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).
No comments:
Post a Comment