In the face of this vast enterprise now engaging the
whole human race, men are asking themselves a series of questions. What is the meaning and value of all this
activity? How should these benefits be
used? Where are the efforts of
individuals and communities finally leading us?
The Church is the guardian of the deposit of God’s word,
from which are drawn the principles of the religious and moral order. Without always having a ready answer to every
question, the Church desires to integrate the light of revelation with the
skilled knowledge of mankind, so that it may shine on the path which humanity
has lately entered.
Those who believe in God take it for granted that, taken
by itself, man’s activity, both individual and collective–that great struggle
in which men in the course of the ages have sought to improve the conditions of
human living–is in keeping with God’s purpose.
Man, created in God’s image, has been commissioned to
master the earth and all it contains, and so rule the world in justice and
holiness. He is to acknowledge God as
the creator of all, and to see himself and the whole universe in relation to
God, in order that all things may be subject to man, and God’s name be an
object of wonder and praise over all the earth.
This commission extends to even the most ordinary
activities of everyday life. Where men
and women, in the course of gaining a livelihood for themselves and their
families, offer appropriate service to society, they can be confident that
their personal efforts promote the work of the Creator, confer benefit on their
fellowmen, and help to realize God’s plan in history.
So far from thinking that the achievements gained by
man’s abilities and strength are in opposition to God’s power, or that man with
his intelligence is in some sense a rival to his Creator, Christians are, on
the contrary, convinced that the triumphs of the human race are a sign of God’s
greatness and the effect of his wonderful providence.
The more the power of men increases, the wider is the
scope of their responsibilities, as individuals and in communities.
It is clear, then, that the Christian message does not
deflect men from the building up of the world, or encourage them to neglect the
good of their fellowmen, but rather places on them a stricter obligation to
work for these objectives.
Yours & His,
DED
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