The man of extremes
Carlos had a strong character, he was a gallant officer, young, rich, unbelieving and with bad habits, who knew both sides of the coin… As he was bored with his existence, which came to disgust him quickly, he decided to leave everything and go to explore Morocco, completely alone, even though it was a completely unknown territory. When he returned to France, he fell to his knees, had an encounter with his faith, and even came to think that he was made to be part of the Trappist monastery. But in his heart it was clear that he wanted a radical life for Christ, which is why he chose to be a hermit in the depths of the desert. His life was full of self-sacrifice, penance and abandonment to Providence, virtues that allowed him to bear witness to Jesus in Tuareg territory. In fact, wherever he evangelized he also lost his life, as a victim of Love for God. Today the spiritual family that was born after his death has more than 15,000 members worldwide.
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Biography of Charles de Foucauld
Charles de Foucauld was born in Strasbourg on September 15, 1858.. He learned to pray from his mother when he was still very young. He tragically lost his parents and his grandmother at the age of six. From that moment on, Carlos and his little sister were put in charge of his grandfather, who was very affectionate with the little ones. At 14, he made his first communion and confirmation on the same day.
Studies were made easier for Carlos because he was a fairly intelligent young man who liked to read. Paradoxically, his reading and friendships distanced him from the faith. At the age of 20, his grandfather died, so Carlos received the entire family inheritance. Due to his immaturity he began to lead a life full of pleasures and parties. Even so, he managed to continue his education and was made an officer, after two years of study at the Military School. In the year 1880 he was sent to Algeria, where the young man felt immensely happy. Later he lost his job, due to a skirt mess, and joined a regiment in Tunis that was sent to the battlefields. In Tunis Carlos had fun and it seemed that he liked country life… In 1882 his mission and his life in the country ended, and the young man decided to submit his resignation. In fact, it is known that Carlos was attracted to Morocco, a country that at that time was inaccessible to Europeans, for which he prepared his trip from Alger for a year. When he finally managed to get to Morocco, the territory of his dreams, he traveled about 3000 km in difficult conditions: he was often threatened and even several times he was in danger of death. Leaving Morocco, Carlos had the appearance of a poor indigent.
Subsequently, at the age of 28, he returned to his country and settled in Paris, close to his loved ones. There Carlos found people with a burning faith, and he returned to the church attracted by the Lord. There he was constantly heard repeating: “My God, if you exist, let me know you”. Because he felt a deep desire to be instructed in the Catholic religion, he went to the abbey Huvelin, where he was immediately confessed and allowed to receive communion. This is how Carlos began to progressively recover his faith and born in him a deep desire to consecrate his life to the Lord. For that, he had to wait 3 years and make a pilgrimage in the Holy Land.
In 1890, he entered the Trappist monastery, taking the name of Brother Charles of Jesus. At this point, Carlos longed to live even more the life of Jesus, especially his poverty. In 1897 he obtained permission from the superior general of the Trappists to leave the monastery and follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Carlos took advantage of this event to go to Nazareth, where the Poor Clare sisters received him as a domestic employee. In this way, he finally found the life that he longed for so much and wanted to share it with other brothers, so he wrote the Little Brothers Rule, which is intimately linked to the Eucharist. Also, Carlos longed to become a priest so that he could form a small congregation around the tabernacle. In 1900 and after a year of studies, the Huvelin abbey accepted that Carlos be ordained as a priest.
Carlos felt an urgent call to go in search of the most lost sheep, and the most abandoned and distant souls from Christ, who for him were found in the remote villages of the Moroccan Sahara. In 1901, Carlos went to Béni Abbès, a secluded town near the Algerian border. There, every day he spent hours and hours at the foot of the tabernacle, receiving all those who came to see him, following in the footsteps of Christ. It is known that the other brothers of the order could not join their mission, due to the difficulties of access to the territory that the Europeans had. However, andJune 1903 the bishop decided to visit himand to care for him, Carlos had to cross the region of the Desert Touareg, a place where there are no priests.
