July 27, 2012
Fall In Love
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.
~ Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J. (1907-1991)
Taken from:
http://www.xavier.edu/jesuitresource/online-resources/Ignatian-Prayers.cfm
July 20, 2012
Take, Lord, and Receive ~ St. Ignatius Prayer
Take Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. Thou hast given all to me. To Thee, O Lord, I return it. All is Thine, dispose of it wholly according to Thy will. Give me Thy love and thy grace, for this is sufficient for me.
~ Saint Ignatius of Loyola
July 13, 2012
Ignatian First Principle and Foundation
(Paraphrased by David L. Fleming, S.J.)
St. Ignatius begins his Spiritual Exercises with The First Principle and Foundation.
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.
July 6, 2012
A Prayer for Spiritual Freedom
Spirit of God, we ask you to help orient
all our actions by your inspirations,
carry them on by your gracious assistance,
that every prayer and work of ours
may always begin from you
and through you be happily ended.
This prayer is frequently used by Jesuits to begin classes and meetings.
Taken from: Hearts on Fire: Praying with Jesuits, edited by Michael Harter, SJ.
March 9, 2012
A Prayer for Anxiety
A Prayer to the Holy Spirit
O Holy Spirit, give me stillness of soul in you.
Calm the turmoil within, with the gentleness of your peace.
Quiet the anxiety within, with a deep trust in you.
Heal the wounds of sin within, with the joy of your forgiveness.
Strengthen the faith within, with the awareness of your presence.
Confirm the hope within, with the knowledge of your strength.
Give fullness to the love within, with an outpouring of your love.
O Holy Spirit, be to me a source of light, strength and courage
so that I may hear your call ever more clearly
and follow you more generously.
~ William Browning
Taken from: http://ignatianspirituality.com/8371/an-anxious-persons-prayer/
March 2, 2012
You Have Called Me by Name
Oh, Lord my God.
You called me from the sleep of nothingness
merely because in your tremendous love
you want to make good and beautiful beings.
You have called me by my name in my mother’s womb.
You have given me breath and light and movement
and walked with me every moment of my existence.
I am amazed, Lord God of the universe,
that you attend to me and, more, cherish me.
Create in me the faithfulness that moves you,
and I will trust you and yearn for you all my days.
Amen.
—Joseph Tetlow, SJ
Taken from: Hearts on Fire: Praying with Jesuits
February 26, 2012
Ignatian Prayer for Detachment
A Prayer for Lent
I beg of you, my Lord,
to remove anything which separates
me from you, and you from me.
Remove anything that makes me unworthy
of your sight, your control, your reprehension;
of your speech and conversation,
of your benevolence and love.
Cast from me every evil
that stands in the way of my seeing you,
hearing, tasting, savoring, and touching you;
fearing and being mindful of you;
knowing, trusting, loving, and possessing you;
being conscious of your presence
and, as far as may be, enjoying you.
This is what I ask for myself
and earnestly desire from you. Amen.
~ Blessed Peter Faber SJ
From Hearts on Fire: Praying with Jesuits
http://ignatianspirituality.com/4036/prayer-for-detachment/
November 18, 2011
Ignatian Prayer of Gratitude
“I ask God to give me an intimate knowledge of the many gifts I have received, that filled with gratitude for all, I may in all things love and serve the Divine Majesty.”
~ Spiritual Exercises, “The Contemplation,” #233
November 5, 2011
Prayer of Gratitude
Intimate knowledge.
That’s what I ask you for, Lord.
I want that insight, that understanding, that knowledge
that will be about our intimacy.
Many gifts.
Let me count the ways you have loved me.
The gifts of your love.
All that you have given me.
All that I am.
I so often look at my shortcomings.
Let me see the gifts.
All of them.
Filled with gratitude.
Fill me, Lord, with gratitude.
Let my heart,
sometimes filled with so much else,
be filled with thanksgiving.
Give me the feelings of gratitude,
of a grateful heart.
Joy, freedom, peace, generosity.
In all things love and serve.
Let the overflowing gratitude in my heart
touch all the things and people in my life.
Every thought, word and deed.
Every hurt, every slight, every loss.
Every reaction and response.
Every opportunity and choice.
Every offering of myself.
In all,
let me love and serve you.
Amen.
Taken from:
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/
(Author not found.)
October 22, 2011
ANIMA CHRISTI (English & Español)
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 Thy wounds, hide me
Separated from Thee let me never be
From the malignant enemy, defend me
At the hour of death, call me
To come to Thee, bid me
That I may praise Thee in the company Of Thy Saints
for all eternity. Amen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ALMA de Cristo, santifícame
Cuerpo de Cristo, sálvame
Sangre de Cristo, embriágame
Agua del costado de Cristo, lávame
Pasión de Cristo, confórtame
Oh buen Jesús, óyeme
Dentro de tus llagas, escóndeme
No permitas que me separe de Tí
Del maligno enemigo, defiéndeme
En la hora de mi muerte, llámame
Y mándame ir a Tí
Para que con Tus santos Te alabe
Por los siglos de los siglos.
Amén.
Prayers & Creeds 