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Prayer of Abandonment

1 min

Father,

I abandon myself into your hands;

do with me what you will.

Whatever you may do,

I thank you.

I am ready for all, I accept all.

Let only your will be done in me,

and in all your creatures.

I wish no more than this, O Lord.

Into your hands I commend my soul;

I offer it to you

with all the love of my heart,

for I love you, Lord,

and so need to give myself,

to surrender myself into your hands,

without reserve,

and with boundless confidence,

for you are my Father.

About this prayer

The prayer of St. Charles de Foucauld's spiritual family: a complete surrender into the hands of the Father, after Jesus' last words on the Cross.

History

St. Charles de Foucauld (1858–1916) did not write this prayer as it stands. In 1896, as a Trappist at Akbès, he wrote a meditation on Luke 23:46, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit", wishing that Christ's last prayer might be ours at every moment. In December 1940 Little Sister Magdeleine of Jesus and her first novices shortened it for daily recitation in common, and it was first printed as a prayer in 1946. It is now the shared prayer of all the groups that look to him, usually said in the evening.

Association Famille Spirituelle Charles de Foucauld, "Prayer of Abandon" — [charlesdefoucauld.org](https://www.charlesdefoucauld.org/en/priere.php). French: [charlesdefoucauld.org](https://www.charlesdefoucauld.org/fr/priere.php); history from Antoine Chatelard, *Vie consacrée* 67 (1995) — [PDF](https://www.charlesdefoucauld.org/docs/4-priere-abandon.pdf)

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