Thursday in the Eighth Week Ordinary Time
In today's gospel, please take note of one word that Jesus uses to share with us the expectations of the Father for each of us. We are called to love God with a great degree of intensity: with ALL that we are. These words bring my mind and to my Jesuit colleagues and others who share some affinity with St. Ignatius Loyola the prayer that the Jesuit founder composed for his sons and those who followed him in their prayer life. Let me share it with you.
Take, Lord, and receive
all my liberty
my memory
my understanding
my entire will.
All that 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.
As you link this prayer with the words of today's gospel reading, you have the opportunity to consider what parts of your life do you wrap in human teflon, protecting yourself from the powerful graces that the Holy Spirit sends to you each day. I might suggest printing this prayer and making it a part of your early morning offering to God and then again as your day is winding down and you might be thinking of all that occurred during the day. This prayer well serves as an offering to the Father of all that you accomplished during the day and is a prayer as you evaluate your performance in God's earthly kingdom. What a powerful final sentence to end and begin each day:
Give me only your love and your grace
that is enough for me.
