This book was first published in French in the 18th century as the sacrament of the present moment, and still appearing in English translations under both titles. The subtitle is ‘how to fulfill your daily duties with God-given purpose’. The two sections deal with the virtue of abandonment to divine providence, and the state of abandonment.
The virtue described is that of allowing God to work His will in our life. He sanctifies us, setting us apart for His purposes, when we fully submit to all He does. We can only do this through obedience, without waiting for a full understanding of His design. This is not a call for all believers to some great endeavor, but simple trust by doing what He says in the moment-by-moment duties of everyday life. DeCaussade goes on to discuss how we can discover God’s will for us individually, and that is the source of our sanctification. Ultimately everything in our life becomes taken up in this supernatural activity enabled by abandoning ourselves to God’s will, focusing on present moment He has placed us in.
DeCaussade’s description of the state of abandonment includes the nature of this state, its excellence, the duties (in a bit more detail), God’s workings on those in this state, and the trials accompanying it. The virtues of faith, hope, and love unite us to God in a single decision. It is (and must be) a free decision. Those who choose this, to purify their heart of worldly desires, are blessed with spiritual graces. But the cost is that there will be trials - to be misunderstood and maligned by other believers not on this road, to be mocked by those in the world, to be humiliated in our own eyes so that we distrust ourselves, and to be tested by the adversary. We are blessed when we recognize that God despoils all things other than Himself (worldly treasures, worldly values, church practices that others deem to earn holiness, self-created works or actions designed to please God) so that we will recognize that our true treasure is Him and Him alone. We even find our enemies to be a useful help for us to grow in grace. Ultimately, we will learn to recognize God at work in all creatures and situations.
Such a state might seem to encourage passivity, as we wait for God to tell us what to do. However, this is the exact opposite of the author’s understanding. Total abandonment to God means putting all our energy into finding out what He wants us to do, and in responding and doing actively all the things we know He has already asked us for. The much harder challenge, IMHO, is to give up all the desires for worldly and personal stuff, as He reveals to us one by one that they stand between Him and us. Even as we say we have decided to give it all to Him, it is a daily growing process and new decision for the next step. That is the challenge laid before us.
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