Saint Martin's Cloak

Eternal God, I pray for our* army, its soldiers and civilian employees, and for all who are part of the army family. Strengthen the ties that bind us together as one, and pour out your blessing on every individual. Keep every family and every friendship whole and healthy. Guard us from all harm. Lift up the broken-hearted, and relieve those who are suffering. Guide and protect our brothers and sisters deployed throughout the world. Lead our nation always to employ us wisely and honorably. Give us the wisdom, courage and strength of spirit to accomplish every mission entrusted to us by our nation. And let our labors always contribute to the cause us of peace. Keep alive in us all those virtues of character that produce happiness for ourselves, peace in our families and righteousness in our community. Amen. * Offered for the members of the army in which the author serves as a uniformed member.

Almighty God, king of all nations, we pray to you today for our country and for all the people of the earth. Bring peace to your world, O Lord, and establish your justice among the nations. Defeat the powers of death and destruction that rage throughout the world. Deliver the innocent from their enemies. Protect your creation from harm. We give thanks for our country and for all that is good in our society. Bring joy to our land, we pray, and happiness into every home. Where we have gone astray, correct our faults and set us on the right path. Give us the means to provide for our all our families and to afford our children a better future. Build up our communities as places of well-being for everyone, and give us a love for each other that reflects the love you have for us. We seek these blessings for our nation, and for all the people of the world. Amen.

The United States is today observing the civic holiday of Labor Day. According to the Department of Labor, Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. We all benefit from the labor of others, and we should certainly acknowledge the debt we owe them. Labor Day became a national holiday in 1894. It has its origins in the labor movement of the 19th century and the fight against the exploitive and abusive conditions in which many people worked. Still today, many people throughout the world toil in dehumanizing and dangerous conditions for tiny wages that are insufficient to sustain anything approaching a decent life. Some labor amounts to little more than slavery. Constantly changing economic conditions threaten the ...