The Daily Prayer
FRIDAY, May 1, 2020
On May 1, 1886, one hundred and eighty thousand US workers went on strike for an eight-hour workday. Rallies continued until May 3, when a bomb was thrown into a crowd and shots were fired, killing eight policemen and an unknown number of civilians. Ever since this incident, remembered as the Haymarket Massacre, May 1 has been remembered as International Workers Day.
American labor organizer and activist Cesar Chavez said, “When we are really honest with ourselves, we must admit that our lives are all that really belong to us. So it is how we use our lives that determines what kind of men we are. It is my deepest belief that only by giving our lives do we find life. I am convinced that the truest act of courage, the strongest act of manliness is to sacrifice ourselves for others in a totally nonviolent struggle for justice. To be a man is to suffer for others. God help us to be men!”
God, help us to imitate you as we feed those who hunger for bread, for justice, for companionship, for forgiveness, for alternate ways of living in this world. Give us your words, equip our hands, and guide our feet. Sustain us, Lord, with your healing love. Amen.
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