Life in Delaware and on Maryland’s Eastern Shore is sustained by the myriad people who support our communities by their work. From the farms and warehouses to hospitals, classrooms, offices and construction sites throughout our diocese, work is never merely a task to be finished. It is a share in God’s own act of creation, a way in which every laborer reflects the dignity of the God who made them. As our country commemorates Labor Day, I give thanks for all of those who contribute in their own way to the betterment of their community by their labor and service.
As we celebrate Labor Day this year, I am also aware of the challenges that we face at times with the development of new technologies. The rapid rise of artificial intelligence is certainly an example of this as people grapple with what the future holds for them and their children. In his first encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV offers a helpful image for this moment. He asks whether we are building a Tower of Babel, a monument to efficiency and profit that leaves the vulnerable behind, or if we are rebuilding, like Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem, a new city in which everyone has a place and their gifts and talents are recognized. Technology, he reminds us, is never neutral. It takes on the character of those who design and use it.
I would ask something simple of our diocese: that we not let the conversation about work and technology be as simple as “how to increase profits or efficiency,” but a true consideration of what it means to work in our society. That a plurality of voices including low-wage workers, immigrant laborers, young people and those impacted by the rise of artificial intelligence, will be included and their experience taken into account as we work together toward creating a culture that supports human flourishing.
Our faith instructs that all people are made in the image and likeness of God, that no one should be seen as less valuable because of the type of work they do or their educational background. Access to education, just wages, safe conditions and the freedom to organize are not new ideas, and they remain as necessary now as ever.
Let us turn to St. Joseph the Worker and ask his intercession for all who labor, all who are seeking work, and all who cannot work due to illness or age. May our diocesan community foster the dignity of everyone who works or wishes to participate in building up the common good.
Saint Joseph the Worker, pray for us.
