Charles de Foucauld was known in Paris for his wild parties and self-indulgent lifestyle. However, after his conversion in 1886 at the age of twenty-eight, his youthful excesses were replaced by devotion to Jesus, love for the Eucharist, and a thirst for souls. He spent three years in the Holy Land as a hermit, was ordained a priest, and then traveled to the Sahara Desert
Charles de Foucauld was known in Paris for his wild parties and self-indulgent lifestyle. However, after his conversion in 1886 at the age of twenty-eight, his youthful excesses were replaced by devotion to Jesus, love for the Eucharist, and a thirst for souls. He spent three years in the Holy Land as a hermit, was ordained a priest, and then traveled to the Sahara Desert in Africa - which he had explored in his younger days - to live among the poor and spread the gospel of love. He was martyred by Muslim gunmen in Algeria in 1916. The Spiritual Autobiography of Charles de Foucauld reveals this holy man's intense desire to imitate Jesus while growing closer to him each day.
...more
Hardcover
,
214 pages
Published
September 1st 2004
by Word Among Us Press
(first published April 2003)
Charles de Foucauld and Augustine seem to have so much in common. Both drifted for a while and the Lord graciously brought them back to Himself. Both write in the style of Augustine's Confessions. I have personal, vested interest in Charles de Foucauld since he was a missionary to Muslims, and so am I. I have often tried to make myself like Foucauld, make myself fall in love with the guy and especially for his spirituality and sacrifice in the mission field, but the truth is, that guy bores me!
Charles de Foucauld and Augustine seem to have so much in common. Both drifted for a while and the Lord graciously brought them back to Himself. Both write in the style of Augustine's Confessions. I have personal, vested interest in Charles de Foucauld since he was a missionary to Muslims, and so am I. I have often tried to make myself like Foucauld, make myself fall in love with the guy and especially for his spirituality and sacrifice in the mission field, but the truth is, that guy bores me! yes, I can't get myself to like his writings. Well, he is depressed, sad and morbid...I guess I have gone past this stage of somberness. You can be spiritual but you don't have to be somber or morbid. He reminds me of myself. When I wrote my first account of conversion, I named it "In the Valley of Tears". Well, I am past this tears stage! No more tears! Joy and dancing instead! How in the world can we make people fall in love with the Lord if we are sad and sombre? And who wants a depressed God?!!
...more