The Employment Novenas

[she_who_is_not]

Happy feast of St. Joseph the Worker. I've experience some miracles while praying this novena. More freelance work, help with bills, etc. Anyone else? St. Joseph, thank you for helping us grow closer to your foster son, Jesus, and may we continue to imitate you by depending on God for all things!

[color=#282828]Day 9, Novena to St. Joseph the Worker[/color]

[color=#282828]Joseph, by the work of your hands and the sweat of your brow, you supported Jesus and Mary, and had the Son of God as your fellow worker. Teach me to work as you did, with patience and perseverance, for God and for those whom God has given me to support. Teach me to see in my fellow workers the Christ who desires to be in them, that I may always be charitable and forbearing towards all. Grant me to look upon work with the eyes of faith, so that I shall recognize in it my share in God's own creative activity and in Christ's work of our redemption, and so take pride in it. When it is pleasant and productive, remind me to give thanks to God for it. And when it is burdensome, teach me to offer it to God, in reparation for my sins and the sins of the world.[/color]

Novena Prayer

[color=#282828]O good father Joseph! I beg you, by all your sufferings, sorrows and joys, to obtain for me what I ask.[/color]

[color=#282828]Please assist the PMers seeking employment to find work that promotes the dignity of the human person and is pleasing to God[/color]

[color=#282828]Today we especially ask for your intercession on behalf of MaterMisericordiae as she waits for news on her interview[/color]
[color=#282828]and[/color]
[color=#282828]on behalf of LGLG as awaits news from her interviews[/color]
[color=#282828]and[/color]
[color=#282828]on behalf of SWIN who would like to hear back from the lady rewriting her resume soon but is very thankful for the increase in freelance work [/color]
[color=#282828]and[/color]
[color=#282828]for Achaeology Cat's husband[/color]
[color=#282828]and[/color]
[color=#282828]for TotusTuus' husband[/color]
[color=#282828]and[/color]
[color=#282828]Lil'mon's mom[/color]
[color=#282828]and[/color]
[color=#282828]that Lil'mon will sell many books[/color]

[color=#282828]Help all PMers to be faithful to their work, whether it be paid labor or work within the home and assist them in performing their duties joyfully and to the glory of God.[/color]

[color=#282828]Obtain for all those who have asked my prayers, everything that is useful to them in the plan of God. Be near to me in my last moments, that I may eternally sing the praises of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Amen.[/color]

[color=#282828](Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be) [/color]

[let_go_let_God]

I didn't have time to post this yesterday but I was offered a position and I'm awaiting some final news!

God bless-
LGLG

[she_who_is_not]

[quote name='let_go_let_God' timestamp='1335894082' post='2425685']
I didn't have time to post this yesterday but I was offered a position and I'm awaiting some final news!

God bless-
LGLG
[/quote]

Thanks be to God!
Thank you, St. Joseph!

[she_who_is_not]

Day 1, Novena of St. Josemaria Escriva for work

This is a novena for all phatmassers! It encourages to pray for both employment and the grace to be faithful in our work. Whether you are unemployed, working happily at a job, working unhappily at a job, serving your spouse and children as a stay-at-home wife/husband, or working as a student, St. Josemaria will intercede for you to find peace and satisfaction in your current state of life.

Let's take a moment to thank God for all the blessings and miracles he has bestowed upon us all in the past 9 days, especially for LGLG's job offer. God, you are always good to us. Thank you for you provision and let us always depend on you for all things. St. Joseph, thank you for your prayers and intercession and please continue to pray for us all the days of our lives. Amen.

This novena starts with a daily reflection from St. Josemaria:
Day One

St Josemaría says:

We have come to call attention once again to the example of Jesus,who spent thirty years in Nazareth, working as a carpenter. In his
hands, a professional occupation, similar to that carried out by millions of people all over the world, was turned into a divine task. It became apart of our Redemption, a way to salvation.

Your ordinary contact with God takes place where your fellow men, your yearnings, your work and your affections are. There you have your daily encounter with Christ. It is in the midst of the most material things of the earth that we must sanctify ourselves, serving God and all mankind.

Prayer for those seeking employment:

May our Lord God guide me in the effort to seek work and bless me, enabling me to obtain honest, dignified and steady employment; and then help me to see my job as a path to holiness and a service to others, where God my Father awaits me at every moment, asking me, in each situation, to imitate Jesus when he worked as a carpenter in Nazareth.

