Every Day Is Labor Day

"Work without love is slavery."

- Mother Teresa

     Did you know that the original date for the Labor Day holiday was February 21? Thank God, it's still not, because how else would we know when Summer was over? Did you know that only one state originally observed it? Way to go, Oregon! Did you know that the mandatory country wide observation of Labor day came as a result of multiple worker deaths during the Pullman Strike? In all honesty, how many Americans know what the real meaning is behind this day is. Typically we celebrate this day of labor with picnics, barbeques, swimming parties, and sales off every piece of white clothing in every store. And how funny it is that we celebrate Labor Day with a day free of labor...well, some of us. 

    My Labor day began just as any other day: with Mass. What was different, however, was the fact that I got to sleep in an extra hour and my sister, Mary, was with me. Of course, after Mass was a day out with my Sister shopping and then a picnic at Mommom and Poppop's house. However, the day wasn't a day free of labor for me. We baked over six dozen cookies AND I had Fortress Portress duty at the Motherhouse. But honestly, how could I complain? The first day back at Fortress Portress was a day I had been looking forward to since I arrived back in the States after Peru. 

     The first night back on Portress was anything but uneventful. Of course, we have three new lovebugs on deck for the year and training was night. Tonight was the perfect night for it, too. The Sisters were having a picnic dinner and everyone's spirits were high. Sisters were in and out of the Portress office and our laughter could be heard down the hallway and well into the kitchen. Our new Portress Girlies were already loving life. By six o'clock, training was over and the eery silence began to take over the Motherhouse. I settled well into my English readings. 

     Suddenly I was knocked out of literary imagination by the obnoxious fire alarm. Instantly panic overcame me and right away, I was on the phone calling my saving grace for the night, Sister Maureen. Within minutes, it was fine. I gave up trying to concentrate for the last half hour and began to laugh at the irony of the situation: here I was, sitting at the desk, working, on Labor Day, on my first day back and of course, it wasn't an easy night. The phone may have only rang once, but of course, the fire alarm had to just go off randomly. Yet, I was so happy. I was so happy to be back at the Motherhouse.

      This morning, Father's homily was so spot on. His message came back to my heart as I reflected on my joy. He spoke about how for the Sisters, every day is a Labor Day for them as they live and work in the same place. As I listened this morning, I was instantly stuck on the fact that "Labor Day is every day." I vaguely recalled from when I was younger how my dad used to say that every day was a Labor Day for him, so why should we take a day off. It was pretty legitimate, I thought. But it never really gave me anything to think about until today. Everyday is a Labor day for those who work, that's true and I guess we all deserve a day off. But in all honesty, my Sisters never take a day off, my parents never take a day off, and in hindsight, I can honestly say, I never take a day off.

      But it's not a day off from actual work, because those they take, we all take them. We all have a day off of work from the work force. But what is our real work? For my parents, a day off from parenting is non-existent and any parent can vouch for that. Even when the children are all grown up, parents will always worry about them. I know, even when I am at school, my mom and dad always want to know when I am safely home in my dorm room. For my Sisters, they are constantly loving (and dealing with me...). Every day, regardless of whether or not they are teaching, nursing, working, they are loving and being a Sister. Every day, they find themselves praying, going to Mass, being a Sister. Never take a day off. Of course, many can testify to the idea that I never take a day off. Some have told me, it's not good to never take a break, to never take a day for just relaxation. But in all truth, there is a force that drives my labor. It is love. 

     I heard once that labor, when done with love, is no longer labor. I don't see my days as laborious (although often I may use that word after sitting in class for an entire day) but rather fruitful. I may be exhausted at the end of every day, but when I am, I know my day was well spent doing the Will of God. My labor is not work, but love. If I think about what my mission is, I know that God has asked me to bring happiness and love to every life I come in contact with. So whether I am building houses in NOLA, feeding the homeless in Camden, teaching my students in Peru, answering the phone at the Motherhouse, or simply being a student, sister, friend, I am "laboring"; I am loving. 

     And so, in essence, I worked today. I spent my Labor Day, a day designated for a day off, picnicking, and ending Summer, working at the Motherhouse. But there, work does not exist. Yes, I might be doing a job, but really I am smiling, loving and learning from my Sisters about how to "labor with love" every day. I am a laborer in the vineyard for Jesus and God, and being a laborer means never taking a day off from loving and smiling and being the hands and feet of God. And honestly, I can't complain; working happily every day for God is actually a pretty big deal.