Third Day of Tết: Blessing Our Work
No fixed feast day in the calendar
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On the Third Day, the Church asks God to bless everyone’s work in the new year
What is this feast?
On the Third Day of Tết, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, the Church in Vietnam offers a Mass asking God to make our work holy. Everyone, from farmers, workers, shopkeepers and office workers to schoolchildren, asks God to bless their work in the new year, so that they may work in God’s grace and know how to share the fruits of their work with others.
The story
From the very beginning, God gave people work to do. The Book of Genesis tells: “The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.” (Gn 2:15). Work is the way people cooperate with God in caring for the earth he created.
Jesus himself also worked with his hands. He grew up in Nazareth, and the villagers called him “the carpenter’s son” (Mt 13:55), that is, the son of Saint Joseph. In the Gospel of the Mass of the Third Day, Jesus tells the parable of the talents: the servant who made good use of what his master had entrusted to him is praised: “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” (Mt 25:21).
In some parishes, after Mass, the priest sprinkles holy water on tools, vehicles or schoolbooks. Holy water is not a lucky charm, but a sacramental: a sign that the Church is asking God’s blessing, reminding us to live as children of God in our daily work.
Why does the Church celebrate this feast?
Because any honest work can become a prayer. A psalm prays: “Prosper the work of our hands!” (Ps 90:17). Saint Paul teaches: “Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others” (Col 3:23). We work not only to earn money, but also to support our families and help the poor, because, as Saint Paul recalls the words of the Lord Jesus: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35).
A lesson for you
- Before you do your homework, make the Sign of the Cross and offer your study time to God.
- Help your parents cheerfully with the chores, just as Jesus in Nazareth obeyed his parents (cf. Lk 2:51).
- Take care of your books and things, and share with a friend who is in need.
Identifying marks
- The parish priest holding a holy water sprinkler and a holy water bucket: the priest sprinkles holy water, asking God to bless workers and their tools; holy water also reminds you of the day you were baptized.
- A farmer holding a hoe, a nón lá (conical palm-leaf hat) on his back, a khăn rằn (checkered scarf) over his shoulder, a water buffalo beside him: work in the fields grows the rice that feeds everyone.
- A woman in a blue áo dài (the traditional Vietnamese long dress) holding a sewing basket with scissors, a spool of thread and flowered cloth: sewing and caring for the family are holy work too.
- A schoolboy holding a pile of books: your studies are also work that God gives you.
- Drops of holy water falling on the hoe and on everyone: God blesses both the workers and the work they do.
- Green rice fields, distant mountains, a branch of yellow mai blossoms and a church behind: spring in the countryside; the work of the new year begins from the house of God.
The text on this page is the card in the Catholic Information app, word for word.
Compiled by i-Catholic · About