Prayer of Abandonment by St. Charles de Foucauld

St. Charles de Foucauld was a French Catholic priest who lived from 1858 to 1916. Born to an aristocratic family, he led a troubled life as a cavalry officer that was overshadowed by personal scandal. He later converted back to the Catholic faith of his youth and joined a Trappist monastery. Charles de Foucauld was ordained a priest and went as a missionary to Algeria, where he evangelized among the Tuareg people. When World War I led to attacks on the French in that region, he was shot to death along with two French soldiers.

The Prayer of Abandonment by St. Charles de Foucauld is a compilation of phrases from his writings. It was assembled by Little Sister Magdeleine Hutin, the founder of the Little Sisters of Jesus. Hutin started the religious community under the inspiration of De Foucauld’s writings and teachings. Through her careful discernment, she compiled the core of De Foucauld's spiritual legacy using his own words.

If you’re suffering or struggling to accept the circumstances of your life, the Prayer of Abandonment is a beautiful Catholic surrender prayer that will help you find peace. It helps you place yourself in the hands of the Father, expressing trust in His loving will. See below for the full English text of St. Charles de Foucauld’s Prayer of Abandonment.

Prayer of Abandonment by St. Charles de Foucauld

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.