Please pray for my career

[legaleagle]

Hi,

I’m a brand new lawyer and I’m so overwhelmed that I don’t know what to think. I am second-guessing my career choice. I don’t think I’m lazy, but I just don’t like the lifestyle (all work and no play and co-workers that swear all day and drink like fishes). I’m just not driven by money and power. I loved law school, but lawyering seems so stressful.

I’m not a Catholic (yet). I spent the past few months reading about and studying Catholicism. During that time, I attended Mass multiple times a week, went to Eucharistic adorations, etc. It was a like a summer love affair with the Church. Now that I’ve started working at a law firm, I don’t have time to get to weekday Masses and I have little leisure time.

Please pray for me that someone I will get through this and have the strength to get my work done. My biggest prayer would be for me to know whether to become a Catholic first of all, and then prayer for me to at least get through a year at my new job before finding something more suitable.

I think I’m just being wordy. Sorry. I just don’t know exactly what to pray for, I guess.

 

[the_phoenix]

Praying from today’s Liturgy of the Hours:

Psalm 4
Thanksgiving

Take pity on me, Lord, and listen to my prayer.
When I called out, he heard me, the God of my righteousness.
When I was in trouble, you gave me freedom:
now, take pity on me and listen to my prayer.

Sons of men, how long will your hearts be heavy?
Why do you seek for vain things?
Why do you run after illusions?
Know that the Lord has done marvellous things
for those he has chosen.
When I call upon the Lord, he will hear me.

Be vigorous, but do not sin:
speak in the silence of your heart,
in your bed, be at rest.
Offer righteousness as a sacrifice,
and put your trust in the Lord.

Many are saying, Who will give us good things?
Let your face shine on us, Lord,
let the light of your face be a sign.
You have given me a greater joy
than the others receive
from abundance of wheat and of wine.
In peace shall I sleep, Lord, in peace shall I rest:
firm in the hope you have given me.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Take pity on me, Lord, and listen to my prayer.

 

[Eileen_T]

Hi and welcome.I hope you will find the answers here to any questions you have regarding the Church.

I have learned to be specific in prayer so two years ago I prayed for a job that would enable me to use my intelligence.

Actually, the prayer was a Novena, and on the morning of the ninth day my old boss phoned and offered me a job. I handed my notice in that very afternoon. Last month I was receiving a very clear message that I am to use my time, my talents and my treasure for the sake of the Kingdom. This came at me from several directions over a couple of weeks.

In a meeting with my employer (I run his website company for him) I talked about my need to be doing God’s work, whatever that turns out to be -He will let me know when He is ready - and my committment to remain with the Company until the end of June next year. I told him I had no intention of leaving but he should be prepared.

I also felt a need to attend daily Mass but it is difficult as there are none outside of work hours where I live or work. We are having a difficulty at work and had an important meeting on Thursday evening. I told the boss that I was going to a nearby Church for an hour to pray for a good outcome and he said “Yes, please”. So I went to Adoration and I heard God calling me to return to daily Mass.

This afternoon I chatted with the boss by instant messaging and he mentioned that he had been to Mass this morning. He is not a Catholic but is being drawn. He said he sneaks in the back sometimes when no-one is looking. So I told him I was going to go to daily Mass, which means taking the time off during the morning and working later at night. And also go to Adoration on Thursdays.

Sometimes I have talked to God, wondering why I am in a situation or place, but I then place it all in His Hands, knowing He has a plan for me and it will all work out in His time. Over the years God has used all my experiences to do His Work. At the moment I have learnt how to make websites, manage employees and talk to customers, even the grumpy ones.

What are the chances that the website I am restoring since a recent crash is going to become a big part of my future? It is 600 - 1000 pages on Suicide, Abortion & Euthanasia. Today, after getting back from Mass, my boss went searching for a backup he had made about 3 years ago and found it in 2 minutes. He had put off doing it because he expected it to take hours to find.

