Suscipe me—receive me, O Lord, into Thy holy Law; receive me into Thy Love; receive me into Thyself. Secundum eloquium tuum—for Thou hast said, “You have not chosen me: but I have chosen you; and have appointed you, that you should go, and should bring forth fruit” (John 15:16). All my weakness, all my defeats, all the darkness in my soul fail to discourage me. I take refuge in Thy arms; I throw myself upon Thy Heart, the desire of the eternal hills. I know that Thou receivest those who give themselves to Thee wholly. Et vivam — I shall live, then: live by Thee, even Thy true divine life, to which all fullness of natural life is but a dwelling in death; the life of which Thou hast said: “This is eternal life, that they know Thee, the one true God, and Him that Thou has sent, Jesus Christ.” This is the life that I long for, the life which like a stream flows over into eternity; the everlasting, never-ceasing blissful life which is one with Thyself and Thy never-ending Love. Let me not be confounded in my hope. O Lord, salus in te sperantium, Thou hast never yet disappointed those who put their hope in Thee and deliver themselves wholly to Thee. For Thou alone, in whom is the fullness of divinity, canst fill our hearts to the full. I have heard Thy Psalmist cry out: “Taste, and see that the Lord is sweet,” I hear the voice of Thy Apostle: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Cor. 2:9). And Thou hast Thyself promised to those who follow Thee that one day they will hear Thy voice: “Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34). Suscipe me, Domine, secundum eloquium tuum et vivam, et nan confundas me ab exspectatione mea.

Biographical Note

Dietrich von Hildebrand (1889-1977)

HITLER feared him and Pope Pius XII called him a “twentieth century Doctor of the Church.” For more than six decades, Dietrich von Hildebrand—philosopher, spiritual writer, and anti-Nazi crusader—led philosophical, religious, and political groups, lectured throughout Europe and the Americas, and published more than 30 books and many more articles. His influence was widespread and endures to this day.

Although he was a deep and original thinker on subjects ranging across the spectrum of human interests, nonetheless, in his lectures and in his writings, von Hildebrand instinctively avoided extravagant speculations and convoluted theories. Instead, he sought to illuminate the nature and significance of seemingly “everyday” elements of human existence that are easily misunderstood and too frequently taken for granted.

Therefore, much of von Hildebrand’s philosophy concerns the human person, the pet son’s interior ethical and affective life, and the relations that should exist between the person and the world in which he finds himself.

Von Hildebrand’s background made him uniquely qualified to examine these topics. He was born in beautiful Florence in 1889, the son of the renowned German sculptor, Adolf von Hildebrand.