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What does a man seek when he gives up rank, money, and comfort for a life of prayer?
In Spiritual Writings of Charles de Foucauld, a French soldier turned explorer turned hermit searches for a simple way to live the Gospel. His notebooks, meditations, letters, and rules bring you close to that search. These are private prayers and personal reflections, often addressed to Jesus, rather than a carefully ordered account of doctrine.
At the heart of Foucauld's reflections is the hidden life of Jesus at Nazareth. He returns to the Gospels, reads slowly, and asks how to follow Jesus in his own circumstances. The Prayer of Abandonment expresses his trust in God, while his life among the Tuareg frames his hope of becoming a brother to everyone he meets.
What you’ll discover
- The hidden life Explore why the little the Gospels tell of Nazareth matters so deeply to Foucauld.
- Prayer as conversation Encounter meditations that speak directly to Jesus, with time to read slowly and linger.
- Trust without conditions Read the Prayer of Abandonment as an expression of Foucauld's desire to trust God entirely.
- A brother to everyone Discover his hope of meeting each person as a brother, not seeking quick converts.
- Solitude among people Consider a desert solitude that, for Foucauld, does not mean retreating from other people.
Who will love it
This book is for readers drawn to prayer and silence, to the desert and to monastic life, and to letters that show a real heart at work.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Prayer begins with loving conversation
- Prayer reaches into the whole day
- Faith changes what ordinary life means
- The poor worker becomes his pattern
- His past becomes a chain of mercies
- Joy need not depend on feeling
- Nazareth takes root in the desert
- Friendship matters more than quick results
- Love becomes the measure of work
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Spiritual Writings of Charles de Foucauld
A French viscount trades Paris parties for a wooden hut in Nazareth and a hermitage in the Sahara.
Challenging2–5 hours to read20 languages
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In short
Why would a young French viscount, who once filled his Paris apartment with parties he did not enjoy, end his days alone in the Sahara? Charles de Foucauld answers in his own words.
Spiritual Writings of Charles de Foucauld at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 15 min3 h 25 min fast, 5 h 5 min slow
- Length
- 61,200 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A viscount leaves everything for the Trappists
Charles de Foucauld lost his faith as a young man and found it again at the end of October 1886. On January 16, 1890, he entered the Trappist monastery of Notre-Dame des Neiges. He asked for the poorest and most remote house the order had, and he left for Akbès in Syria.
He treats hardship as a gift. Can anyone pity a person who is doing the will of the one they love, he asks. If that will brings some pain, the sweetness is doubled.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 4 h 45 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Foucauld, Charles de. Spiritual Writings of Charles de Foucauld. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/spiritual-writings-of-charles-de-foucauld.
Foucauld, C. de. (2026). Spiritual writings of Charles de Foucauld. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/spiritual-writings-of-charles-de-foucauld
Foucauld, Charles de. Spiritual Writings of Charles de Foucauld. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/spiritual-writings-of-charles-de-foucauld.
@book{foucauld2026spiritual,
author = {Foucauld, Charles de},
title = {Spiritual Writings of Charles de Foucauld},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/spiritual-writings-of-charles-de-foucauld}
}
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What are the Spiritual Writings of Charles de Foucauld about?
They gather his Gospel meditations, retreat notes, resolutions, and letters. The themes are prayer, faith, poverty, humility, silence, and service. They follow his life from Trappist monasteries in France and Syria through Nazareth to his hermitages in the Sahara.
What does Nazareth mean in Foucauld's writings?
For Foucauld, Nazareth is the hidden life of Jesus as a poor laborer. He tries to copy it by working with his hands, living simply, praying much, and serving others quietly, first in the Holy Land and later in the desert.
Who were the Poor Clares and why did he serve them?
The Poor Clares are a community of nuns. Foucauld worked at their convent in Nazareth from 1897 to 1900 as gardener and errand runner, living in a small hut by the wall, because he wanted a humble, hidden life.
The author
Charles de Foucauld
1858–1916 · French priest, explorer and scholar
Charles de Foucauld (1858–1916) was a French Catholic priest, explorer and scholar. Born in Strasbourg, he became a priest in 1901. He lived in Tamanrasset, Algeria, from 1905 until his death. During his years in Algeria, he wrote spiritual works and compiled a Tuareg–French dictionary, published after his death.
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