We live in a planet where we can have practically everything we want, and immediately; in a planet of immediate gratification, where our desires are to be promptly satisfied. However, if we truly received everything we want we could condemn ourselves, and that is what God does not want, and he sometimes sends us various difficulties, various disappointments and shortcomings. But all this is happening for our conversion – Dr Tomasz Teluk, president of the Institute of Globalization, publisher of the book of St. Charles de Foucauld, “The spiritual Journal. Night traveler’.
The book of St. Charles de Foucauld entitled “The spiritual Journal. A night traveler” is simply a reading worth recommending to any Catholic?
Definitely! This is another position of St. Charles de Foucauld from the cycle of spiritual works published by the Institute of Globalization. A fewer years ago, we published a beautiful book on prayer by this martyr for his faith, The Spirit of Jesus.
The "Night Traveler" is undoubtedly a very good reading for Lent period, due to the fact that it enables us – Catholics – to experience this peculiar time with Christ and with the saint who led a very ascetic way of life that reduced his existence to fasting, prayer, and service to others. Thanks to this book, you can kind of delve into his soul and find the answer to the question of how to gain the certainty of religion and closeness with God.
The way Charles de Foucauld went to holiness, to say the least was not easy...
Charles de Foucauld came from an aristocratic family. He was military and initially intended to prosecute a career in this direction. He did not avoid lavish life, playing with women, various hoops, etc. At 1 point, his grandpa began to feel God’s touch. At 1 point he decided to quit his career and his life and follow Christ’s voice.
The author of the “Night Traveler” did what many young people do, that is, he began to travel. He addressed Rome and the Holy Land, where he survived conversion and felt a call to priesthood and spiritual life. So it can be said that from minute to minute he decided to break with the past and put everything on 1 card – the card of God.
In the “spiritual Journal”, St. Charles de Foucauld emphasizes that the tragedy that happened to him, or death of his parents, was a sign for him from God – a call to conversion...
There is no uncertainty that after the death of the parents of Saint Charles de Foucauld sought the love of his father, which he yet found in Christ.
In the Night Traveler we can follow the various stages of his conversion and strengthening of faith. This book contains his writings from the pilgrimage period to Rome, Nazareth, Beni-Abbes and Tamanrasset, where he yet settled. It can be said that these records, are a journey to the soul of the saint and to follow how he himself opens up to religion in Christ, the consequences of which are those who inspired him to deepen his faith, etc. This is very crucial due to the fact that in the book we will find a number of very interesting references to various works, the lives of saints, pious readings etc., which can surely inspire readers.
Can this book be considered a historical book?
In part, it can be treated as a historical book, but only in part. For it is simply a spiritual diary to inspire us to a deeper faith. For example, I was very touched by the reflection of Saint Charles de Foucauld, in which he wrote what Christ did for 30 years of his life during a time erstwhile his work was not heard of. What answer does the author of Night Traveler give? He was subject to Mary and Joseph.
This is simply a beautiful reflection on the attitude of the boy of Man. For 30 years Christ had obeyed his parents and fulfilled his duties of condition. In today's world, it sounds shocking... In today's planet everyone wants to be and shine; everyone wants it to be loud and to be spoken of only well. Unfortunately, this besides applies to Catholics, who frequently categorically give judgments in public life, want to be known for their beliefs, etc. This is simply a sad and deplorable aspect of the reading we are talking about.
Saint Pachomius, Saint Pambo, Saint John Kapistran – these are only 3 of the tens of saints of the Catholic Church, as quoted by Saint Charles de Foucauld in "The Night Traveler". The average Catholic, if not 100 percent, then 99 percent have never heard of them... How did the author of the “spiritual Journal” scope the beautiful thoughts of those saints we can read in the book? 1 quote: “St. Pachomius said to him: Do you want to know what God wants of you? Give this brother what he desires to free his soul from the power of the demon, for it happens frequently that doing evil good out of pity softens them and they act more wisely."
Thank you for this beautiful quote, which besides stuck in my memory after the first reading of the Night Traveler. How did you get here? Saint Charles de Foucauld frequently utilized collections of libraries where he sought the lives and biography of the saints. He utilized monastery and church collections and literary collections of aristocrats, or people who could afford books and make specified collections. In short, St. Charles de Foucauld reached sources in a conventional way. The question is, why don't most of us do what he does? Why can’t we or can’t scope specified works? The answer is simple and sad: due to the fact that we live in the age of digitization, in an age where bad information displaces good. Artificial intelligence, various algorithms are leading us astray from civilization. The information sewer floods our minds and thus many of us are incapable to scope the valuables, due to the fact that it prefers to poison ourselves with information garbage, a poisonous slime that kills our soul. The antidote to specified a situation is, among others, the “Night traveler” – a book that allows us to discover the forgotten world, beautiful light texts that can enrich us and strengthen our faith.
St. Charles de Foucauld has a timeless prescription, which is peculiarly to be reminded today, erstwhile most people like to “talk” to artificial intelligence than to the Lord God and their fellows. The Martyr writes plainly: you should read only 3 kinds of literature—the Scriptures, the Magisterium of the Church, the lives of the saints, and the works written by them.
And he's right – that should do it. delight note that St. Charles de Foucauld besides proposes that we put into practice what is being taken into effect and translated into its own proceedings. That's how he lived! Of course, in his case this had, present we would say, a form of extremist Catholicism. However, the author of the Night Traveler showed us his life, what it truly means to be a Catholic. He not only abandoned his full life to date and followed Christ, but besides worked daily; he read and considered the Scriptures in the community; he ate very small due to the fact that he fasted continually; he slept with his head on a stone; he lived in an hostile environment—among the Muslims whom he served and preached the Gospel, etc.
