Charles de Foucauld is a saint of the church who lived from 1858-1916. Born into a wealthy French family he lost his way as a young man when his parents died, leaving him with great sadness, no firm direction and too many resources at his disposal. A life pursuing self-centered desires brought him to a place of emptiness. Not knowing what else to do, he joined the French Army, which offered some desperately needed structure and discipline. His military career took him to Algeria, where he discovered a call to faith in the devotion and purpose he witnessed in the Moslem people of that region. Charles left the military and while exploring Morocco had a mystical experience of Christ that focused his life on discipleship. Over time he became a priest devoted to contemplative prayer and a simple life serving the poor in imitation of Christ.

The sense of belonging, meaning and purpose he found so elusive as a young man in a life of wealth and pleasure was finally fulfilled in devotion to loving God by loving others. Charles is remembered for a simple prayer that was the foundation of his spiritual life:

O God, I abandon myself into your hands, do with me what you will. Whatever you may do, I thank you; I am ready for all, I accept all. Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creatures. I wish no more than this, O Lord. Into your hands I commend my soul; I offer it to you with all the love of my heart, for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself, to surrender myself into your hands without reserve, and with boundless confidence, for you are my Savior. Amen.

What a brave expression of commitment!

I wonder what changes we might experience if we made this our daily prayer?

I wonder what sense of purpose and meaning we might discover in our lives with a deeper commitment to loving God by loving others?

Might this be a path toward healing in our divided world?

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Marc