The important (still ) reasoning behind the Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker

The Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker is May 1.   That date has a history.  In some ancient cultures, it was typically associated with the beginning of summer.  Down through the centuries, it has been celebrated by different cultures with song, dance, and food.   It was chosen by labor groups in the late 1800's as International Workers Day, sort of a "rebirth" so to speak of worker's rights, specifically the 8 hour work day.  The Communist Party adopted this day to fit its own platform.

It was in response to this that Pope Pius XII designated this day in 1955 to be forever celebrated in honor of Saint Joseph the Worker.  The Holy Father saw the pitfalls of communism and was quick to recognize that a Catholic response was needed.  

Communism may have seemed attractive.  It may have been seen as a legit response to the extremes of unbridled capitalism.   Communism may have had noble aspirations in the beginning, to make the lives of the common worker better,  but it was doomed to failure because some of its central underpinnings went against the yearnings of the human heart. It denied man the ability to work for and own property, to be a “master” of at least part of creation.  It abolished religion, which deprived  man the ability to publicly praise and worship God, which is his destiny.   It abolished freedom of the press, the ability to freely share information, vital for a healthy society.  It abolished the free ballot, thus guaranteeing the continued reign of one political party/ ruling class.

God created man with free will.   Despite the fact that we will sometimes do badly, we must still be allowed freedom to speak (freedom of the press), to worship (freedom of religion), and to have dominion over the world around us (right to own property), if we are to achieve our potential and be happy.

In communism, every right was subjected to the state.   A just society, on the other hand, while recognizing the state does need some things from us, and we do indeed need the state for some things, will not give the state total power over us.   God created man in his own image and likeness (Genesis 1:27).  He created man first before He made a government.  Society needs to think in the same order; man first, government second.  

We must remain vigilant in America that we do not respond to the ills of capitalism in the extreme like the Soviet Union did.  Yes, there are wrongs with capitalism, and our current Holy Father Pope Francis has spoken about them.  However, the other extreme is just as bad, as I have discussed here.

Let us not make the same mistake as a country that Russia made.   Let us not even allow us to go down that path.  Let us not let the government get too big, and too all-encroaching in our lives that it tramples our freedom.  

Saint Joseph the Worker, pray for us.

(This post was a condensed version of my post on this topic on August 8, 2015 entitled Saint Joseph the Worker versus Communism).   

The four wonderful characteristics of a resurrected body

 So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. ⁴³ It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. ⁴⁴ It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44

Based on this Scripture passage, Saint Thomas Aquinas defines four characteristics of what our bodies will be like in heaven; impassibility, subtlety, agility, and clarity.   I came across recently an article by a man named John Johnson for the Catholic blog Veritas.  He does a good explaining what they are, so I will let him speak:

First, Impassibility (“It is sown in corruption, it rises in incorruption…”). Not only will you live forever in heaven but the gift of impassibility means that the glorified body can suffer no corruption or pain, and it will not be subject to carnal passions. You won’t need any physical food and you won’t age. Your bodies will be animated, in a sense, by God, who is Life itself. You will have spiritual bodies – or, should we say, spiritualized bodies. No longer, tied to the dust of the earth from which you came, you will be totally aimed at God.

Next, the blessed will have subtlety. (“It is sown a natural body, it shall rise a spiritual body…”). By subtlety, we do not mean underratedness. Because our bodies will not be subject to any laws of material nature, nothing will stand in our way. The prime example of subtlety in Scripture is John 20:19 when Jesus walks through the walls of a locked room to get to the disciples. By the gift of subtlety, our bodies shall be able to freely penetrate other bodies (walk through walls). Interestingly, our bodies will even be subtle with respect to one another. Totally sharable, we will be able to completely communicate, through our bodies, our joys to our neighbor. Though I do not know of one that has been done, a further study on the connection to the gift of Beatific subtlety and the sexual urge to share a body in this life would be worthwhile.

Thirdly, you bodies will have what St. Thomas calls agility. (“It is sown in weakness, it shall rise in power…”). This is a good one. Because, in Heaven, your body will be so unified and obedient to your soul, it will do whatever you can think of. Think about how incredible this is: if you can think it, your body can do it. Yes, I will be able to dunk. This actually explains why every human longs to do things like fly and have super speed. God gave us an appetite for these actions because we are actually meant to be able to do them. And we do see agility, in its seminal form, in the natural order. Isn’t it true that everything we see well trained athletes doing on ESPN’s Top Ten Plays of the Week is due to nothing more than a body which is well trained and habitually obedient to the rational soul of the athlete? So the Blessed, with their agile bodies will be able to fly, float, have super strength and be able to move faster than a speeding bullet.

Lastly, our resurrected bodies will possess the gift of clarity. (“It is sown in dishonor, it rises in glory…”). This clarity, or “brightness,” will be the glory of the blessed soul which overflows through the head and the rest of the body. It is the light of glory which Jesus gives us a glimpse of at the transfiguration. We will possess the very intellectual light of God (lumen gloreae) by which we will see him in his light that is otherwise unapproachable. As crystalline, the heavenly glory of our bodies will present to all; their very organization and internal structure will be immediately visible. And yes, we will actually have halos - these will be a sign of our kingly reign with Christ. The means by which our glory was accomplished will also be visible to all. The doctors will have the crowns of doctors and the martyrs that of martyrs. The particular means will also be evident: John the Baptist might have some sort of scar around his neck. The statues of the apostles in Rome usually portray them holding the instrument of their martyrdom – this is not just a good means of catechesis, but an insight into the nature of their to-be glorified state. Our crosses, everything painful in this life, will be, one day, transformed into something glorious. There is a story St. Augustine tells of a man who was burdened by uncontrollable flatulence - in Heaven, he was blessed with the gift of wondrous musicality. 

A few words of my own to end this:

Let’s do everything we need to ensure we get to heaven by living and dying in a state of grace.  What glories await us!