This attitude would be hard for each of us, but it tells us something about ourselves, about our way of life, about the attachment to comfort and comfort that St. Charles de Foucauld abandoned.
The subject of reading is very crucial for the author of the "spiritual Journal". He calls on all Catholics not to read what is poor, small, which does not bring anything circumstantial into our lives, but is just a form of spending free time. St. Charles de Foucauld writes plainly that erstwhile we read specified books, we offend the Lord God, due to the fact that the time we devote to them could be devoted to prayer, fasting, alms, or helping others...
Especially this call to do deeds of mercy, to focus on fasting, alms and prayer is crucial during Lent. After all, we know our hearts, we know how hard it is for us to quit our regular lives – turn off television, the net and social media; spend more time on prayer; how hard it is for us to quit good food and at least erstwhile a week to fast; how much we are attached to money and how hard it is for us to be liberated from this passion; how hard it is for us to give; how much we are focused only on improving our welfare, etc. This is what Saint Charles de Foucauld reminds us of calling us to conversion.
What is conversion? We're going in 1 direction, we're going in the other direction. Saint Charles de Foucauld shows us this way which is impossible without the aid of the Risen Christ.
St. Charles de Foucauld points out that God does not give us what we want, but what we need...
We live in a planet in which we can have practically everything we want and it immediately; in a planet of instant gratification, where our desires are to be promptly satisfied.
However, if we truly received everything we want we could condemn ourselves, and that is what God does not want, and he sometimes sends us various difficulties, various disappointments and shortcomings. But all this is happening for our conversion.
The Catholic is simply a man who is convinced that everything that happens to him in life is good and essential for his salvation. Therefore, the Catholic does not evil, but has a grateful attitude towards the Creator for all that brings him regular life, and this, as is known, brings everything – not only what is good, but besides the cross. But all this is happening for our own good.
St. Charles de Foucauld emphasizes that suffering is simply a kind of educational lesson that the Lord God must sometimes give to man. For there is no salvation without the cross! If 1 thinks he will go through life avoiding suffering, he will be greatly disappointed due to the fact that suffering is inscribed in human nature and only the Cross of Christ gives him the highest sense that helps to conquer death. Christ shows us that life is much more serious than we think it does not end here and now, but that eternal life is at stake.
Let me quote 1 more passage from "The Night Traveler": "We must wake up in the morning and think that we will not live to see the evening. Going to sleep that we won't live to see tomorrow. By continuing in these thoughts and surviving in this way we will never sin at all, we will not desire anything, we will not be angry at anyone." This motive that you should be ready in time and not in time one more time appears in our conversations... Why does modern man refuse to remember that?
To be ready in time and not in time Christ calls us, fathers and doctors of the Church, saints, desert fathers etc. What can I say, then, is that we must not only number on dying 1 day. We gotta live today, live the moment, due to the fact that this is the only real minute that we can contact and usage properly.
Unfortunately, modern man is trapped between the past and the future. Most frequently he remembers any things from the past that do not let him to enjoy a regular day, he is focused on any injuries, traumas, unused opportunities, regrets he remembers, or looks into the future, he is worried about what will happen tomorrow, next month, in a fewer years, he is in fear of his future, about the future of his loved ones, about his work, about his wellness and it does not let him to enjoy here and now.
St. Charles de Foucauld reminds us that this is the minute in which we can be saved; if we are with Christ, we have nothing to worry about. Christ died for us. Christ rose for us. Christ gave us eternal life. erstwhile we realize this, then we will realize that we do not have as many concerns as we think. All we gotta do is love and service as Charles de Foucauld did.
Can it be said that the motto of Saint Charles de Foucauld was "the option of Benedict", or ora et labora – pray and work?
Yeah. Saint Charles de Foucauld didn't waste his time, he didn't waste his day today. This man maintained his own work. Through his work and prayer, he sought to convert all whom he met into religion in Christ.
One can even say that the man prayed constantly and was constantly in relation with God.
St. Charles de Foucauld, on the 1 hand, spoke and wrote of “a hidden life” or of imitating the virtues present in the life of Christ and the Holy Family. On the another hand, he spoke and wrote about his presence in the world. Isn't that contradictory? How do you mean?
The life of Saint Charles de Foucauld resulted in the formation of the communities of the small Brothers and Sisters, which may not be numerous, but they lead a “secret life” based on the spirituality of the author of the “spiritual Journal”. Humanly speaking, the saint we are talking about has failed due to the fact that his spirituality has not conquered the planet and people have not abruptly abandoned the world, have not started to live in the desert, have not started creating suburban communities and have moved their lives there.
It seems, however, adequate that specified a silent presence in the planet is as crucial as loud, media activity; that we besides can live a life hidden in this world, whether in prayer or through works of eternal life. We don't gotta honk about it on the right and left, brag about it on social media etc. We can love, service others, imitate Christ in our regular life, in our family, in our work. This is very difficult, but it is the only way we can get closer to the boy of God, and that is how we should realize this call from Saint Charles de Foucauld.
Recently, liberal-left media have mocked the fact that monks of hermits are arriving in the Catholic Church...
I wonder what's there to mock and mock? Everyone chooses the way they want. If left-wing liberal media demands tolerance for their lifestyles, why are they attacking the monastic or hermit life?
Perhaps the planet exists thanks to quiet monks and those who spend their days in prayer, who someway keep the punishing hand of God in patience.
God bless the conversation.
Tomasz D. Kolanek
Christians unworthy of persecution. This diagnosis of Matt Walsh must be disturbing.
