02/15/2023 – Fr. Jean Pierre de Caussade’s Prayer for the Blessed State of Self-Abandonment
“O My God! When will it please thee to grant me to the favour of living always in that union of my will with thy heavenly will? Where saying nothing all is said and all is done by leaving all to thee; where we achieve much by surrendering ever more to thy will and yet are relieved of all toil since we place everything in thy care and are concerned only to rust wholly in thee. Blessed state, which, even in the absence of any conscious faith, offers the soul an inward and entirely spiritual disposition. So that, by the habitual inclination of my heart, I may constantly repeat: ‘Thy will be done!’ Yes, my God, yes to whatever may please thee. May all thy holy wishes be fulfilled. I renounce mine which are blind, perverse and corrupted by that despicable ego, the mortal enemy of thy grace, thy perfect love, thy glory and my sanctification.”
Soli Deo Gloria!
Fr. de Caussade’s bio (1675 – 1751) :
Here is Fr. de Caussade’s book: “The Sacrament of the Present Moment”, from the Amazon site:
Check out this review, the first one posted!:
“Each moment is another opportunity to surrender your heart to God. The Holy Spirit is ever about and within us, and time is simply the unfolding of His grace. The Sacrament of the Present Moment.
As another Jesuit, Fr. G.M. Hopkins, once wrote: “The world is charged with the Grandeur of God: it shines out like shining from shook foil, it gathers to a greatness like the ooze of oil crushed..”
This book is a manifesto reminding us that it is God in whom we live & move and have our being. He is intimately with us always, unto all time. Peace, then. Cultivate awareness of His presence. You cannot be harmed. Neither death nor sin can separate us from the love of God. Only our eternal refusal to seek His mercy & embrace Him can do that.
It’s my theologumena that hell is simply the inescapable flame of that Love which the damned desperately wish to flee.
Some might catch a whiff of quietism in this book. It’s true that the Quietists were all the rage in France at the time, but it’s unfair to tar Fr. Caussade with that brush. Because the essence of his teaching is cooperation with grace, infused action on behalf of Christ. Even if it is humble, even if you don’t understand what the point of it is, even if it seems futile or inconsequential. If it is good, even the simplest things are sweet in the eyes of God.
For it is not the act that makes us holy, but His grace. The act is is simply our little gift to God, proof of our love for Him. Like a child doing something simple & inconsequential for her parent, anything we can do is likewise pleasing to Him. This, as I’m sure you know, is also the teaching of our Little Flower, Dear St. Therese, one of the most luminous saints of Carmel, and Doctor of the Church.
The key to holiness, which is to say happiness & peace, is to pay attention to Him and love Him. We will inevitably be moved to do what He would have us do, which usually is something quite simple. Like our chores, loving our enemies, caring for our neighbors, and adoring Him.
When you love someone, you seek to please him. Love & you will be saved.
There’s another book from the same place & era (early 18th century France) that is very similar, which I love deeply as well: ‘The Practice of the Presence of God’ by Brother Lawrence, another French Carmelite. Both of these books are sublime. Only Frere Laurent is even simpler and more limpid than Fr. Caussade, if that is possible (Fr. Caussade, though saintly and so obviously influenced by Carmel and Holy Francis, was still a Jesuit after all..)
I always picture Brother Lawrence enraptured, laying cruciform before the oven on the floor of his kitchen, slain by the mystery of the baking bread.. (Taste and see the LORD is good..) It’s an arbitrary image, but I feel it catches what he was like. Blessed Sweetness, everywhere found, in my heart dwell most profound!
Anyway, these books always make me tearfully glad. Just thinking about them, and the men who wrote them.. The God who let it all happen. We are so blessed to be alive. To be given such a faith. I pray for all of you who read this. Blessings. Read these books.
Chers Pere Caussade, Frere Laurent et Ste. Therese, priez pour nous!