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By John P. Mossi
IEtGO,U2tGOd
Another way of surrendering one's life to God comes from the spirituality
of Ignatius's surrender as expressed in his prayer the V'Suscipe,lV or "Take and
Receive." On his pilgrim journey Ignatius was called to surrender on several
notable occasions. The first was during the defense of the city of Pamplona,
Spain. In 1521 Ignatius, wounded by cannon shrapnel , reviewed the illusions of
his life as sober death approached. Rut he did not die. His long convalescence
became a conversion process. He gradually yielded up his stubborn
self-preoccupation, bravado, and ambition and began to discover a new self in
God (7).
The spirituality record of Ignatius's surrender to God is found in his
classic work, the Spiritual Exercises. Today, 450 years after its first
published edition, it is still considered a significant theological work noted
for its integration of Scripture, guidelines for discernment, sense of mission,
and themes of justice. The Exercises' developmental stages of growth in
discipleship and intimacy enable a person to come home to God.
The last prayer of the Exercises is called the l'Suscipe" or "Take and
Receive." I invite you to spend some time contemplating the components of the
prayer. What is Ignatius, the once vain soldier-at-arms, now a mystic, asking us
to do?
Take, Lord, and receive
all my liberty,
my memoryr
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 (8).
We turn to the spirituality of Jesus and the particular way he has taught
us to surrender. He, too, had to face a special moment of surrender. His prayer
in Luke 23:46 is a powerful expression of letting go: "Father, into your hands I
commit my spirit" (9). Here on the cross Jesus is still the master teacher. He
models for us how to pray and hand over our daily experiences and our life to
God. Notice the key elements: (1) The prayer is addressed to the Father; (2)
Jesus urges us to surrender, to commend, to let go; (3) Jesus specifies what is
to be handed over. He gives what little is left, his spirit and last breath.
In the daily minor or major surrenders of our own pilgrimage, we can pray
in the spirituality of either the twelve steps, Ignatius, or Jesus. Specify in
the "Let go, let God" mantra and the "Suscipe" whatever needs are to be named
and yielded: "Let go of addiction and manipulation. Let God in." "Take, Lord, my
dishonesty, my hurts, my doubts and sinfulness." God can handle and work with
these blighted areas quite well.
Adapt the prayer of Jesus to your immediate concerns: "Father, into your
hands I commit my grief, my sense of failure, my disappointment, my pettiness
and vulnerability.....Vommend these regions of brokenness to the higher
compassion and understanding of God.
It is clear that not only our joys but also our sorrows must be offered to
God. Our ability to be powerless allowsGod to meet us and tenderly heal us on
our journey, embracing us as we truly are. Moreover, the art of surrendering
involves a lifelong process. Some days we succeed better than others. If we
postpone learning the spirituality of surrender, we will face it unprepared at
leath, when the surrender is sudden. Perhaps we can learn to surrender to the
:are, to the heart, of God in advance.
L) For more information on this topic , see Gerald G. May, Addiction and Grace
(San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1991), pp. 162-181.
(2) Ernest Kurtz, Not-God: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous (Center City,
Minn.; Hazeldon, 1991), pp. 37-57.
(3) Anonymous, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (New York: Alcoholics
Anonymous World Services, 1952), p. 21.
(7) St. Ignatius' Own Story, trans. William J. Young SJ (Chicago: Henry Regnery
co., 1956), pp. 7-27.
(8) David L. Flemming SJ, The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius: A Literal
Translation and a Contemporary Reading (St. Louis: Institute of Jesuit
Sources, 1980), p. 141.