Feast of St Joseph the Worker

On May 1st each year the Church marks the feast of St Joseph the Worker. This is an opportunity to recall the three fundamental attributes of work that serve human dignity and maintain the common good.

  • We are made in the image and likeness of God and are called to share in the great work of creation and to continue the work of the Creator. The dignity of work is not to be found in the kind of work being done but in the fact that ‘the one who is doing it is a person.’
  • Work is essential for personal development. The individual applies talents and develops skills, fashions resources and produces goods and services. The feeling of a job well done and a career developed is essential to the individual’s self-fulfilment.
  • The world of work has a broader social context, for it unites people. Far from being isolated units in the production process, colleagues and friends share in the common enterprise of the workplace.

These key attributes are so essential to the health and justice of our society.

(Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen, The Right to Work: Our Shared Responsibility May 2017)