Table of Content
- What is Spiritual Development/Holy Indifference?
- The Suscipe Prayer
- Jesus and Biblical Teachings on Detachment
- Detachment and Freedom
- Prayers for Detachment
As much as one can accumulate goods in this world, we can be absolutely sure of one thing: they will not enter the coffin with us. We cannot take property with us! Here, the senselessness of this vice is revealed. The bond of possession we create with objects is only apparent, because we are not the masters of the world: this earth that we love is in truth not ours, and we move about it like strangers and pilgrims. – Pope Francis, 2024
What Is Spiritual Detachment/Holy Indifference?
In Catholic spirituality, detachment means surrendering to God and keeping him as the center of your life.
It doesn’t mean that you become cold to others or that you turn deny yourself relationships and possessions.
Rather, detachment means we lovlngly trust in God’s plan above all else.
This concept is sometimes referred to as Holy Indifference or Ignatian Indifference, which St. Ignatius wrote about in his Spiritual Exercises, describing how people can view things through the lens of whether or how they help in serving God ( “…the desire of being better able to serve God our Lord moves them to take the thing or leave it.”)
A great example of this detachment or Ignatian indifference exists in the vocation of parish priests. A parish priest can love his community deeply, devote countless hours to shepherding his flock, and grow close to parishioners.
However, he may be asked to serve in a different parish, and follow his vocation to a new community.
Could be protest? Refuse to leave? Plead to stay in the parish where he might be beloved and comfortable? Perhaps. But the call to serve God by ministerig to a different parish takes priority.
The Suscipe Prayer
The Suscipe Prayer, from Ignatius himself, captures this concept of surrendering everythign to God beautifully.
“Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all 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.”
Biblical Roots of Detachment
The idea of detachment is deeply rooted in Scripture, starting with Jesus, who routinely preached its importance very clearly.
In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus tells us, “In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:33)
Jesus shares a similar message in Matthew’s Gospel: “Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Matthew 19:21).
One of the most vivid passages Luke, portrayed powerfully in the hit TV show The Chosen, also speaks to letting go of wordly things. The Call of Simon the Fisherman is a stark reminder that our deepest call is to follow God.
“For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.’ When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.” (Luke 9-11)
In this passage, Jesus shows Peter a haul of fish more impressive than any he could possibly imagine. But it helps Peter realize that his identity and commitment to being a fisherman matters little compared to his identity as being a follower of Jesus.
How Detachment Transforms Our Prayer
When we practice benevolent detachment in our prayer life, several beautiful things happen:
- We experience greater peace, knowing outcomes rest in God’s hands
- We become more attentive to God’s voice rather than our own
- We develop greater trust in divine providence
- We find freedom from anxiety about whether our prayers are “working”
- We create space for God to surprise us with unexpected blessings
Perhaps most of all, detachment offers us a freedom that we cannot enjoy if we are too attached to things other than God.
Detachment and Freedom
It seems like a paradox, but surrendering and detaching from desires separate from God can actually be quite freeing and liberating.
When we detach from certain things, we are free to love God more fully. And this help helps us to be more virtuous and share God’s love with others more deeply.
“The exhortation ‘return to the Lord your God’ implies that we detach ourselves from what keeps us far from Him. Our being detached is the necessary starting place for re-establishing with God the covenant broken by sin.” – Pope John Paul II
As Robert Martin from St. Paul Center explains, the detachment is not an end itself. Rather, it opens us up someting far greater.
“The emptying that detachment brings about prepares us for an infilling of something greater. The something greater is not only a greater delight in God but a greater and truer delight in all He has created,” he writes. “The proper ordering of lesser loves places us in a position to receive and embody a greater love for both God and our neighbor.”
Beginning to Detach with Prayer
There are many simple prayers that can help you slowly and gradually draw closer to God and trust more deeply in His will.
Consider praying a 9-day surrender novena to build a habit of surrendering ourselves to God.
You can also pray the Litany of Trust to allow God to soften your heart and enable you to trust Him more fully.
Understanding ourselves and our attachments is done best through self-reflection. Consider praying a daily examen to better recognize and reflect on the different elements of your life and where God is speaking to you.