Don’t give up. There will be a need for good Christian lawyers in the future who are not in it for the money. Lawyers who will battle for Life and for Religious Freedom for Christians when that is threatened as is already happening.

I just don’t know exactly what to pray for, I guess.

Pray for God to direct your life and that you are not led in directions that will frustrate His Plan for you. Ask Him to find how He wants you to serve Him and work for His Kingdom in the place where you currently work.

 

[LilyM]

I’m just embarking on a legal career as well. Firstly, have faith that right now you are going through teething pains. Like any job, yours will get more familiar and hence easier as you go along. You’ll find many things will become routine for you, and that will help.

Secondly - whatever profession you get into, whatever workplace you get into, you are going to meet people who do things that don’t sit comfortably with you. If it’s not drinking or swearing, it might be goofing off at work or padding the expense account. You might just have been put in your workplace so that you can be salt and light to your co-workers and clients - not in a preachy sense, but just in the sense of having integrity. See yourself as having that role in your workplac, it’ll make it less of an ordeal and more of an inspiring mission that you’re on.

I’m sorry that you don’t get to go to daily Mass. If you can find a church near your home or workplace that has perpetual adoration, or just one that is open before or after work or during your lunch hour, it will help to even take ten minutes to go there and sit and pray (and rest). Make a spiritual communion at this time. And do keep up Mass attendance on Saturdays as well as Sundays.

Make sure you talk to your bosses about how you feel, not in a complaining or accusatory way of ‘you give me too much work’ or ‘I can’t cope with this’, but just in a sense of ‘I’m new at this, I’d appreciate some advice on how to get it done as efficiently as possible.’ Ask people around the office for tips on time management and healthy ways to destress. You might get some worthwhile answers.

Realise that your work is going to be like housework, there’ll always be things for you to do but a lot of it isn’t worth stressing over in the grand scheme of things.

Don’t expect to have absolutely everything ticked off your ‘to-do list’ at the end of the day. Just list the five or six most important tasks for you to get done that morning/afternoon/day, rank them in order of urgency and do them one at a time. Don’t even think about the second item on your list until you’ve done the first. When you get through those five or six, list the next five or six. Try to set aside just one or two times a day to attend to emails and make phonecalls and then do them all together at those times.

Some of this you’ll probably have heard before, but these things do make life easier.

On a final note - take St Thomas More as your rolemodel, a very busy lawyer in the midst of a very dangerous as well as corrupt court and legal fraternity, with a large family to attend to as well. He made sure to spend time each day on his own, cultivating his relationship with God in private prayer and religious study, precisely because that gave him the strength to face all his other obligations and responsibilities. ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God’ and all that. Pray regularly for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in everything you do, and to St Thomas for his help as well.

 

[roveau]

Hi Legaleagle,

You’ll have this difficult initial perod no matter where you work in the law or similar. Just make yourself stick it out no matter how painful. In three months time you will really begin to feel comfortable with your situation. Just one day at a time remember.

Be careful that your concerns for work don’t make you rush your process into the Church Don’t for a split second think one has to give way for the other. The thing about swearing etc., at work is that happens everywhere…except in monastic houses and churches, I hope

I’ll be saying a few prayers for you after I finish this. BTW you have chosen a very rewarding career.

 

[St_Gabriel]

Hail Mary,
full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,
Jesus.
Holy Mary,
Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

 

[ready]

Lord, please help legaleagle to cling fast to you while at work and help her to get through this year at her law firm. May she find new employment where she can practice law under better circumstances. Bless her and help keep her strong in faith, hope, and love. Amen.

 

[legaleagle]

Thank you to everyone who said a prayer for me. I am feeling better about my job and slightly less overwhelmed. I need to cling to God for strength. I also need to build up my self-confidence. I have prayed for God to bless all of you too.

By the way, I was excited to take time out for attending Mass today and that made me feel better.

 

[Suzanne57]

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.

Hail Mary,
full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,
Jesus.
Holy Mary,
Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death.
Amen.