For those employed:

May our Lord God help me see my job as a path to holiness and a service to others, where God my Father awaits me at every moment, asking me, in each situation, to imitate Jesus when he worked as a carpenter in Nazareth.

We pray especially for the intentions of:

Mater Misericoridae
SWIN
LGLG
Lil'Mon
Archaeology Cat
Totus Tuus
and all of the Phatmass family

St. Josemaria, Pray for Us!

Edited May 2, 2012 by she_who_is_not

[OnlySunshine]

Thank you so much for your continued prayers. I have not yet heard anything from last week's interview. I know they said it could take up to 4 weeks to hear because the scheduled training doesn't start until the end of this month. I am seriously hoping I make it that long because I'm already going crazy. Money is extremely tight right now. I'm hoping to have a garage sale not this weekend but next weekend. I am still applying for other positions, as well.

Hopefully, I'll be able to stick with this novena because I am not good at remembering to come back to it each day.

[OnlySunshine]

I hope you don't mind s_w_is_n but I'd like to post Day Two so I can pray it before I forget:

St Josemaría says:


The dignity of work is founded on Love. Man’s great privilege is to be
able to love, transcending from what is fleeting and ephemeral.

Do everything for Love. –That way there are no little things: everything is
big. –Perseverance in little things, for Love, is heroism.

Let me stress this point: it is in the simplicity of your ordinary work, in the
monotonous details of each day, that you have to find the secret, which
is hidden from so many, of something great and new: Love.

Intention A: To find a job


May our Lord God grant me the grace to get a job quickly, which will
provide security for my family. At the same time, may he help me to
understand that what gives value to any honest work is the love with
which I do it: love for God, in the first place, to whom I can offer up my
work; and love for my neighbour, whom I wish to serve and be useful to.


or Intention B: To do a good job


May our Lord God help me to understand that what gives value to any
honest work is the love with which I do it: love for God, in the first place,
to whom I can offer up my work; and love for my neighbour, whom I wish
to serve and be useful to.


Our Father...

Hail Mary...

Glory Be...

Amen.

[she_who_is_not]

Thanks MM, I'm working on a deadline today (woot for work) and haven't had time to post.

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='she_who_is_not' timestamp='1336066105' post='2426546']
Thanks MM, I'm working on a deadline today (woot for work) and haven't had time to post.
[/quote]

Not a problem! I'm praying that something comes of this novena. I really need a job!

[XIX]

Hey guys. I have trouble praying for my own employment situation (Lord knows I try, haha).

Anyway, could you be so kind as to keep me in your intentions as well? Thanks.

[she_who_is_not]

Novena to St. Josemaria, Day 3

Working with order and constancy

St Josemaría says:

How short indeed is the time of our passing through this world! For the true Christian these words ring deep down in his heart as a reproach to his lack of generosity, and as a constant invitation to be loyal. Brief indeed is our time for loving, for giving, for making atonement. It would be very wrong, therefore, for us to waste it, or to cast this treasure irresponsibly overboard. We mustn’t squander this period of the world’s history that God has entrusted to each one of us.

When you bring order into your life your time will multiply and, as a result,you will be able to give greater glory to God, by working more in his service.

Persevere in the exact fulfillment of the obligations of the moment. That work – humble, monotonous, small – is prayer expressed in action that prepares you to receive the grace of the other work – great and wide and deep – of which you dream.

To find a job
May I get a stable and suitable job, with the help of the Most Blessed Virgin
Mary. And when, through God’s goodness, I am working, may I learn to use
my time as the treasure it is, and make the effort to improve in the virtue of
order, so as to work more punctually, intensely and constantly, without
disorder or delays. May I achieve this by following a well-structured plan,
which allows for me to spend the appropriate amount of time on each of my
duties: spiritual life, family life, professional life and social relations, in a
balanced way.

To do a good job
With the help of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, may I learn to use my time as the
treasure it is, and make the effort to improve in the virtue of order, so as to work
more punctually, intensely and constantly, without disorder or delays. May I
achieve this by following a well-structured plan, which allows for me to spend the
appropriate amount of time on each of my duties: spiritual life, family life,
professional life and social relations, in a balanced way.

O God, through the mediation of the Most Blessed
Virgin Mary, you granted countless graces to your
priest Saint Josemaría, choosing him as a most faithful
instrument to found Opus Dei, a way to holiness
through daily work and the ordinary duties of a
Christian. Grant that I also may learn to turn all the
circumstances and events of my life into opportunities
to love you and serve the Church, the Pope and all
souls, with joy and simplicity, lighting up the paths of
the earth with faith and love. Through the intercession
of Saint Josemaría, please grant me the favor I request
... (here make your petition). Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father...

