Abandonment; Or, Absolute Surrender to Divine Providence

In 17th-century France, a Jesuit spiritual director wrote letters to a convent of nuns that would eventually become one of the most radical spiritual texts in Christian history. Jean Pierre de Caussade's masterpiece argues that God exists not in the future or afterlife, but in this very moment, and that true holiness comes from surrendering completely to divine providence. Written originally as practical guidance for the Visitation Sisters of Nancy navigating their spiritual struggles, the work offers two distinct movements: first, a theoretical foundation for what Caussade calls "absolute abandonment," and second, concrete practices for living in radical trust. The book directly engages with the aftermath of the Quietist controversy, clarifying how surrender differs from passive fatalism. What makes this text endure is its counterintuitive claim: that true freedom lies not in struggling against life's hardships but in accepting them as expressions of God's will. For modern readers weary of spiritual striving, this 18th-century masterpiece offers something surprising: permission to stop, breathe, and trust that the present moment contains everything needed.