Jesuit Prayers
These
prayers come from the men of the Society of Jesus (SJ – the Jesuits), who have
followed St. Ignatius of Loyola’s example of Catholic life.
A Prayer for Spiritual Freedom
Prayer for Generosity (St. Ignatius)
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 any reward
Save
that of knowing that I do your will
Take,
Lord, and Receive (St. Ignatius)
Take,
Lord, and receive all my liberty,
My
memory, my understanding, and my entire will.
All
I have and call my own.
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
Teach
me to Listen (John Veltri, SJ)
Teach
me to listen, O God,
To
those nearest me, my family, my friends, my coworkers.
Help
me to be aware that no matter what words I hear,
The
message is, “Accept the person I am.
Listen to me.”
Teach
me to listen, my caring God,
To
those far from me –
The
whisper of the hopeless,
The
plea of the forgotten,
The
cry of the anguished.
Teach
me to listen, O God my Mother, to myself.
Help
me to be less afraid to trust the voice inside –
In
the deepest part of me.
Teach
me to listen, Holy Spirit, for your voice –
In
busyness and in boredom,
In
certainty and in doubt,
In
noise and in silence.
Teach
me, Lord, to listen. Amen
A
Prayer for Spiritual Freedom
O
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.
In
the Hands of God (Pedro Arrupe, SJ)
More
than ever I find myself in the hands of God.
This
is what I have wanted all my life from my youth.
But
now there is a difference;
The
initiative is entirely with God.
It
is indeed a profound spiritual experience
To
know and feel myself so totally in God’s hands.