St Ignatius and My Future

St Ignatius and My Future On the last page of St Ignatius’ famous Spiritual Exercises, he gives us a prayer to learn. This prayer is called the ‘Take and Receive’ (or ‘Suscipe’ – Latin for ‘take’) Learning and loving this prayer will help us in future, keeping the ideas of St Ignatius in our hearts and minds…

Oops! The lines of the prayer have been jumbled up. Can you work with a partner to rearrange them into the correct order and create the finished prayer? The prayer begins with: ‘Take Lord and receive… See ‘Take and Receive Prayer Activity’ Resource

The ‘Take and Receive’ Prayer Take Lord, and receive, all my freedom, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. You have given it all to me. To you, O Lord, I return it. All is Yours, use it entirely according to Your will. Your grace and Your love is enough for me. Give me these, Lord, and I ask for nothing more. After the answers have been revealed and students have corrected their work (and perhaps stuck them in their books), it is encouraged for them to read it personally in silence for a few moments, and for a class reading too, to allow the flow of the prayer to grow in their minds.

The ‘Take and Receive’ Prayer: What does it mean? We are asked to hand over not only our possessions, but also our gifts, skills and personal experiences – our entire lives – back to God. Before we begin, re-read your Examen of the Year Homework. Look at all your wonderful experiences this year. Look at all God has done for you… Take Lord, and receive, all my freedom, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. You have given it all to me. Why? Out of gratitude to God. It is God who has given us all these things. St Ignatius wants us to remember that it is God, out of His love for us, who has created us and everything in our lives. Examine and analyse the language and meaning of the correct version of the prayer. Teacher questions students on sections of the prayer. Students can stick their copies of the prayer (see attached resources) in the centre of their page and annotate. The analysis here is some basic points. Feel free to challenge students to push and expand these ideas and their own. St Ignatius wants us to recognise the many ways God loves us. The evidence is our lives.

The ‘Take and Receive’ Prayer: What does it mean? St Ignatius challenges us to give up our own selfish ‘will’ for our lives and instead, allow our will to be God’s will. We do this by praying, listening to God (discerning) and letting Him guide our lives. Give back to God what belongs to God To you, O Lord, I return it. All is Yours, use it entirely according to Your will. Your grace and Your love is enough for me. Give me these, Lord, and I ask for nothing more. Examine and analyse the language and meaning of the correct version of the prayer. Teacher questions students on sections of the prayer. Students can stick their copies of the prayer (see attached resources) in the centre of their page and annotate. The analysis here is some basic points. Feel free to challenge students to push and expand these ideas and their own. [N.B the ‘other prayer is the Our Father ‘thy kingdom come, thy will be done’] St Ignatius challenges us to give control of our life back to God. To live how He wants us to live, not how we want us to live. A reminder to trust in God, rather than ourselves. Challenge: Can you think of another prayer which challenges us to follow God’s will in our life?

The ‘Take and Receive’ Prayer: What does it mean? Have you noticed some of the repeated words which give us a clue as to the hidden meaning of the prayer? Take Lord, and receive, all my freedom, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. You have given it all to me. To you, O Lord, I return it. All is Yours, use it entirely according to Your will. Your grace and Your love is enough for me. Give me these, Lord, and I ask for nothing more. Give will my you Examine and analyse the language and meaning of the correct version of the prayer. Teacher questions students on sections of the prayer. Students can stick their copies of the prayer (see attached resources) in the centre of their page and annotate. The analysis here is some basic points. Feel free to challenge students to push and expand these ideas and their own. [N.B the ‘other prayer is the Our Father ‘thy kingdom come, thy will be done’] Give you my will Are there any other sentences you can make using the repeated words?

St Ignatius and My Future Now we know that St Ignatius wants us to glorify God with our lives, to give our will to God, let us plan how we can do this in the future. Use your Examen of the Year you completed for homework as a guide to where and how God is calling you to glorify Him in future. Students complete the ‘Discerning my Future’ worksheet, discerning how they can give themselves more fully to God. The key to this task, and to true discernment, is to have students use their previous Examen of the Year homework (the resource entitled ‘Examen Giant Hand Homework Challenge’) to inform their plans for the future. The resources have been designed so that that ‘Discerning my Future’ sheet fits neatly beneath the ‘Examen Giant Hand Homework Challenge’).

St Ignatius and My Future To help you with ideas, here are a few suggestions from Jesuit Missions: Pray – deepen your relationship with God and be attentive to His call. Students complete ‘Discerning My Future’ Resource after having considered these stimuli. Click here for Jesuit Missions’ Prayer Page

St Ignatius and My Future Fundraise – raise money for Jesuit Missions to help those in need around the world. Organise fundraisers at school or ask your parents and teacher to run the London Marathon for JM. Students complete ‘Discerning My Future’ Resource after having considered these stimuli. Click here for Jesuit Missions’ Marathon Page

St Ignatius and My Future Companions Programme – help your school strengthen it’s links with it’s Companion School in the developing world. Ask your teachers to help you run letter-writing and other culture sharing activities. Students complete ‘Discerning My Future’ Resource after having considered these stimuli.

St Ignatius and My Future Volunteering – when you are eighteen, why not take part in a Jesuit Missions volunteer programme? You could travel to parts of the developing world and help Jesuits with their missions there. Students complete ‘Discerning My Future’ Resource after having considered these stimuli.

St Ignatius and My Future Students complete ‘Discerning My Future’ Resource after having considered these stimuli.

Home Learning Challenge Stick your plan for the future somewhere prominent so you won’t forget them. Create a personalised ‘Take and Receive Prayer’ in poster or bookmark form.

St Ignatius and My Future

© Copyright Jesuit Missions 2016 Text by Christopher Brolly and Samantha Aidoo. All images were taken from Jesuit Missions and the Jesuit Institute London. Users are welcome to modify the material to fit their needs. jesuitmissions.org.uk education@jesuitmissions.org.uk Facebook: Jesuit Missions UK Twitter: @JesuitMissions