JUNE FOURTH
Reading edition
George III born 1738.
Lord Edward Fitzgerald died 1798.
General Garnet Wolseley born 1833.
This is the gospel of labor—ring it, Ye bells of the kirk— The Lord of Love came down from above To live with the men who work. This is the rose he planted, here In the thorn-cursed soil; Heaven is blest with perfect rest, but The blessing of earth is toil. —Henry van Dyke
No man is born into the world whose work Is not born with him. There is always work And tools to work withal, for those who will; And blessed are the horny hands of toil. —James Russell Lowell.
Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest.
—Exodus 23. 12.
My Father, I pray for the love of work, and the desire to cultivate life. Stir me, that I may be ambitious. May I not stare at life in an everyday way and forget that others are watching for the surprises. Help me to be considerate and kind in all that I do. Amen.