Charles de foucauld prayer of abandonment
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Prayer of Abandonment, Saint Charles de Foucauld
ON MAY 15, 2022, Pope Francis canonizes ten new saints including the French priest, hermit, and martyr Charles de Foucauld (1858-1916).
His beloved Prayer of Abandonment has brought wisdom, consolation, and strength to many. In honor of his canonization, here are two recordings of a brand new composition — reflecting two way to express at the same work. The first is an SATB setting sung by the Boston Cathedral Singers. The second, a solo adaptation by Taras Leschishin, baritone. On May 16th and 17th Mr. Leschishin will sing the solo version at several churches including the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, Rome and the Basilica of Saint Francis Assisi.
• Scores are available here with RJC Cecilia Music.
Boston Cathedral Singers (SATB):
Taras Leschishin, baritone:
Prayer of Abandonment
Father, I abandon myself into your hands;
do with me what you will.
Whatever you do I will thank you.
I am ready
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Prayer of Abandonment – Charles de Foucauld
Charles de Foucald was born into an aristocratic family of Strasbourg, France on September 15, 1858. His parents died while he was still quite ung, leaving him a large fortune. After a rowdy youth of spending his parent’s money on the best champagne and foie gras, he entered the military and did a stint in the French foreign legion. His insistence that his mistress Mimi accompany him to social events for other officers and their wives earned him the contempt of his colleagues, leading to his defiant resignation from the military.
While living among the Muslim population of North Africa, Charles had developed a fascination with Islam and the Koran, but nevertheless remained an agnostic. Once back in his native France, he embarked on a religious quest that led him frequently to stop in Catholic Churches to man this prayer: “God, if you exist, let me know it.”
Finally, in 1886, while visiting the Church of St. Augustine in Pa
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Prayer of Abandon
“Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit” Lk 23.46.
“This is the last prayer of our Master, of our Beloved...may it be ours...And may it not only be that of our last moment, but of all our moments.”
Father,
I abandon myself into your hands;do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do,
I thank you.
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me,
and in all your creatures.
I wish no more than this, O Lord.
Into your hands I commend my soul;
I offer it to you
with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord,
and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your hands,
without reserve,
and with boundless confidence,
for you are my Father.
This prayer is the shared prayer of all those who claim a relationship with Charles de Foucauld, everywhere in the world; that is why it has been translated into many languages.
Charles did not write it quite as it is appears now: it was taken from a larger meditation, writte