Prayer for perseverance in desolation (Ignatius rule 5).

I learned about the Ignatian rules through Timothy Gallagher and I highly recommend him.

Transcript:

Come, Holy Spirit. You know that sometimes we experience desolation. darkness of soul and disturbance.

Movement to things that are low and earthly, and unquiet of different agitations and temptations moving us to lack confidence in you, to lack hope, to lack love, and finding ourselves lazy and and tepid, sad, and as if we were separated from you, our Creator and Lord.

Have mercy on us when we are experiencing this. Help us to remember that you are still with us. Help us to be…to come to awareness that desolation is something we're experiencing. when we go through this, and have mercy on us. Amen.

Transcript:

Come, Holy Spirit.

Bring your consolation. Move in my soul. cause it to be inflamed with love of you, my Creator and Lord.

And may no thing created on the face of the earth seem to be worthy. of my full love, but only you, the one who has created them all.

Move me to shed tears. because of love of you. Whether for sorrow for my sins or for the passion of our Lord. or for other things directly connected to your service and praise.

I ask for an increase in hope, faith, and charity.

I ask for interior joy, which calls and attracts to heavenly things. and to the salvation of my soul. Quieting me and giving me peace and my Creator and Lord. Amen.

Prayer for growth in holiness (Ignatius rule 2)

Transcript:

Come, Holy Spirit.

Help me to make progress in my faith. help me to go on intensely, cleansing my sin and rising from good to better in the service of you.

When the evil spirit bites and saddens and puts obstacles in my way. and disquietets with false reasons, trying to get me to not go on Help me.

I look to you to give me courage and strength. I look to you to give me consolations, tears, inspirations and quiet, easing me and putting away all obstacles. so that I may go forward in doing what is good.

Amen.

Prayer for freedom from sin (Ignatius rule 1)

Transcript:

Come, Holy Spirit.

Protect me from being in the grip of imagining sensual delights and pleasures and held by them in a pattern that makes me grow in vice and in sin.

When I am in this state, give me the grace to be aware of you speaking to me through my conscience. and through my reason. pricking me. calling me back to you. inviting me to let go of those things.. And to come be with you.

Help me to see, and know that you are guiding me in love. You are leading me out of danger and out of harm. You are leading me out of... bondage and into freedom. You are leading me out of.. chaos and into peace.

Help me to hear your voice. Help me to be aware of your gracious presence in my life. Amen.

Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to grant us grace to shift our hopes more fully to heavenly hopes and let go of earthly hopes.

Transcript:

Come, Holy Spirit.

I ask for a renewal. Around my desires and my hopes. Help me to put. less of my hope in material possessions, in objects that I want to acquire.

Show me what it looks like. to put my hope in you. Show me what it looks like to. put my hope and my desire in the good, that could come to other people. Those close to me, my broader community, strangers.

Kindle in me love for them. Renew my mind and heart that the vision of your kingdom, of the thriving of a community, of your Spirit more fully the dwelling in a people—May that be the thing that my heart is drawn to more.

May that be the thing that my mind dwells on more. Help me to let go of the idea of that satisfaction will come through possession or comfortable circumstances.

Amen.

This is a prayer version of this beautiful verse of the hymn “Be Thou my vision”

Be thou my dignity, thou my delight

Be thou my battle-shield, sword for the fight

Thou my soul’s shelter, thou my high tower

Raise thou me heavenward, O power of my power

Transcript:

Come Holy Spirit, be Dorothy's dignity and be her delight. Be her battle shield and her sword for the fight. Be the shelter of her soul. And be her strong tower. Raise her heavenward, and be the power of her power. Amen.

Experiencing the love of God is one of the primary things that kindles love in us. Let’s ask for it.

Transcript:

Come Holy Spirit make the love of God real to Craig. I Pray that you would come to him in your goodness and your beauty in a way that he can understand and in a way that touches his heart. Pour the love of God into his heart. Amen.

This prayer acknowledges that perhaps there are things God wants us to focus on and engage with that we currently are not aware of.

Let’s express our openness to his guidance. Help us come to an awareness of what you would have us focus on. We want to be led by you, Holy Spirit.

Transcript:

Come, holy Spirit if there is anything that you want me to focus on or engage with. that I'm not currently doing. Guide me. Open my ears. Open my eyes.

Help me to hear where you were leading me. Help me to see the things that you want me to engage with.

I want to be guided, not by my own interests, or things that are convenient, or things that feel like they're working really well.

I want to be guided by you.

Amen.

This is a prayer that asks God to guide us in what we persevere in and what we let go of. I know well the path of letting go of the hard things and digging in deeper to the things that feel like they are working. I’m not saying we should always do the opposite, but this prayer expresses that our desire is to follow Gods will, not our own.

Transcript:

Come, Holy Spirit, guide me.

Show me which things that I am focused on and working on that you want me to persevere in and which ones you want me to let go of.

I want to be led, not by my feelings, or by how the thing is going. I want to be led by you.

Give me courage and faith to persevere in something that feels like it's not working, if you lead me that way.

Give me faith to let go of something that feels like it's going really well, if you ask me to let go of it.

Amen