The Suscipe is St. Ignatius of Loyola’s prayer of radical surrender, written near the end of his Spiritual Exercises in 1548. Pray it when you need to release control of a decision, a relationship, a career path, or any outcome you’ve been gripping too tightly.
Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. Thou hast given all to me. To thee, O Lord, I return it. All is thine; dispose of it wholly according to thy will. Give me thy love and thy grace, for this is sufficient for me.
St. Ignatius of Loyola, 1548
How this prayer works
The Suscipe asks God to take back everything: not just your possessions, but your liberty (your freedom to choose), your memory (your past), your understanding (your intellect), and your will (your desires). Ignatius wrote it as the climax of his month-long retreat program, the moment when a retreatant stops bargaining with God and offers the whole self without conditions.
The final line is the key. After surrendering everything, Ignatius doesn’t ask for outcomes. He asks only for God’s love and grace, and declares them sufficient. This is the Ignatian stance before any major decision: not “God, show me the right path,” but “God, I trust you with all paths.”
Pray it slowly before a decision you’ve been overthinking. Speak each phrase aloud: “my memory,” “my understanding,” “my entire will.” Notice where your throat tightens. That’s the thing you’re still holding. Offer it again.
Return to it this morning when the need to control feels louder than the call to trust.
