Opening prayer (every day)
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
O Lord my God, who didst place man in the world to dress it and to keep it, I come before thee with my need: I need work. I entrust this petition to the intercession of Saint Josemaría Escrivá, who taught us to find thee in the work of every day. During these nine days I wish to ask with faith, to wait with patience and to accept thy will.
First day — Work, the work of God
"And the Lord God took man, and put him into the paradise of pleasure, to dress it, and to keep it" (Gen 2:15). There was work before there was sin: work is not a punishment but a share in God’s work of creation. Saint Josemaría taught that the work of every day, done for love, can become prayer.
Saint Josemaría, obtain for me work in which I may serve God and others.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Second day — Jesus, the carpenter of Nazareth
"Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?" (Mk 6:3). The Son of God spent most of his life in a workshop, learning from Saint Joseph the trade of each day. No honest work is too small for God.
Saint Josemaría, may I accept with humility the work God gives me.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Third day — Beginning again
When Saint Josemaría was a boy, his father lost his business in Barbastro and started again from nothing in Logroño, without bitterness and without losing his faith. From him the son learned that whoever loses a job does not lose the dignity of a child of God.
Saint Josemaría, give me the courage to begin again, without discouragement and without shame.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Fourth day — Asking with faith
"Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you" (Mt 7:7). Saint Josemaría asked with the trust of a child speaking to his Father, and made himself a beggar of graces for others. God never tires of listening.
Saint Josemaría, may I find the work I need.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Fifth day — Peace while I wait
"Casting all your care upon him, for he hath care of you" (1 Pet 5:7). Waiting is heavy: the bills that do not add up, the uncertainty of tomorrow, the answers that do not come. Waiting too can be offered to God.
Saint Josemaría, may I not lose my peace while I wait.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Sixth day — Searching without giving up
Prayer does not excuse us from effort. Looking for work is work too: preparing, sending the CV, knocking at the door once more. It can be done with the same seriousness and the same cheerfulness that Saint Josemaría asked of every task.
Saint Josemaría, give me perseverance to keep searching and not give up.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Seventh day — Those who depend on me
"Give us this day our daily bread" (Mt 6:11). Jesus taught us to ask for bread without shame. Behind every request for work there are faces: the family, the children, all who count on us.
Saint Josemaría, may I support with dignity those who depend on me.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Eighth day — Working well
"Whatsoever you do, do it from the heart, as to the Lord, and not to men" (Col 3:23). Saint Josemaría wanted every task well finished, for love, down to the details no one sees.
Saint Josemaría, may I work with honesty and competence.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Ninth day — Giving thanks
"Were not ten made clean? and where are the nine?" (Lk 17:17). I end the novena by giving thanks now for what God will give me, perhaps not in the way I imagine, but always for my good.
Saint Josemaría, may I see in my work a way to God and know how to give thanks.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Closing prayer (every day)
O God, who through the intercession of the Virgin Mary didst grant countless graces to Saint Josemaría and didst choose him to teach that the work of every day is a way to holiness: grant me, through his intercession, the work I need to live and to support my family (name your petition), and the grace to do it with the same faith, the same joy and the same love with which he did his. Through Christ our Lord.
Saint Joseph the Worker, pray for us.
Saint Josemaría, pray for us.
Amen.
SourceComposed for this site, for private devotion, from his life and teaching · The saint of ordinary work — nine days for those looking for a job or beginning again