Abandonment to Divine Providence: A Classic of Christian Mysticism, Faith and Surrender | Illustrated Edition

Jean-Pierre de Caussade was an 18th-century French Jesuit who spent much of his life as a confessor and spiritual director to nuns in Nancy and Perpignan. He never set out to write a book. Abandonment to Divine Providencewas assembled after his death from his letters and conference notes — which is part of why it reads the way it does: direct, practical, addressed to one soul at a time.His central idea is deceptively simple. The will of God is not somewhere else, hidden in extraordinary visions or great acts of heroism. It is in the present moment — in the interruption, the illness, the difficult conversation, the dull duty in front of you right now. De Caussade calls this "the sacrament of the present moment." Whatever the moment contains, trust it, surrender to it, accept it as given by God, and holiness follows.For two and a half centuries this small Christian classic has been quietly recommended from one believer to the next. Thomas Merton drew on it. So did Henri Nouwen. It sits on the same shelf as The Imitation of Christ, The Practice of the Presence of God, and The Way of a Pilgrim — the short, well-thumbed devotional classics that people return to for decades rather than read once.If you struggle with anxiety about the future, with the sense that your real contemplative life is always about to begin, or with the suspicion that ordinary days don't count for much — de Caussade is talking directly to you. A foundational text of Catholic spirituality, and a guide to inner freedom that has outlasted its century by a wide margin.Available in Kindle, Paperback, and Hardcover. Read more