The Diocese of Dallas Prays on Labor Day 2014

Prayer for Labor Day 2014

Gracious and loving God,
We praise and bless you for sending your Son to teach us, to show us the path to right
relationships with others.

In this season of approaching harvest and often dwindling hope, help us to be people who seek
the social justice for all of your family on earth,
especially the unemployed, the underemployed, and the economically downtrodden.

Send your Holy Spirit to instill in us the desire for common good—disregarding our selfish or
thoughtless desires—so that our minds and hearts are open to the dignity of every human
person.
Provide through our prayer and actions a deeper consideration for those who linger at the edge
of poverty, both in our country and around the world.
Inspire us to find ways to build relationships of hope that bridge the terrifying gap that
immigrants must negotiate.
Bless those on the fringes of society, especially this Labor Day, with a glimpse of a future that
eliminates them as society’s outcasts.
Lift up men, women, and children who suffer daily to survive, and give those who have plenty the determination to share their plenty with the less fortunate.
May all who love you, O God, dedicate this day to taking up our cross and transforming the world into a place where burdens are shared, people are compassionate, and spirits are uplifted because all of Your creation is valued.

In your compassion, O God, answer us.
In your mercy, O God, change us.
In your love, O God, shape us into people of charity and justice.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.

USCCB Resources

• USCCB Labor Day Statement 2014 - Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami
• For parish resources, check out this Labor Day Supplemental Aid.
• Catholic Social Teaching on Labor: A Primer
• Primer on Poverty, an Option for the Poor, and the Common Good
• The Joy of the Gospel (Evangelii Gaudium) is the long-awaited teaching of Pope Francis on the proclamation of the Gospel. Pope Francis is calling upon the Church and the world with encouragement to begin a new chapter in evangelization. This dynamic document is written in the plain, everyday language for which the pope has become famous.
• Selected Quotes of Pope Francis by Subject