New Jesuit Review 2011 Vol. 2, No. 6 --------------------------------------------------------------
 
Ressourcement Each issue of the New Jesuit Review features excerpts from original sources: the founding documents of the Society of Jesus, the works of St. Ignatius and other Jesuit saints, and classic works on Ignatian spirituality. The Suscipe of St. Ignatius Loyola Download pdf by Andrew Garcia, S.J. Take Lord and receive, all of my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my will
Everything I have and possess. You have given it to me
To you I return it – all is yours. Dispose of it according to your entire will
Give me your love and grace. They are enough for me.
 This prayer of Ignatius is found within one of the most well known meditations of his Spiritual Exercises (The Contemplation to Attain Divine Love [SpEx 234]). It is a keystone of Jesuit spirituality because it underscores two qualities that Ignatius maintained were essential for every Jesuit: gratitude and generosity. An individual’s capacity to recognize that God has given all he has ("everything that I have and possess... you have given it to me"), gives rise to and fosters the spirit of gratitude. From this wellspring of gratitude, there issues forth a reciprocal spirit of generosity ("to you I return it -- all is yours"). That God may "receive" the individual's offering is where this prayer most likely acquired its moniker Suscipe. Ignatius’ prayer, however, is not solely a suscip”; it does not only contain the verb “to receive,” but also contains the verb “to take.” In fact, Ignatius begins the prayer not with “receive, Lord” my offering, but rather with the imperative asking Him first to “take, Lord” and then “receive” (tomad Señor y recibid...). Ignatius was a man who carefully discerned each word he wrote down and so the distinction between "take” and “receive" is no mere word game. Each of the verbs ("take" and "receive") contains within itself a unique spiritual dynamic and significance. Thus, the Suscipe prayer cannot solely be understood as an offering. It must also take into account that there is a real stripping-away from the individual and, perhaps more importantly, the presumption that there is the disposition (within the individual) that he desires the Lord to strip away things from him according to His wisdom. Ignatius, being an astute observer of the spiritual life, knew that there were different dynamics at play during the course of an individual’s spiritual life. For instance, Ignatius was well aware of the fact that the initial fervor and zeal at the beginning of a conversion or at the beginning of religious life disposed the individual to be more eager to give of himself generously, often without question. Consequently, the act of offering came relatively easily at the incipient stage of conversion and the spiritual life. If, however, the same individual persevered in his spiritual and religious life, the tendency and temptation to hold on to things and to justify certain attachments, though they might be attachments to things good in themselves, became not only dangerous possibilities, but also, regrettably, realities. Ignatius saw the importance for an individual to be not only disposed to offer himself to God, but equally important -- if not more so! -- that he may also be willing and ready to be stripped of any attachments (persons, jobs, situations, etc.), which God deigns is for his ultimate good. In fact, the request to be stripped away precedes the sentiment of offering in the Suscipe prayer. It is actually the sentiment that the individual begins with when he prays, “take Lord and [then] receive” (tomad Señor y recibid). This is a less romantic and indeed a sobering reality of the Suscipe prayer. Nevertheless, much like the Spiritual Exercises from where it came, it is a solid prayer of great depth and spiritual maturity, as well as a prayer of great sentiment and emotion that has been turned into song and has been cherished by many. Ressourcement_files/NJR08GarciaDraft-B.docshapeimage_3_link_0