Beloved Sisters and Brothers in Christ:
As we continue our pilgrimage to heaven, we find ourselves in the ninth month of this calendar year, 2026. Soon, we will be observing Labor Day, Sept. 7, and then the 25th commemoration of terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. When we deliberate about Labor Day or Sept. 11, 2001, our daily activities pause. Many receive a holiday for the observance of Labor Day, that is, there is a break from labor. Labor Day began to honor and recognize the works and contributions of laborers. Today, we continue to honor the dignity of all workers, advocating for safe and healthy work environments and fair wages.
As we remember the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, we recognize that we live under the possibility of more evil deeds, and are involved in wars throughout the world. We are compelled to pray, not only for those who died that tragic day that God grants them eternal rest, but also for those who lived and continue to suffer and mourn. We pray that God’s mercy will bring forth our healing. We gather as a nation “under God,” and with full trust in His love, compassion, and justice.
God calls us to forever sing of His goodness. There is not a stoppage of our love for God or a single day of observance. Every day is God’s day and by our thought, word and deed, God is ever present. Within our liturgy, whether Liturgy of the Hours or the celebration of Mass, we do not pause, rather we actively offer all that we are to God, and receive Jesus the Eucharist that we carry on Jesus’ mission, no matter the day or hour.
St. Paul tells us that we are called by God to love one another, that we fulfill the law by doing so. St. Paul, while an enforcer of the civil law in his earlier years, is transfigured by God’s love and tells all whom he meets that God’s law is the one law to follow. If we love as God loves us, our earthly pilgrimage to heaven will be realized with eternal life. St. Paul is not speaking about frivolous love, as we sometimes note on Facebook or other forms of technology. St. Paul parallels this love with sincerity and goodness, for God’s love is matchless.
Within our humanity, loving as God loves can be like a pebble we find under our feet as we pilgrim to heaven. For example, we may have difficulty forgiving those responsible for the acts of Sept. 11, 2001. We may struggle to pray for the betrayers. We may falter as we speak with our family or fail to put aside our earthly gain to care for them or the poor. We may have difficulty opening our ears to listen as we hear our neighbor’s perspective on civil matters. In our reflection, we may find ‘our way’ is not really God’s way as we return to God.
God’s pursuit of each one is yesterday, today and forever. He calls, all our days, “Come, follow me.” Pope Leo XIV reminds us that genuine compassion is never confined by protocol. True love reaches people first. As we respond to God’s call, breathing in His abundant love, we are compelled to lead with kindness, humility, and courage every day. Begin the month of September with reflection and prayer about your labor through, with and in God. How are you fulfilling God’s law? Do you courageously lead others to know, love and serve God? Pray that each heart is open to hear God’s Word, and in it, find light in time of darkness. Pray for strength to love your neighbor as yourself.
By our faith-filled living, may we reclaim our pilgrimage to heaven that we owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.