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 (only) Thy love and thy grace, for this is sufficient for me.
– St. Ignatius Loyola
“… maybe the most intimidating prayer that I have ever prayed in my life, and I have come back to it many, many times…” That is the way Father Mike Schmitz began his homily for the 18th Week in Ordinary Time (Sunday, Aug. 3). He says that he came across the prayer when he was in high school, 15 or 16 years old, at a time when (as he shared in the previous week’s homily) he was learning to pray and had made a commitment to do a weekly holy hour in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, in front of the tabernacle in his local parish church. He then gives, what I believe is, a powerful (20 minute) homily focused on the theme/practice of “Momento Mori” (Latin for: “Remember your death”) and covering many other topics, from the Readings of the Mass, including the temptations of “sex, stuff, and speech,” to the healing of broken hearts and broken marriages, to a father’s advice to his daughter on what to look for in a potential husband.
Father Mike only returns to and identifies the “most intimidating prayer” at the very end of the homily, “… It’s a prayer by a man named St. Ignatius of Loyola, who is the founder of the Jesuits, and it’s a prayer that I try to pray every day, but actually is really intimidating. It’s a really difficult prayer to pray, but it goes to the very heart of what St. Paul is telling us we have to do today – we have to remember our death – … and here’s the prayer: “Take Lord, receive all my liberty … (See above)” That is where my recent “Ignatian Journey” began. I was happy to be reminded of the beautiful (and intimidating) prayer of St. Ignatius that I had been introduced to in either high school or college. I had been introduced to the prayer in a different way than Father Mike. I first remember hearing and (eventually) praying the words of the Prayer of St. Ignatius when I heard them in a song.
It had been a while since I had heard the song, and these days, it’s so easy to go back and listen to an old song – you don’t have to take out or find a record, cassette tape, or CD – you just type a few words on your phone. I typed, “Take Lord, Receive” and found the song on YouTube, as it was originally arranged and sung (in 1975) by John Foley, S.J., and the “St. Louis Jesuits.”
If you are familiar with YouTube, you know that, as you watch one video, you are presented with a vast selection of videos, in a column on the right side of the screen, by the same performer or speaker and/or on related topics. As I listened to “Take, Lord Receive,” I noticed a Bishop Barron/Word on Fire video on the Life of St. Ignatius of Loyola, from Bishop Barron’s “Pivotal Players” series. All this was taking place on a Saturday afternoon, during a time when I had planned to write my weekly column for The Beacon – and last week, at that time, I was still uncertain of my topic for the column. After Father Mike’s homily and “Take Lord, Receive,” I thought I might have my topic and decided to watch and listen to Bishop Barron’s (hour-long) “Pivotal Players” episode on St. Ignatius. Whether or not you are familiar with St. Ignatius and his “Spiritual Exercises,” I highly recommend Bishop Barron’s presentation.
I am not sure if Father Mike chose to include the prayer of St. Ignatius in his homily because last Sunday (Aug. 3) was three days after the Feast of St. Ignatius (July 31), but I was aware (and this will be the last “link” for this column) that the Hallow app had been offering, since the beginning of July, a 29-day (four week), retreat/prayer “challenge” (opportunity), based on the “Spiritual Exercises” of St. Ignatius. Here is the description/introduction:
“Join Father Timothy Gallagher, one of the world’s leading experts on prayer, as he guides us through the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Drawing on insights from his ministry and the rich tradition of Ignatian spirituality, Father Tim shows how to place yourself in the scenes of the Gospel, encounter Christ personally, and grow in deeper friendship with God through imaginative prayer.”
Ignatian Spirituality and the Spiritual Exercises
Someone had told me that the “Spiritual Exercises” was being offered on Hallow, it sounded interesting, and I started it sometime in early July … and lasted two days. After my “journey” from Father Mike, to “Take Lord, Receive,” to Bishop Barron’s Pivotal Players, I thought that the Lord might be encouraging me to return to the “Spiritual Exercises” on Hallow. Eight days later, I can share that, although it took me a week to eventually write this column, I am having a good experience, praying each day with Father Tim Gallagher and the Spiritual Exercises. I will conclude this column with “To be continued …” Perhaps there will be another column three (or four) weeks from now, when I have completed my “Ignatian Journey”? To be continued…
