Abandonment to His Will

The disposition of saying "yes" to whatever God permits — illness, loss, contradiction, success, joy — as coming from His Heart.

Why this practice

Abandonment is not passivity. It is the active, deliberate disposition of receiving everything — what one chooses and what one suffers — as coming from the Heart of God. It is the disposition Christ Himself lived: "Not my will, but Thine."

Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade, another French Jesuit not far in time from Croiset, wrote the great manual of this disposition: Abandonment to Divine Providence. The Sacred Heart devotion is its perfect home.

How to begin

1Each morning, after the Morning Offering, add a specific act of abandonment: "Whatever this day holds, I receive from Thy Heart."

2When something unexpected happens — whether good or bad — pause and explicitly receive it: "This too is from Thy Heart."

3Resist the urge to control outcomes you cannot control. Hand them, by name, to Him.

4Read a passage of Caussade or another classic on abandonment as part of your monthly spiritual reading.

The present moment is the ambassador of God to declare His mandates.

— Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade, S.J.

A prayer for this practice

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I receive this day from Thee — whatever it shall bring. I refuse nothing in advance. Form me in Thee through what comes. I trust Thy Heart more than I trust my own plans.

Amen.

When you're ready

Offering daily duties →