Suscipe Prayer

Suscipe
St. Ignatius of Loyola

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.

When I was with the Missionaries of Charity, this was the prayer we prayed at the end of our meditation time during morning prayer. We would start with Lauds at 5:00am and go through a series of prayers, including a prayer before meditation (something I still use before diving into scripture), and then have silent prayer until about 5:55am. The daily Mass readings were posted on the wall and I'm pretty sure that is what the sisters prayed over during that time.  It was a great practice to try to implement into my own life. I'm not at the level that they are, but I also am not a consecrated religious. I'm a firm believer in praying as much as you can so long as it does not neglect your state of life. A friend also recently asked me how I get anything done when I pray so many times a day. My response was that I wouldn't get anything accomplished if I did not, because I am simply putting first things first. 

A short while after returning from my time in St. Louis, in spiritual direction, I remember telling my spiritual director that this prayer is not true in my life. God's love and grace is not enough for me. Wow. That was humbling to admit. Does that mean I should stop praying this prayer? I don't think so. I believe this is what I want to want - that God, who is Love, is enough for me. 

I leave you with this quote by St. Ignatius of Antioch.

"I no longer take pleasure in perishable food or in the delights of this world. I want only God's bread, which is the Flesh of Jesus Christ, formed in the seed of David, and for drink I crave His Blood which is love that cannot perish." 

The Gift of Authentic Friendship

A true friend, more than anything, cares about the salvation of your soul.