The Suscipe is a prayer attributed to St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, and the word comes from Latin meaning for “take or receive.” A beautiful prayer of surrender and one I started saying daily a few years ago. The words are one of few “borrowed” prayers that quiet my spirit and realign me with God.
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.
This prayer has all the elements: letting go/surrender, thanksgiving and knowing I need help from God and God is enough.
What I have discovered praying these words for several years now is that when I say it honestly, I paraphrase some of the phrases making it more of my own. I use the basic structure but in a conversational style, talking with God. I surrender. I release. I personalize this borrowed prayer.
Here are some examples how this prayer transforms into a personal prayer for me:
Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty.
Liberty to me symbolizes independence so I often substitute that word. Earlier in my adult life if you asked me about my strengths I would tell you, quite proudly, I have a strong sense of independence. “I can to it.” “Let me handle that.” “Just give me time and I will get it done and done right.” As I age, I am learning that even strength can be an obstacle to surrendering to God. I lean too often on my own strengths and abilities, not on God’s. Releasing my independence each morning to God humbles me and reminds me really is in charge. I surrender my need to control and who I want to be, so that I become the person God wants me to be.
Take, Lord, and receive my memory.
Often I add a list of words to this petition: my ego, story, grievances, regrets, hurts, hopes, needs, dreams. I offer past experiences, joys, and emotional wounds to God for healing and perspective. Take Lord all of me. Take it all, Lord.
Take, Lord, and receive my understanding.
To be honest, this is the line I struggled the most with at first. I had so much difficulty releasing my understanding. I wanted to know why. I almost felt entitled to better comprehend situations, others, and myself.
I prayed. I talked about this with my spiritual director. Then finally God help me realize God will give me enough understanding when I needed it, so don’t worry, surrender all. I’m learning it is simpler to trust than to try to figure everything out. Trust God with all the things of life and that all things belong to God.
The Suscipe prayer creates the foundation, the framework for deeper conversation with God. Saying its words slowly with palms upward and a posture of openness and surrender leads me to a quiet place, a still moment connected with the One, and a sense of home.
What “borrowed” prayer resonates best with you and how have your personalized it?
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