Labor Day is a month away, but for many people there will be little to celebrate this year. As the following video shows, unemployment is a serious problem everywhere in the U.S (See a better quality version here).
Many students will struggle with trying to understand why their parents can’t find work. One way to help them through this difficult time is by giving them the chance to express their fear, anger and hope in prayer. Students could be encouraged to write their own prayers for a classroom service. The prayer service might begin with the following passage from the prophet Jeremiah:
“For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope. When you call me, when you go to pray to me, I will listen to you.” (Jer 29:11-12)
Psalm 23 (“The lord is my shepherd…”) would also fit the occasion.
Finally, you might provide prayers like the following to students and their families:
Dear Lord Jesus Christ,
You wanted all who are weary
To come to You for support.
Lord, I am worn out
By my inability to find work.
Guide my steps to a righteous path;
Give me the patience
To find opportunities with a future.
Calm my worries and fears
As my financial responsibilities mount.
Strengthen my resolve;
Embolden my heart to open doors;
Open my eyes to see life beyond rejections.
Help me believe in me.
Let me realize other ways
To bring about Your kingdom on earth.
Let me grow as a person
That I may be worthy
For Your greater glory.
In the name of the Father…Amen.
Source: catholicemploymentnetwork.org
Our Father, in praying for the unemployed we
think especially of those who through no fault of their
own have lost their jobs and are now searching for
other work for the sake of their families.
May they not grow despondent or come to regard
themselves as useless.
Help them to employ their skills and gifts in other
directions and to find a measure of fulfillment in the
service of the church or community till employment
comes their way again.
Frank Colquhoun
Prayer to St. Joseph for Employment
Dear St. Joseph, you were yourself once faced with the responsibility of providing the necessities of life for Jesus and Mary. Look down with fatherly compassion upon me in my anxiety over my present inability to support my family. Please help me to find gainful employment very soon, so that this heavy burden of concern will be lifted from my heart and that I am soon able to provide for those whom God has entrusted to my care. Help us to guard against bitterness and discouragement, so that we may emerge from this trial spiritually enriched and with even greater blessings from God. Amen.