de Caussade's work is a classic on how we draw closer to God. Below is an excerpt.
“The way of pure faith...enables us to find God at every moment. Can anything be more magnificent, more mysterious, and more blessed...What has to be done to produce such an amazing effect? Just one thing: let God act and do all he wishes according to our state in life. Nothing in the spiritual life is easier, and it is within everybody’s reach. Yet so wonderful and dark is this road that we need great faith to walk along it."
(Below is a summary of de Caussade's work from the ccel website).
Not a hair falls from our heads without God's divine will.
We must rest in God's grace, as we are totally unable to contribute to our salvation.
What word pops into people's minds when they hear Christians making the above statements? Calvinist. Usually these beliefs are associated with those of the Calvinist persuasion. However, Father de Caussade was a Roman Catholic Priest who taught that God is truly sovereign, and therefore our whole lives can be lived in the knowledge that all things are working for our good. We may not understand why God does things the way he does, or how our suffering can ultimately be for our good, but we can trust our benevolent Lord, who has decreed all things, is good and just.
Reading Abandonment to Divine Providence will help the reader surrender to God's will. The result? Spiritual peace in the arms of a loving God. (from the ccel website).
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/decaussade/abandonment.toc.html
