A letter from the Sahara

Charles de Foucauld was a French aristocrat turned desert hermit. He led a simple life of prayer and quiet witness, in what he called the hidden ‘life of Nazareth.’ Despite living a life of intense solitude, he joyfully welcomed guests who came to speak with him, and returned letters of those seeking his spiritual counsel. His quiet, unassuming presence was a source of conversion and healing.

Charles (left) in local dress, next to his hut.

Charles’s work was slow-going, and often seemed futile. He was often far from anyone else, and no one who lived near him shared his faith in Christ. Nevertheless, his intense life of prayer permeated everything he did, every interaction he had:

‘As we become closer (the natives and I), I speak, always or almost always privately, of the good God,  briefly, giving to each one what he can take, flight from sin, act of perfect love, act of perfect contrition, the two great commandments of the love of God and neighbour, examination of conscience, meditation on the four last things, thinking of God at the sight of His creature’

In this way, his inner peace and connexion to God could be shared with others. The letters he sent, the advice he shared, the prayers and penances he offered, made his hut in the Sahara a spiritual beacon for the whole world.

A trademark of his ‘little way’ of holiness was a focus on on the Heart of Jesus, always pouring forth love.

Charles would sign his letters with the Sacred Heart and his two favourite words: ‘IESUS CARITAS,’ Jesus, Charity.’ For him these words were inseparable.

Sacra recently prepared this Christogram, hand-written by Charles, to be venerated as a relic. In 2022, Charles was canonised a saint. His prayers continue for us and his writings can still be a source of grace for us, to lead us out into the desert, into the quiet with Christ.

We couldn’t help feeling Charles with us, too.