Prayer of Abandonment
Father,
I abandon myself into your hands;
do with me what You will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you;
I’m ready for all, I accept all.
Let only Your will be done in me,
and in all Your creatures –
I wish no more than this, O Lord.
Into Your hands I commend my soul,
I offer it to You with all the love of my heart,
for I love You, Lord,
and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into Your hands without reserve,
and with boundless confidence,
for You are my Father.
by Ordained Priest and Brother Charles de Foucauld
(1858-1916)
Advertisements
I love this prayer. It was hard to say for a long, long time. But I persisted. It became my daily prayer for 7 years or so. (But it is still hard to abandon myself.) Now I say a slightly different prayer which is even harder for me. It is known as the Suscipe of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
my memory, my understanding,
and my entire will,
All I have and call my own.
You have given 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.
There are a variety of translations, I say (in the second last line) I ask only your love and your grace and that shall be enough for me.
I also say his prayer for generosity:
Prayer for Generosity
St. Ignatius of Loyola
Eternal Word, only begotten Son of God,
Teach me true generosity.
Teach me to serve you as you deserve.
To give without counting the cost,
To fight heedless of wounds,
To labor without seeking rest,
To sacrifice myself without thought of any reward
Save the knowledge that I have done your will.
Amen.
(My version is Lord, teach me to be generous, to serve you as you deserve
To give without counting the cost, to fight without heeding the wounds,
To toil without asking for rest, to labor without asking for reward
Save that of knowing that I do your will.
LikeLike
Thank you, Karen. That means a lot to me.
LikeLike