Ignatius of Loyola offered a prayer as the capstone of his “Exercises,” a series of prayers and meditations. Called the Suscipe, the prayer contains many lines that are especially helpful as “breath prayers,” brief lines that can be prayed throughout the day.
Here’s the prayer and some reflections on how some of the lines can serve as meaningful small prayers during your day:
Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
my memory, my understanding,
and my entire will,
All I have and call my own.
You have given all to me.
To you, Lord, I return it.
Everything is yours; do with it what you will.
Give me only your love and your grace,
that is enough for me.
“You have given all to me”
Ignatius wanted us to note in prayer that everything, EVERYTHING, is a gift from God. Pray this line repeatedly today.
“Everything is yours; do with it what you will”
All we have is gifted by God. And we hold it lightly–letting God do as he wants with what we have. Pray this today.
“Take, Lord, and receive…all I have”
“Suscipe” means “receive,” thus the name for this Ignatian prayer. Not only do we passively ask God to do his will with all he’s given, we actively return his gifts. In thanksgiving we count each blessing, and we place each back in His hands.
“Give me only your love and your grace, that is enough for me.”
The Ignatian Suscipe asks us to pray with thanks for the abundant gifts of God, and to confess that without that abundance, with only God’s grace and love in hand, we could still be deeply fulfilled. Pray this today.
