15 Days of Prayer With Charles De Foucauld

by Charles de Foucauld

15 Days of Prayer Collection Now distributed by New City Press, this popular series is perfect for those looking for an introduction to a particular spiritual guide, those searching for gift ideas and those who merely wish to know more about the person and his or her spirituality. Additional volume planned in 2 to 3 months intervals. Each volume contains: A brief biography of the saint or spiritual leader introduced in that volume A guide to creating a format for prayer and retreat 15 meditation sessions with focus points and reflection guides This volume, 15 Days of Prayer With Charles de Foucauld, will lead you, over a period of fifteen prayer sessions, to a place of prayer where a stronger relationship with God is possible. Follow the footsteps of Charles de Foucauld. From spoiled child to hero of God, the life of Charles de Foucauld is a model of how Christs love can transform a persons soul. A rebellious child, Charles de Foucauld became a wild, pleasure-loving soldier in the French Army. But at 28, he experienced a spiritual transformation, rediscovering the Catholic faith of his childhood and accepting an apostolate of goodness. Charles left the life of a soldier for missionary work and believed that to love is the most powerful way to be loved. Serve the poor. A hermit who preferred the silence of solitude, Charles became a respected missionary in the remote Sahara concerned deeply about universal salvation. Believing that Christ did not come to earth primarily to teach but to share the human lot, Charles lived among those who were furthest from God and most rejected by men, sharing their lives and their hardships. In 1916, during an anti-French uprising, Charles was assassinated. Now Charles de Foucauld is remembered as not only a martyr for the France he loved but also for the God he adored. Enjoy your time with Charles de Foucauld and be prepared to be surprised as you journey with one of the most engaging spiritual figures of our time.

102 pages, Paperback

First published March 20, 1999

About the author

Blessed Charles Eugène de Foucauld was a French Catholic religious and priest living among the Tuareg in the Sahara in Algeria. He was assassinated in 1916 outside the door of the fort he built for protection of the Tuareg and is considered by the Catholic Church to be a martyr. His inspiration and writings led to the founding of the Little Brothers of Jesus among other religious congregations. He was beatified on 13 November 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI. Charles de Foucauld was an officer of the French Army in North Africa where he first developed his strong feelings about the desert and solitude. On his subsequent return to France and towards the end of October 1886, at the age of 28, he went through a conversion experience.
In 1890 he joined the Cistercian Trappist order first in France and then at Akbès in Syria, but left in 1897 to follow an undefined religious vocation in Nazareth. He began to lead a solitary life of prayer, near a convent of Poor Clares and it was suggested to him that he be ordained. In 1901 at the age of 43 he was ordained in Viviers, France and returned to the Sahara in Algeria and lived a virtually eremetical life. He first settled in Beni Abbes, near the Moroccan border, building a small hermitage for ‘adoration and hospitality’, which he soon referred to as the ‘Fraternity’.
Later he moved to be with the Tuareg people, in Tamanghasset in southern Algeria. This region is the central part of the Sahara with the Ahaggar Mountains (the Hoggar) immediately to the west. Charles used the highest point in the region, the Assekrem, as a place of retreat. Living close to the Tuareg, and sharing their life and hardships, he made a ten-year study of their language and cultural traditions. He learned the language and worked on a dictionary and grammar. His dictionary manuscript was published posthumously in 4 volumes and has become known among Berberologues for its rich and apt descriptions. He formulated the idea of founding a new religious institute, which became a reality only after his death, under the name of the Little Brothers of Jesus.
On December 1, 1916, he was shot to death outside his Tamanrasset compound, by passing marauders connected with the Senussi Bedouin; this act is to be seen against the general background of the uprising against French colonial power, World War I and famine in the Hoggar. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on November 13, 2005 and is listed as a martyr in the liturgy of the Catholic Church.