A favorite book I have written about several times in this column is Abandonment to Divine Providence by Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade, a French Jesuit priest who served as spiritual director to a cloistered community of Nuns.
This spiritual work is a compilation of his letters to the Sisters over the course of years, reflecting on his spirituality of living in the present moment and finding the will of God in every situation that we find ourselves in.
Trust and surrender
So often, we allow fear, regret, anger, anxiety, and the need to control everything to rob us of joy and peace.
When someone attacks us, when we are thwarted in a particular plan or endeavor, when we face insurmountable problems or encounter overwhelming suffering, we are tempted to be angry at God, to give up on prayer, to slide into depression and darkness.
These dynamics are especially prevalent in our society today, as we face so many unprecedented challenges and difficulties.
Like many of the saints, Father Caussade insists that we trust and surrender to the Lord in everything, confident that God is working His purposes out in the often confusing and painful circumstances of our lives.
He invites us to live in what he calls “the sacrament of the present moment,” reminding us that we only have this current time and circumstance to accomplish the will of the Father.
So often, we are tempted to live in the future or the past, and that is when we go off track.
Most of the time, the present moment is perfect, filled with grace, and the opportunity to do good, to offer our hearts to the Father, to embrace simplicity and joy in the task and experience before us.
If we do not live in the present moment, we will always be somewhere else, distracted and not engaged.
In such a stance of disconnection, we miss out on the wonder of our lives.
On living in the moment
Let me share some great quotes from Father Caussade:
“There is not a moment in which God does not present Himself under the cover of some pain to be endured, of some consolation to be enjoyed, or some duty to be performed. All that takes place within us, around us, or through us, contains and conceals His divine action.
“If the work of our sanctification presents us with difficulties that appear insurmountable, it is because we do not look at it in the right way. In reality, holiness consists in one thing alone, namely, fidelity to God’s plan. And this fidelity is equally within everyone’s capacity in both its active and passive exercise.
“Never lose sight of the great and consoling truth that nothing happens in this world but by the command of God, or at least, with His divine permission; and that whatever He wills or permits, turns infallibly to the advantage of those who are submissive and resigned.
“In the state of abandonment, the only rule is the duty of the present moment. In this, the soul is light as a feather, liquid as water, simple as a child, active as a ball in receiving and following all the inspirations of grace. Such souls have no more consistence and rigidity than molten metal. As this takes any form according to the mold into which it is poured, so these souls are pliant and easily receptive of any form that God chooses to give them. In a word, their disposition resembles the atmosphere, which is affected by every breeze; or water, which flows into any shaped vessel, exactly filling every crevice. They are before God like a perfectly woven fabric with a clear surface; and neither think, nor seek to know what God will be pleased to trace thereon, because they have confidence in Him, they abandon themselves to Him, and entirely absorbed by their duty, they think not of themselves, nor of what may be necessary for them, nor of how to obtain it.”
A ‘surrender’ novena
Coupled with the writings of Father Caussade, the “Surrender Novena” is a powerful spiritual practice which helps us to embrace the filial trust which the Lord desires.
Written by Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo, an Italian priest who lived from 1882-1970, this novena invites us to completely confide our worries, concerns, and problems to Jesus, trusting in His promise to always care for us.
If we give the Lord a free hand in our lives, not seeking to control the outcome, not needing to tell God what is best for us, He will have the space and freedom to act powerfully in us.
Each day of this novena ends with “O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!” You will find this novena online if you Google “Surrender Novena.”
I find great consolation in both the writings of Father Caussade and the Surrender Novena.
To truly hand our will, heart, soul, and desire over to the Lord, to give God complete and free rein to act as He sees fit in our lives is to know the freedom of Jesus on the cross.
The Lord sweated blood in Gethsemane as he faced His fearful Passion and death, but in completely handing Himself over to the will of the Father, He found peace and resolution to embrace His crucifixion.
Christ was never more free than when he was on the cross, with a completely surrendered heart.
I pray each of us finds the sweet liberation the Lord desires for us, not only in the next life but right here and now.