The Employment Novenas

[she_who_is_not]

Update: I heard from the resume service this morning! Thanks for the prayers. It will still be a few days until I get the rewrites, though. In the meantime, let us continue our novena and give thanks to God for LGLG's new job. Thank you, Lord, you truly provide for our every need. We trust you in death as well as life.

Day 6, Novena for work

Work done in company with God, and with rectitude of intention.
St Josemaría says:
I beg you, don’t ever lose the supernatural point of view. Correct your intention as the course of a ship is corrected on the high seas: by looking at the star, by looking at Mary. Then you will always be sure of reaching harbour.

As a Christian, you should always carry your Crucifix with you. And place it on your work table. And kiss it before you go to rest and when you awake.

Place on your desk, in your room, in your wallet... a picture of Our Lady, and look at it when you begin your work, while you are doing it, and when you finish it. She will obtain for you – I assure you! – the strength to turn your task into a loving dialogue with God.

To find a job
May God grant me an honest and dignified job, and open the eyes of my
soul to understand that he is always at my side. So as not to lose sight of
this marvelous reality, may I make the effort to stay in God’s presence
during my work, using as a discreet “reminder” a small crucifix, or a small
picture of Our Lady or of some saint to whom I have devotion, positioned
where I can see it often, without attracting unnecessary attention.

To do a good job
May God open the eyes of my soul to understand that he is always at my
side. So as not to lose sight of this marvelous reality, may I make the effort
to stay in God’s presence during my work, using as a discreet “reminder” a
small crucifix, or a small picture of Our Lady or of some saint to whom I
have devotion, positioned where I can see it often, without attracting
unnecessary attention.

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]

It's been almost 2 weeks since my interview and still no word. Please keep praying. I'm just hoping they are still in the background check process and haven't moved on to other candidates.

[she_who_is_not]

Day 7, Novena for work

Maturing in virtue through work

St Josemaría says:

Everything in which we poor human beings intervene – even sanctity – is a tissue of small trifles, which – depending on the purity of our intention – can form a tapestry of splendid heroism or of meanness, of virtues or of sins.

A complete range of virtues is called into play when we set about our work with the purpose of sanctifying it: fortitude, to persevere in our work despite the difficulties that naturally arise and to ensure that we never let ourselves be overwhelmed by anxiety; temperance, in order to spend ourselves unsparingly and to overcome our love of comfort and our selfishness; justice, so as to fulfill our duties towards God, society, our family and our fellow workers; prudence, to know in each case what
course to take, and then to set about it without hesitation. . . And all this, I emphasize, is for the sake of Love.

All professional work demands previous training and a constant effort to improve one’s formation and to adapt it to the new circumstances that may arise.To find a job
With our Lady’s help, may I find the job I am looking for. And when I
devote myself fully to this new work, may God help me to develop the
Christian virtues and to mature spiritually through the work I do. May I
seek to be patient and understanding, both towards my managers and
towards my colleagues and subordinates. May I be simple and humble,
avoiding vanity and exhibitionism. In a word, may I do everything with
purity of heart.

To do a good job

May God help me to develop the Christian virtues and to mature
spiritually through the work I do. May I seek to be patient and
understanding, both towards my managers and towards my colleagues and
subordinates. May I be simple and humble, avoiding vanity and
exhibitionism. In a word, may I do everything with purity of heart.

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...

[she_who_is_not]

Hey everyone! We missed a day because I was super busy yesterday. We are on day 8 of the novena for work.

Novena for work, Day 8

Work as service, a help for others
St Josemaría says:

Consider too that, by doing your daily work well and responsibly, not only will you be supporting yourselves financially, you will also be
contributing in a very direct way to the development of society, you will be relieving the burdens of others and maintaining countless welfare projects, both local and international, on behalf of less privileged individuals and countries.

When you have finished your work, do your brother’s, helping him, for love of Christ, so tactfully and so naturally that not even the person you’re helping realizes that you are doing more than in justice you ought.
–This indeed is virtue befitting a son of God!

To find a job
May God our Lord grant me the job which I ask him for with so much
faith. And may he infuse in my soul the desire to make of my work, not
a self-centered activity geared to my own interests, but a service that is
open and useful to many, done in the certainty that this ideal of service
to others will give a new, higher and more joyful meaning to my life.

To do a good job
May God infuse in my soul the desire to make of my work, not a selfcentered
activity geared to my own interests, but a service that is open
and useful to many, done in the certainty that this ideal of service to
others will give a new, higher and more joyful meaning to my life.

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...

[she_who_is_not]

Hi everyone,
I'm posting the last day of the novena for work tonight, as I've decided to do a little media fast. The past week has been really overwhelming for me and I need to reconnect to my Lord in silence. Please keep praying for me and know that those seeking employment are always in my prayers. Keep looking for miracles, I know that they are there even when we can't see them!

Day 9, Novena for work

Apostolate through work
St Josemaría says:
Professional work is also apostolate, an opportunity to give ourselves to
others, to reveal Christ to them and lead them to God the Father.1
Just live your ordinary life; work where you are, trying to fulfill the duties of
your state in life, finishing off the tasks in your professional work or job
properly, improving, getting better each day. Be loyal; be understanding
with others and demanding on yourself. Be mortified and cheerful. This will
be your apostolate. Then, though you won’t see why, because you’re very
aware of your own wretchedness, you will find that people come to you.
Then you can talk to them, quite simply and naturally — on your way
home from work, for instance, or in a family gathering, on a bus, walking
down the street, anywhere. You will chat about the sort of longings that
everyone feels deep down in their soul, even though some people may not
want to pay attention to them: they will come to understand them better,
when they begin to look for God in earnest.

To find a job
May God, through our Lady’s mediation, make me find a good job in which
I can grow professionally and give the best of myself. And may he make
me see in the area of my work, a wide field for the apostolic mission that
God entrusts to all the baptized, using the opportunities he offers me to
help my colleagues, friends and clients discover the marvels of the
Christian faith.

To do a good job
May God help me see in the area of my work, a wide field for the apostolic
mission that God entrusts to all the baptized, using the opportunities he
offers me to help my colleagues, friends and clients discover the marvels
of the Christian faith.

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