The moment I realized God existed, I knew that I could not do othewise than to live for Him Alone...Faith strips the mask from the world and renders meaningless such words as anxiety, danger and fear, so the believer goes through life calmly and peacefully, with profound joy--like a child, hand and hand with his mother.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the deep sense of peace and joy that comes from faith in God, transcending fears and anxieties.
Charles De Foucauld's quote expresses a transformative realization of God's existence, which leads to a life devoted solely to Him. This faith provides a powerful shield against the worries of the world, allowing believers to navigate life with a childlike innocence and joy, unburdened by fear and anxiety, like a child walking hand in hand with a caring mother.
In practice
In a sermon about overcoming life's challenges, one might use this quote to inspire and comfort the congregation.
To love anyone is to hope in him for always. From the moment at which we begin to judge anyone, to limit our confidence in him, from the moment at which we identify him with what we know of him and so reduce him to that, we cease to love him and he ceases to be able to be better.
It is not necessary to teach others, to cure them or to improve them; it is only necessary to live among them, sharing the human condition and being present to them in love.
Everything starts with God in my career, and it will finish with God.
Our Lord never referred to unanswered prayer. He taught that prayers are always answered: “Everyone who asks receives”. And He implied that prayers are answered rightly because of the heavenly Father's wisdom: “Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him”.
Let all your thoughts be with the Most High, and direct your humble prayers unceasingly to Christ. If you cannot contemplate high and heavenly things, take refuge in the Passion of Christ, and love to dwell within His Sacred Wounds. For if you devoutly seek the Wounds of Jesus and the precious marks of His Passion, you will find great strength in all troubles.
I have felt the impact of your prayer in these past weeks. I am certain now that nothing has had a more powerful infl uence on this life of mine than your prayers.
I'm not worried about tomorrow, because God is there already, waiting for me.
God is God. Because he is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what he is up to.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.