Professions and Classes – Teach me the courage to completely control myself and thus also my work!

The professions and classes from my grandfather's prayer book (Men in prayer).

For a good Choice of Status

You, oh god, know me. You know best which way of life I can use to reach my goal and best fulfill your will. For my life you are the first advisor and signpost. I ask you for clarity as to what kind of stand I should choose for my future. I want to enter into that state which you see as the best for me and which you are comfortable with.

I want to be where I can also use my skills and talents to benefit my fellow human beings. You have distributed talents and powers differently among people. You also gave me skills and talents that I want to develop and use to the best of my ability. In choosing my future position I want to be free from deception and conceit. And so I ask you to show me your decision. You, Father in heaven, have given me a way; enlighten me to know him rightly.

Amen.

The Master Prays

Lord and God! Through your divine providence, I have become the superior of other people in my company. You have given me not only concern for myself and my family, but also concern for my workers and employees. I know that I owe them not only fair wages and good treatment. As far as I can, I must also protect them from spiritual harm and set an example of Christian life myself.

This responsibility often weighs heavily on me. And often it seems to me that I am unable to carry them. But you know me and my powers, you see my good will. And so I count on your help. Help me carry what you have entrusted to me. Help me see that my subjects are treated justly, wisely, and with dignity, both materially and spiritually. I want to fulfill all the office and duty that you have given me, so that I can be a superior to my subordinates and your deputy with a clear conscience.

Save me from the temptation to look only to the material returns, not to value the workers as full human beings, to be harsh and ruthless to them. Show me their needs and legitimate desires so that I can understand them and help them as much as I can. I ask you, my God, for your blessing on my company and my business, so that I can always fulfill your holy will in my profession and in my position.

Amen.

Treat what you have in hand as you would treat someone else's property. It delights you for only a short time, then it ebbs and flows, and you will be called to account for it. (Basil)

Do good and give of the blessings of your work that God gives you to all those in need, without asking when to give and when not to give. give to all; for God wants one to give all of His own gifts. But the recipients must give an account to God as to why and for what purpose they received them. (Shepherd of Hermas)

The Teacher Prays

Father in heaven! Every day the parents entrust their children to me for instruction and education. They entrust me with the dearest thing they have on earth. And the duty of good example and good training rests on me every day. My job is one of the most beautiful that you can transfer to people. But the responsibility is one of the heaviest. What I teach the children now will be crucial for their whole lives.

You, O God, are the educator of all people. I, too, can only teach others if I have previously learned from you, if I am in your service. Teach me, above all, to value the souls of my children with great reverence, to understand their sorrows and needs, without caring for them in partiality and one-sidedness.

Let me keep a watchful eye for the good and the bad, for the friend and foe of the child's soul. Give me the knowledge of human nature that I need for the children and their parents. At the right moment, give me a word of wisdom, as your divine son spoke as a friend of children. So my highest goal should be the education of young people to be children of God, to be noble, self-sacrificing and competent men and women, for whom I was allowed to be a guide and educator in my name. Give me the grace to do this, Father in heaven.

Amen.

The Young Man Prays

Jesus Christ, Divine Master! You give each age its joys and its sorrows. In the full strength of my manly youth I shall prove myself to you. You gave me courage and determination, fearlessness and drive. With this I shall begin my manhood, consolidate my character, take up my profession and further educate myself in order to prepare myself for the life to come.

But you also show me my enemies; Impurity and frailty, high spirits and pleasure-seeking, ruthlessness and stubbornness. They seek to rob me of my young strength, to spoil my future and my soul. I know that in this fight my own strength is not enough. I've felt my failure many times. Above all, I need your divine help for my good will. With you is all vitality and all masculinity. You are the master of all drives and inclinations that work in me. Steer them in the right direction!

Give me self-restraint and good breeding, a solid way of life and professional prowess. I also turn to you, dear Mother of God. May you be a glorious example of purity and integrity to me. I want to honor you in every girl, pray to you for a good wife and mother of my children. Do not let me become weak, Mother of the Redeemer, but help me through your strong intercession with your divine Son.

Amen.

Watch your tongues!

That befits the boys

Pushes the bolt on the door,

Don't let a bad word come out!

(Walther von der Vogelweide)

The Worker and Employee Prays

Lord and Savior! It is your will that I, as a subordinate, put my powers in the service of other people. You are my great role model in that. As a God-man you put your last strength, all your love and devotion into the service of all people. So all serving people are especially close to you. We subordinate workers and employees are the people with whom you most loved to be together on earth. You know us all, our joys and our sorrows.

In this way you can also help us to earn our bread honestly and diligently. In the care for me and my family I shall persevere and do my duty in the place to which you have called me. If this work is often difficult and it costs me a sacrifice every day, then one thought can help me; You want it. You know what it's good for, even if I can't understand it.

Preserve me from bitterness and bad thoughts, from hate and injustice in judging and speaking. Often I have to see injustice and dissatisfaction. But you give me the courage to persevere and stay strong. Show me your bitter suffering so that I may see how I deserve mine and how to bear my cross. What I do should be well done, even if it were the smallest job. Because in your eyes every work is good if I carry it out as a bearer of the cross and follow you.

Amen.

The Prayer at the Machine

Lord and God! I stand at my machine every day. The same hard work day after day. You put me in a position that can be both a blessing and a curse. And for some such work has become a curse. How many insults and slanders these rooms have had to hear! How many have already cursed their machine! Now I come to you, my God.

You gave me this job and set this task with all its burden and burden. But you know my powers better than I do. You know what you charged me. I don't want to escape this cross. I'm not even praying that you'll take it from me. Also my workmates, who are reluctant to deal with it. Teach me to see the meaning of such work.

Teach me the courage to completely control myself and thus also my work. I don't want to be just a dead wheel that has to turn. I want to serve alive as Jesus Christ served us, since he is our master. I want to serve you first. To all mankind from my little place, my family and myself. Bless this place of work too, O Lord, which sorely needs your blessings. So shall my burden become a blessing and my sweat a blessing.

Amen.

Prayer for God's Good Advice

Father of light! With you there is wisdom without measure and mercy without limit! You know everything that's good for me. You know the path I should go and the goal I want to reach. You know the good and bad consequences that my decision will have for me and those around me.

Send a ray of light from your wisdom into my soul and into my mind so that I can see what is true or false, good or bad, pleasing or displeasing to you. Strengthen me to choose what I would like to have chosen at the hour of my death. In your name, O Lord, I will consider what to do and what not to do. I want to make up my mind before you, and with your mighty help I want to accomplish what I have decided to do.

Amen.

It is an easy art that is extremely necessary for us short-sighted people to be able to consult with the omniscient. Who knows what will happen tomorrow? None other than who made today and will also give his existence to tomorrow. So before I do any important business, I want to consult with God before I get hands on. (J.M. Sailer)