Edited May 4, 2012 by she_who_is_not

[she_who_is_not]

Day 4, Novena for work

Well-finished work

St Josemaría says:

It is no good offering to God something that is less perfect than our poor human limitations permit. The work that we offer must be without blemish and it must be done as carefully as possible, even in its smallest details, for God will not accept shoddy workmanship. ‘Thou shalt not offer anything that is faulty,’ Holy Scripture warns us (Lev 22:20), ‘because it would not be worthy of him.’ For that reason, the work of each one of us, the activities that take up our time and energy, must be an offering worthy
of our Creator. It must be operatio Dei, a work of God that is done for God: in short, a task that is complete and faultless.1
The important thing is that we should love the Mass and make it the centre of our day. If we attend Mass well, surely we are likely to think about our Lord during the rest of the day, wanting to be always in his presence, ready to work as he worked and love as he loved.

To find a job
With our Lady’s help, may I not take long to resolve the problem of my
unemployment. And when I start my new job, may God help me to work
well, with the greatest possible perfection. May I never work carelessly,
but be convinced that work done badly cannot be sanctified, because it
lacks love, and love alone enables any human action to be pleasing to
God.

To do a good job
May God help me to work well, with the greatest possible perfection. May
I never work carelessly, but be convinced that work done badly cannot be
sanctified, because it lacks love, and love alone enables any human action
to be pleasing to God.

Prayer to Saint Josemaría
O God, through the mediation of the Most Blessed
Virgin Mary, you granted countless graces to your
priest Saint Josemaría, choosing him as a most faithful
instrument to found Opus Dei, a way to holiness
through daily work and the ordinary duties of a
Christian. Grant that I also may learn to turn all the
circumstances and events of my life into opportunities
to love you and serve the Church, the Pope and all
souls, with joy and simplicity, lighting up the paths of
the earth with faith and love. Through the intercession
of Saint Josemaría, please grant me the favor I request
... (here make your petition). Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father...

[OnlySunshine]

I missed a day!

Gonna have to play catch up!

[she_who_is_not]

Day 5, Novena for work (Today's meditation is avvesome
All honest work is dignified

St Josemaría says:

It is time for us Christians to shout from the rooftops that work is a gift fromGod and that it makes no sense to classify men differently, according to their occupation, as if some jobs were nobler than others. Work, all work, bears witness to the dignity of man, to his dominion over creation.
Before God, no occupation is in itself great or small. Everything gains the value of the Love with which it is done.
You really do need to make an effort and put your shoulder to the wheel...For all that, you should put your professional interests in their place: they are only means to an end; they can never be regarded – in any way – as if they were the basic thing.

To find a job
May God grant me the joy of getting a job, at which I can be useful and
develop my abilities. And if, for the moment, the job were to be below my
level of competence and my legitimate aspirations, may I not belittle it.
Rather, while seeking something more appropriate, may I carry it out in a
fully responsible way, giving it the same value as Jesus gave his work at
Nazareth.

To do a good job

If my present job is below my level of competence and my legitimate
aspirations, may I not belittle it. Rather, while seeking something more
appropriate, may I carry it out in a fully responsible way, giving it the same
value as Jesus gave his work at Nazareth.

O God, through the mediation of the Most Blessed
Virgin Mary, you granted countless graces to your
priest Saint Josemaría, choosing him as a most faithful
instrument to found Opus Dei, a way to holiness
through daily work and the ordinary duties of a
Christian. Grant that I also may learn to turn all the
circumstances and events of my life into opportunities
to love you and serve the Church, the Pope and all
souls, with joy and simplicity, lighting up the paths of
the earth with faith and love. Through the intercession
of Saint Josemaría, please grant me the favor I request
... (here make your petition). Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father...

Edited May 6, 2012 by she_who_is_not

[she_who_is_not]

I have a special intention. I paid a significant amount of money to have my resume rewritten by a employment marketing specialist. She told me it would take 10-14 days and today is day 14 and I have not heard from her. I've had a two week hiatus from job hunting and I would really like to get back to sending out resumes. Please pray that this is resolved ASAP. Thanks y'all! You are an amazing bunch of prayer warriors!

[Lisa]

Praying!!!