Ignatian Prayers
Prayers of St. Ignatius of Loyola

St. Ignatius of LoyolaDaily Prayer:

Lord, grant that I may see you more clearly,
love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly,
day by day.
(Spiritual Exercises #104)

Prayer for Generosity:

Dearest Lord, teach me to be generous.
Teach me to serve you as you deserve;
to give and not to count the cost;
to fight and not to heed the wounds;
to toil and not to seek for rest;
to labor and not to ask for reward,
except to know that I am doing your will.
(attribution traditional, but uncertain)

Prayer for Knowledge and Gratitude:

I ask God, the Father, to give me an intimate knowledge of the many gifts I have received,
so that filled with gratitude for all, I may in all things love and serve the Divine Majesty.
(Spiritual Exercises #233)

Eternal Lord of All:

Eternal Lord of all things,
I come before your infinite goodness,
and before your glorious mother and all saints of the heavenly court,
to make my offering, with your help and favor:
it is my wish, desire and determination,
provided that it would be for your greater service and praise,
to imitate you in suffering injury, insults and poverty, actual as well as spiritual,
should your most holy majesty choose to receive me in such a way of life.
(Spiritual Exercises #98)

Anima Christi:

Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O Good Jesus, hear me.
Within your wounds, shelter me.
From turning away, keep me.
From the evil one, protect me.
At the hour of my death, call me.
Into your presence lead me,
To praise you with all your saints,
Forever and ever. Amen.
(a favorite prayer of St. Ignatius)

Suscipe: "Take, Lord, Receive"

Latin Text and various English Translations (from Spiritual Exercises #234):

Suscipe, Domine, universam meam libertatem.
Accipe memoriam, intellectum atque voluntatem omnem.
Quidquid habeo vel possideo, mihi largitus es;
id tibi totum restituo,
ac tuae prorsus voluntati trado gubernandum.
Amorem tui solum cum gratia tua mihi dones,
et dives sum satis, nec aliud quidquam ultra posco.		 Receive, O Lord, all my liberty.
Take my memory, my understanding, and my entire will.
Whatever I have or hold, You have given me;
I give it all back to You
and surrender it wholly to be governed by your will.
Give me only your love and your grace,
and I am rich enough and ask for nothing more.		 Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
my memory, my understanding, and my entire will
-- all that I have and call my own.
You have given it 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.
Receive, O Lord, all my liberty.
Take my memory, my understanding, and my entire will.
Whatever I have or possess Thou hast bestowed upon me;
I give it all back to Thee
and surrender it wholly to be governed by Thy Will.
Give me love for Thee alone along with Thy grace,
and I am rich enough and ask for nothing more. 		Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
my memory, my understanding and my entire will
- all that I have and call my own.
You have given it all to me.
To you, Lord, I return it.
Everything is yours, do with it as you will.
Give me only your love and your grace.
That is enough for me.		 Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
my memory, my understanding, and my entire will.
Whatever I have or hold, you have given me.
I restore it all to you
and surrender it wholly to be governed by your will.
Give me only your love and grace
and I am rich enough and ask for nothing more.

Musical versions of the Suscipe:

Principle and Foundation:

Although not usually considered a prayer, this text is worthy of prayerful reflection; here is a paraphrased version by David Fleming, SJ:

The Goal of our life is to live with God forever. God, who loves us, gave us life.
Our own response of love allows God's life to flow into us without limit.
 
All the things in this world are gifts from God,
presented to us so that we can know God more easily and make a return of love more readily.
 
As a result, we appreciate and use all these gifts of God insofar as they help us to develop as loving persons.
But if any of these gifts become the center of our lives, they displace God and so hinder our growth toward our goal.
 
In everyday life, then, we must hold ourselves in balance before all of these created gifts
insofar as we have a choice and are not bound by some obligation.
We should not fix our desires on health or sickness,
wealth or poverty, success or failure, a long life or a short one.
For everything has the potential of calling forth in us a deeper response to our life in God.
 
Our only desire and our one choice should be this:
I want and I choose what better leads to God's deepening his life in me.
(Spiritual Exercises #23)
 

Fall in Love
(by Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ, 1907-1991; Superior General of the Society of Jesus, 1965-1983)

Nothing is more practical
than finding God,
than falling in Love
in a quite absolute, final way.

What you are in love with,
what seizes your imagination,
will affect everything.
It will decide
what will get you out of bed in the morning,
what you do with your evenings,
how you spend your weekends,
what you read, whom you know,
what breaks your heart,
and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.

Fall in Love, stay in love,
and it will decide everything.

Related Resources:

This page was compiled by Rev. Felix Just, S.J., and last updated on September 20, 2017