Ways to celebrate May Day

Besides the parades some countries hold on May 1 honoring their military might more than their workers (though under that guise), this day is growing in meaning to a lot of people.

For the Catholic Church, it’s the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker.

In addition to his primary feast day in the Catholic and other traditions, St. Joseph is honored by the Feast of St. Joseph the Workman (May 1), introduced by Pope Pius XII in 1955 to counteract May Day, a union, workers and socialists holiday. This reflects St. Joseph’s status as what many Catholics and other Christians consider the “patron of workers” and “model of workers.” Catholic and other Christians teachings and stories about or relating to Joseph and the Holy Family frequently stress his patience, persistence, and hard work as admirable qualities which believers should adopt. 

It’s also the opening of the month of Mary. Catholic school children for generations have held May processions and crownings to honor the Blessed Virgin.

A number of traditions link the month of May to Mary. In ancient Greece, May was the month dedicated to Artemis and the reverence for this goddess was transferred to Mary with the Christianization of Europe. Later, the Coronation of the Virgin became a popular subject in art. lala Alfonso X, king of Castile wrote in his “Cantigas de Santa Maria” about the special honoring of Mary during specific dates in May. Eventually, the entire month was filled with special observances and devotions to Mary. The tradition of honoring Mary in a month-long May devotion is believed to have originated in Italy, but spread eventually around the Roman Catholic world in the 19th Century…

President Bush held a ceremony today in honor of the National Day of Prayer.

(Remarks from the White House Press Secretary’s transcript):

I want to thank our military chaplains who are with us.  Thank you for doing the Lord’s work with our troops. I’m proud to have prayer leaders here. Rabbi Fishman…Father Coughlin, from the United States House of Representatives…Pastor Mays. I’m looking forward to hearing the choir of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, New York City, New York….

On this day, Americans come together to thank our Creator for our nation’s many blessings.  We are a blessed nation.  And on this day, we celebrate our freedoms, particularly the freedom to pray in public and the great diversity of faith found in America.  I love being the President of a country where people feel free to worship as they see fit.  And I remind our fellow citizens, if you choose to worship or not worship, and no matter how you worship, we’re all equally American.

I think one of the interesting things about a National Day of Prayer is it does help describe our nation’s character to others.  We are a prayerful nation.  A lot of citizens draw comfort from prayer.  Prayer is an important part of the lives of millions of Americans.  And it’s interesting, when you think about our faith you can find it in the Pledge of Allegiance, you can find an expression of American faith in the Declaration of Independence, and you can find it in the coins in our pockets…

The fidelity to faith has been present in our nation’s leaders from its very start.

Pope Benedict remarked about that in his recent visit to America, starting with his address on the South Lawn of the White House.

From the dawn of the Republic, America’s quest for freedom has been guided by the conviction that the principles governing political and social life are intimately linked to a moral order based on the dominion of God the Creator. The framers of this nation’s founding documents drew upon this conviction when they proclaimed the “self-evident truth” that all men are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights grounded in the laws of nature and of nature’s God.

The course of American history demonstrates the difficulties, the struggles, and the great intellectual and moral resolve which were demanded to shape a society which faithfully embodied these noble principles. In that process, which forged the soul of the nation, religious beliefs were a constant inspiration and driving force, as for example in the struggle against slavery and in the civil rights movement. In our time too, particularly in moments of crisis, Americans continue to find their strength in a commitment to this patrimony of shared ideals and aspirations…

As the nation faces the increasingly complex political and ethical issues of our time, I am confident that the American people will find in their religious beliefs a precious source of insight and an inspiration to pursue reasoned, responsible and respectful dialogue in the effort to build a more humane and free society.

May his confidence be well placed. Benedict provided profound reminders of the moral underpinnings of our society.

Democracy can only flourish, as your founding fathers realized, when political leaders and those whom they represent are guided by truth and bring the wisdom born of firm moral principle to decisions affecting the life and future of the nation…

In this way, coming generations will be able to live in a world where truth, freedom and justice can flourish – a world where the God-given dignity and rights of every man, woman and child are cherished, protected and effectively advanced.

Amen to that.