It should be noted that, during your stay in the SaharaCarlos dedicated his free time to translate the gospels in the Touareg language and to write a dictionary. In 1916, the First World War, which had been devastating Europe for two years, reached these remote regions and Carlos de Foucauld was violently assassinated in Tamanrasset, on December 1, 1916.
Beatification and canonization of Blessed Charles de Foucauld
Charles de Foucauld was beatified in Rome on November 13, 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI. The church commemorates the memory of him on the first of December. On Wednesday, May 27, 2020, its application process was opened. canonization thanks to the recognition of a miracle through the intercession of the Blessed.
The miracle in question happened in 2016: A young carpenter fell from a height of more than 15 meters while working on the restoration of the chapel of the San Luis school in the French city of Saumur. Despite the blow, the young man did not lose consciousness, but stood up and was able to call the emergency service. Later he was transferred to the hospital, where he underwent surgery, and after a week he was able to return home. After a period of rest, he resumed his professional activities, without any physical or psychological consequences. Given the circumstances, this fact is not considered as a classic sanity, but of a bailing out of dangerwhich, due to specific context in which it was presented, was recognized as a manifestation clear of the intercession of Blessed Charles de Foucauld.
The first recognized miracle of Charles de Foucauld, which paved the way for his beatificationis that of an Italian woman from Milan, who was cured of bone cancer in 1984.
Work of Blessed Charles de Foucauld
The Union of Brothers and Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, that little brotherhood founded by the Father Foucault it is his work and legacy. At the time of his death, the community numbered about 50 members, but soon after, disciples began to arrive from everywhere, mainly thanks to Louis de Massignon, a friend of Charles de Foucauld, and the success of the book about his life written by Rene Bazin. In fact, two important spiritual figures followed the path left by brother Carlos de Jesús: they are Magdalene of Jesusfounder of the Little Sisters of Jesus Y Rene Voillaumefounder of the Little brothers of Jesus. Nowadays, heThe spiritual family of Charles de Foucauld It has about twenty groups and more than 13,000 members.
Spirituality and quotes from Charles de Foucauld
Charles de Foucauld, who was a Trappist brother, completely opened the doors of his heart to Jesus and allowed himself to be transformed by Him. His spirituality was based on the love of Christ and his decision to take him as a model. In fact, these two words “Jesus Caritas”, appear in his writings and reflect his life project. Here are the main points that beat strongly in the heart of Blessed Charles de Foucauld during the years of his life on this earth:
- The love of God and neighbor
“The Gospel shows me that the first commandment is to love God with all your heart and that it is necessary to encompass everything within love. All men are children of God, who loves them infinitely: it is therefore impossible to want to love God without loving men, the more we love God, the more we love men. The love of God, the love of men is my whole life and will be my whole life, that is what I hope for.”
“I love our Lord Jesus Christ and I couldn’t bear to live a different life than his… I don’t want to go through life in first class, while the one I love went through it in last class.”
“The purpose would be to live as exactly as possible the life of Our Lord: living solely from the work of the hands, following all his advice to the letter.”
- The adoration of the holy sacrament
“The Eucharist is Jesus, it is all Jesus.”
“When we love, we would like to talk endlessly to the person we love, or at least look at him endlessly. Prayer is nothing different: family interaction with our loved one. Look at him, tell him that we love him and enjoy being at his feet. ”
- Bringing Jesus to Muslims
the call of the desert always remained dormant in his heart: Carlos became the universal brother, by establishing fraternal bridges with the Muslims, whom he considered his friends. He desired “to spread everywhere, especially in the most abandoned infidel countries, where it would be so sweet to bring and increase the love and servants of Our Lord Jesus.”
Prayers of Charles de Foucauld
Charles de Foucauld’s surrender prayer
“My father,
I give myself to you, do of me as you best dispose,
Whatever you do to me, I’m grateful to you for it.
I am ready for everything, I accept everything.
As long as your will is done in me, in all your creatures, I don’t want anything different, my God.
I put my soul in your hands.
I give it to you my God, with all the love of my heart,
because I love you and I need love, to give myself to you,
place myself in your hands, without measure, with infinite trust, because you are my Father.”