[1/9] Novena of Grace: "Take"

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here are two fundamental actions through which God reveals himself: God gives and God takes. These actions reflect two dimensions of God’s nature—'who' God is and 'how' God works.

God gives—this reveals his very essence as a gratuitous God who "gifts." Everything we have ultimately comes from him. And when God gives, he does so generously and universally. His generosity is not exclusive to the righteous. As Jesus reminds us,“He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Mt 5:45).

However, our desires—what we ask for and long for—must be shaped by what God has already willed and given in his sovereign plan. In the Spiritual Exercises (SE), St Ignatius of Loyola teaches us to ask God for what we "want and desire," but always in harmony with God’s own desires. Authenticity and autonomy have their own risks. Without discernment, authenticity can justify harmful self-expression (“this is just who I am”). Without grounding, autonomy can lead to individualism or relativism. Praying our heart's desire is not about asserting our will, but about aligning it with God's.

To desire freely and responsibly is the first mark of maturity in a human being. But ultimate maturity belongs to God alone. When he created us with freedom we can trust in the truth that he knew the consequences of what he was doing. One can choose to deny his will. But no matter how far we may feel from God's will, we are never really outside the reach of his wisdom and providence.

Among all God’s gifts, the greatest is the gift of free will. Like a loving parent who prepares the best food for a child—only for the child to refuse it—God allows us to accept or reject his gifts. And it is precisely here that we begin to understand the second divine action: God takes.

What does it mean that God takes?

This is often misunderstood as simply taking back or taking away. In Job 1:21 we hear: “Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” At first glance, it may seem that the God who gives also withdraws—and indeed, if God gives, he also has the right to take. But if this taking were simply a reversal of his giving, it would suggest a divided will in God, as though he desired one thing at one moment and the opposite the next.

Yet a deeper mystery is at work. God’s acts of giving and taking are neither arbitrary nor capricious; one does not negate the other. God’s will is constant, unified, and faithful. When God gives, he gives freely and irrevocably—but with every gift comes the weight of responsibility, both for the one who receives and, even more, for the one who gives.

Too often, we want only the gift and not the responsibility that comes with it. But when God gives, he also takes upon himself the full weight of that responsibility. And this is where the mystery deepens. Responsibility is not always pleasing or desirable. It often means doing the hard, hidden, and painful work behind the joy. It means not merely enjoying but enduring.

To say that God takes is to say that God endures—God suffers, God agonizes. Why? Because one of the marks of a truly mature and loving person is the willingness to carry responsibility, even when it is painful. When God allows Job to be stripped of everything—his wealth, his family, even his health—God also suffers with him, even if Job cannot yet perceive it. In the same way, when the Israelites groaned under the weight of slavery, God heard their cry. He did not remain distant or indifferent; rather, he entered into their affliction and took part in their struggle.

Finally, the greatest responsibility God ever took upon himself was in giving us his only Son. Jesus endured suffering not because he desired it, but because God chose to bear the full weight of responsibility for the lost sheep. Only God truly knows the anguish of separation from himself—it must be so unbearable that he “labors” to the point of offering his own Son. True generosity does not end in giving; it includes the willingness or magnanimity to bear the cost. Any giver who takes full responsibility for what is given is a cheerful giver (Cf 2 Cor 9:7). In this, God revealed himself as the most joyful and faithful giver. No human being can give as God gives—for when God gives, he takes off his divine garb. He takes up the burden. He carries the cross, lovingly and joyfully. Fr JM Manzano SJ

Grace to Beg For: "Gracious God, I am grateful that You never turn away. You take it all in and hold me still."

Jo Jo Wright from KIIS-FM interviewed Labrinth and asked him about the meaning of ‘Beneath Your Beautiful’: “What makes it special for me and a lot of people is that it peels away all the rubbish for a minute. There’s no fun in it, there’s no fake in it […] It’s just honesty. That’s what I feel the song is for me. It kinda takes me to that next level […] Personally. Seeing beyond being cool, being a star, being rich and being everything I am." He added: “I’ve had great success in the UK, and the more massive you get the more you get caught up […] and you forget about being the real you. For me, it was ‘stay real’.”

Meditation: "Lord, take my defenses—the walls I’ve built, the masks I wear, the fears that hide beneath my strength. Take what I use to protect myself from being truly seen. Give me the courage to let You see me beneath my 'beautiful'. Let me risk the fall, knowing You will hold me in love. Let me trust that being known by You is not weakness but the beginning of healing."

Suscipe and Anima Christi