Midweek Meditation - The Heart of Ignatius of Loyola

       Today, July 31^st, is the Feast Day of St. Ignatius of Loyola.  It is his spirituality in which I was trained, as a spiritual director, and whose spirituality that I follow in much of my day-to-day living. 

Below I share with you one of his most famous prayers.  It sums up his deep devotion to God and to his love for things eternal.

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.

Frankly, the first time I read this prayer, I thought here is yet again proof that I am not a saint – and I’ll never be one.  But whenever I recite these words, I really do try to mean them.  Sometimes I will take one line at a time and ask myself whether I am “there” yet.  Everyday I can say the words, “You have given all to me,” and deeply believe them.  But “Everything is yours; do with it what you will” – that’s really a hard one to mean.  (It goes along with the Ignatian spirituality of holding all things lightly.)

And yet at other times, I do mean it when I ask the Lord to take and receive “my memory,” because I don’t like remembering those times when I offended or let down God (and myself) so badly.  Remembering those times are not useful to my soul. I'm forgiven, so now I move on with God's grace.  Also when I tell the Lord to give me only “your love and your grace,” I can mean it, because I want to want only the things of heaven and not the things of this world.

So during today's time of meditation, I invite you to take each line of this prayer (known as The Suscipe – the Latin word for Receive) and see what it means for you and for your spiritual life.  Are you able to read just one line of it – and mean it?  If not, can you read one line in it and want to mean it?  If so, that’s the place to start!  May God’s love and grace go with you today.   💙

P.S.   Click here if you want to learn about the life and conversion of Ignatius of Loyola.

Happy Feast Day, St. Iggy!