Our nation observes Labor Day this weekend. It should be pointed out that it was Christianity that gave dignity to “labor”. Prior to the time of Christ all who did manual labor were considered to be of lessor value, not worthy of respect. Christ came as a common man who labored with his hands as a carpenter. This changed everything. God became a laborer! Unfortunately, as the influence of Christianity wanes in our culture we are once again seeing this nasty division among people. We have on one side wealthy, educated and politically connected elite and on the other side a working class, high school educated who hold politically incorrect values according to the elite. The tension has increased year after year. Only Christ can heal this. The name “devil” means “divider” and boy has he been working overtime. Let us not get caught up in this but remember our true values as Christians. As Bishop Sheen has observed, “Our test is not in how much we love our family and friends but rather, how much we love our enemies!” Yours in Christ our Lord. Fr. Sid.