Inner Peace: Wisdom from Jean Pierre de Caussade

By Kathryn Hermes and Jean-Pierre De Caussade

How do I find peace of mind in my stressed-out life? Caussade tells us not to fret over the past, nor worry about the future because God is at work for our good in the midst of every duty and every event. Jean-Pierre de Caussade was a Jesuit priest best-known as the author of Abandonment to Divine Providence.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pauline Books and Media
• Release date: Mar 25, 2019
• ISBN: 9780819837103

Book preview

Today’s Questions. Timeless Answers.

Looking for time-tested guidance for the dilemmas of the spiritual life? Find it in the company of the wise spiritual masters of our Catholic tradition.

Comfort in Hardship: Wisdom from Thérèse of Lisieux

Inner Peace: Wisdom from Jean-Pierre de Caussade

Life’s Purpose: Wisdom from John Henry Newman

Path of Holiness: Wisdom from Catherine of Siena

Secrets of the Spirit: Wisdom from Luis Martinez

A Simple Life: Wisdom from Jane Frances de Chantal

Solace in Suffering: Wisdom from Thomas à Kempis

Strength in Darkness: Wisdom from John of the Cross

Forthcoming volumes will include wisdom from:

Francis de Sales

James Alberione

Teresa of Avila

Inner Peace

Inner Peace

Wisdom from Jean-Pierre de Caussade

Edited and with a foreword by Kathryn Hermes, FSP

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Caussade, Jean Pierre de, d. 1751.

[Abandon à la providence divine. English. Selections]

Inner peace: wisdom from Jean-Pierre de Caussade / edited and with a foreword by Kathryn Hermes.

p. cm.—(Classic wisdom collection)

Translation of selections from the author’s Abandon à la providence divine, and correspondence.

ISBN-10: 0-8198-3710-5 (Epub)

ISBN-13: 971-0-8198-3710-3 (Epub)

ISBN-10: 0-8198-3709-1 (Kindle)

ISBN-13: 971-0-8198-3709-7 (Kindle)

1. Mysticism—Catholic Church. 2. Spiritual life—Catholic Church. 3. Caussade, Jean Pierre de, d. 1751.—Correspondence. I. Hermes, Kathryn. II. Caussade, Jean Pierre de, d. 1751. Correspondence. English. Selections. III. Title. IV. Series.

BV5082.3.C3813 2011

248.2’2—dc22

2010038173

Unless otherwise noted: The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Excerpts from the 1921 B. Herder Book Company publication of Abandonment to Divine Providence have been edited to reflect current English style and usage.

Cover design by Rosana Usselmann

Cover photo by Mary Louise Winters, FSP

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

P and PAULINE are registered trademarks of the Daughters of St. Paul.

Copyright © 2011, Daughters of St. Paul

---

Published by Pauline Books & Media, 50 Saint Pauls Avenue, Boston, MA 02130-3491

www.pauline.org

Pauline Books & Media is the publishing house of the Daughters of St. Paul, an international congregation of women religious serving the Church with the communications media.

With gratitude to

Harold and Adelaide Steffes

and Mary and Jack Schuler

for teaching me

the beauty of a life

lived in peace

Contents

Foreword

I: Sanctity Found in Fidelity

II: A Hidden Treasure

III: Uncomplicated Sanctity

IV: God’s Action

V: Enlightened by Faith

VI: The Will of God

VII: Love’s Hidden Work

VIII: The Present Moment

IX: Allow God to Act

X: Trust in God

XI: Given Over to God

XII: All-Sufficient Love

XIII: Peace in Turmoil

XIV: Liberty of Spirit

XV: Recourse to Providence

XVI: Dependence on God

XVII: The Goodness of God

XVIII: Annoyances

XIX: How to Bear Trials

XX: Why Torment Yourself?

XXI: The Happiness of Resignation

XXII: Peace and Confidence

Notes

Foreword

Jean-Pierre de Caussade found me when I was 23. Twenty-four months before, I had been visited by a stroke. In the space of a day, my early adult years, so full of promise, were filled with dark and confusing cloud formations that cast their long shadows across my mind and heart. One day I could do whatever I set my mind to, the next I needed help with everything. One day I could express myself clearly with a broad vocabulary, the next I could only mumble and couldn’t recall even the most basic words. One day I was in charge, the next…I guess that was the main question: Was anyone in charge? Did anyone really know what was happening to me? Did anyone care? Was this all a punishment? Would I recover? What would the rest of my life be like?

Questions, worries, and fears swept away the balmy days following my religious profession a year before. In the middle of the storm that raged in my thoughts and desires came the voice of calm and promise, the voice of Jean-Pierre de Caussade. Next to me, as I write these words is my first copy of his book Abandonment to Divine Providence.¹ It still looks almost brand new, so carefully have I preserved this book, which became a lifeline for me. Only the frayed edges along the backbone and the $3.50 price marked on the top