LENT WK 5: EMPTYING OF SELF

When we think about Emptying of Self it is about letting go of disordered attachments, egos, selfish desires, and personal agendas to become available to God's will and love. It is not a negative self-denial, but rather a liberating, active, and loving surrender that makes space for God in the ordinary of our lives.  Essentially, emptying of self in the Ignatian exercises means allowing yourself to be filled with God's grace, love, and mercy.  Think of it as clearing out the clutter so you can hear the quiet voice beneath the noise and business of this world to find more freedom in your life.

A Simple Way to picture Emptying of Self

Imagine your soul as a cup. If it’s full of:

• Anxiety, self-protection, old stories, compulsions and the need to be right

…there’s really no room for anything new.

Emptying of self is gently pouring out what doesn’t serve Gods greater good so you can receive what does.

Why emptying of self-matters

This “emptying” leads to:

• clearer discernment, less emotional reactivity, deeper peace, deeper authentic desire and the freedom to serve God’s Kingdom with Love and Peace.

It’s the kind of freedom that lets you say: “I’m not driven by fear. I’m guided by purpose.”

Opening Prayer:

Take all of me, Lord — my freedom, my choices, my memories, my hopes, my ways of thinking and understanding.

Everything I have, everything I call “mine,” You have given to me as gift. I place it all back in Your hands.

Use what I offer in whatever way brings love to life. Give me only the grace to know You and the love that keeps me close to You. That alone is enough.

Guided Meditation: Emptying of Self

1. Settle Into Stillness

 Let your body rest. Take several slow deep breaths. Let the noise and busyness inside of you begin to soften. Imagine God looking at you with quiet delight — no judgment, no pressure, only love.

2. Become Aware of What You’re Carrying with you

As you breathe, notice what fills your thoughts:

• worries, expectations, anxiety, old self talk, the need to control and even the desire to manage your image.

Don’t fight any of it. Just notice it, as if you’re holding each thing gently in your hands.

3. Invite God into This Space

Say quietly in your heart:

“Lord, be with me in what I carry.”

Let that be enough for now.

4. Pray this to the Lord:

“Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty…”     Pause here. Let the words echo.

Ask yourself:

• Where am I clinging to my own way. Where am I afraid to let go. Where do I long for deeper interior freedom.

Don’t force answers. Let them rise naturally.

5. Offer What You Can

Imagine placing one thing into God’s hands:

• A fear, a desire, a burden, a relationship, a decision.

• Just one. Say quietly: “This,  Lord… I offer this to You.”

Feel the space that opens when you release even a small part of yourself.

6. Receive What God Wants to Give You

Ignatius asks God for only one thing in return: God’s love and grace.

Sit for a moment and imagine God placing something in your open hands:

• peace

• clarity

• courage

• tenderness

• strength

Let yourself receive the gift from above without earning it.  “God Your love and grace are enough for me.”

Let that line settle into your breathing. Let it become a rhythm inside you. Stay there as long as you need.  Treasure in your heart God’s love and grace for you.

Final Thought

Jesus freely let’s go of status; He becomes radically available to God’s will for his life. His emptying of self Is a movement downward, not upward.

John 3:30 is a beautiful invitation for us to embrace this way of life: He must become greater and I must become less.