Last year I stumbled upon a different volume in this series, 15 Days of Prayer with Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati by Père Charles Desjobert, OP, and really enjoyed it. I did some research on the series and this was the seventh volume I decided to work through. In my research to date there have been at least 40 volumes in this series. Many written in French and then translated, including this volume, this book was first published in French in 1996, the English edition appeared 1999. Then in 2010 the book and series were rebranded, at that time there was an eBook edition but it appears to not be available currently.
I believe as of the writing of this review there have been 40 volumes in the series; the earliest I found was from 1999 through to a volume which was published in 2025. The earlier editions were published by Liguori, but they have moved to New City Press now, part of Focolare Media. Only about a dozen seem to be in print currently and of those only a handful appears to have eBooks. With my dual form of dyslexia this is disappointing. I greatly prefer eBooks so I can change the font, and the colour of font and page to make reading easier. I have added all the eBook editions I could find to my wish list. About the Series we are informed:
“15 Days of Prayer Series
On a journey, it’s good to have a guide. Even great saints took spiritual directors or confessors with them on their itineraries toward sanctity. Now you can be guided by the most influential spiritual figures of all time. The 15 Days of Prayer series introduces their deepest and most personal thoughts.
This popular series is perfect if you are looking for a gift, or if you want to be introduced to a particular guide and his or her spirituality. Each volume contains:
• A brief biography of the saint or spiritual leader
• A guide to creating a format for prayer or retreat
• Fifteen meditation sessions with reflection guides”
The description of this specific volume states:
“Follow: the footsteps of Charles de Foucauld. From spoiled child to hero of God, the life of Charles de Foucauld is a model of how Christ's love can transform a person's soul. A rebellious child, Char les de Foucauld became a wild, pleasure-loving soldier in the French Army. But at 28, he experienced a spiritual transformation, rediscovering the Catholic faith of his childhood and accepting an "apostolate of goodness." Charles left the life of a soldier for missionary work and believed that to love is the most powerful way to be loved.
Serve the poor. A hermit who preferred the silence of solitude, Charles became a respected missionary in the remote Sahara concerned deeply about universal salvation. Believing that Christ did not come to earth primarily to teach, but to share the human lot, Charles lived among those who were "furthest from God" and most rejected by men, sharing their lives and their hardships. In 1916, during an anti-French uprising, Charles was assassinated. Now Charles de Foucauld is remembered as not only a martyr for the France he loved, but also for the God he adored.
Enjoy your time with Charles de Foucauld and be prepared to be surprised as you journey with one of the most engaging spiritual figures of our time.”
Another online begins with:
“15 Days of Prayer Collection Now distributed by New City Press, this popular series is perfect for those looking for an introduction to a particular spiritual guide, those searching for gift ideas and those who merely wish to know more about the person and his or her spirituality. Additional volume planned in 2 to 3 months intervals. Each volume contains: A brief biography of the saint or spiritual leader introduced in that volume A guide to creating a format for prayer and retreat 15 meditation sessions with focus points and reflection guides This volume, 15 Days of Prayer With Charles de Foucauld, will lead you, over a period of fifteen prayer sessions, to a place of prayer where a stronger relationship with God is possible.”
There is no ‘about the author’ section in the book but on the back cover we are informed that:
“Michel Lafon is a diocesan priest and the spiritual son and successor to one of the first disciples of Charles de Foucauld, Albert Peyriguere.”
The chapters in this volume are:
How to Use This Book
A Brief Chronology of Charles de Foucauld's Life
Introduction
Abbreviations Used in This Book
1. Day One-Live for God Alone
2. Day Two-Rejoice in God's Happiness
3. Day Three-Our Beloved Lord Jesus
4. Day Four-Poor With Jesus
5. Day Five-Let Jesus Live Within
6. Day Six- Proclaim the Gospel by the Way We Live
7. Day Seven-The Time for Nazareth Has Come
8. Day Eight- The Word Savior Sums Up Our Life
9. Day Nine-The Universal Brother
10. Day Ten- God's Unexpected Roads
11. Day Eleven-Master of the Impossible
12. Day Twelve-The Eucharist Is JesusGiving Himself
13. Day Thirteen- The Heart and the Cross
14. Day Fourteen- Our Master's Last Prayer
15. Day Fifteen-We Will Never Love Enough
Bibliography
I highlighted numerous passages while reading this volume some of them are:
“"Live closely with a great saint and a great spirit, your heart will become warm like his, your faith alive like his, your spirit will arise in the same way as his."”
-Charles de Foucauld
“TO WANT TO PRAY with a saint of any stature –do greater and lesser ones even exist? -makes us penetrate into his spiritual universe and makes us discover the sources of his life. This discovery is possible because life penetrates prayer like it inspires our behavior. I hope that this choice of texts written by Charles de Foucauld and the commentary about them will be able to assist you, not only to pray, but also (at the risk of disagreeing with the title of this collection) to live-and to live beyond our fifteen days together!”
“Finally, as well as asking you to attentively read this modest book, may I ask you, dear readers, to include prayers for my own conversion with your own prayers? Thank you.”
“To love you, 0 my God, gives place to the only absolute. No matter what my vocation, the rest is measured in the light of this fundamental conviction:”
“How do you experience the presence of God in your life? Do you quiet yourself, letting go of anxiety and fear and allowing God to fill you with his presence? Have you allowed faith to open your heart to the experiences of God that surround you?”
“O Jesus, let me always keep before my eyes the sight of your joyful and compassionate Heart! And then, as you predicted on the evening of Holy Thursday, speaking about pain and joy: "So you have pain now; but I will see you again,and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. On that day, you will ask nothing of me" (Jn 16:22-23).”
“Even if I must be prudent and protect myself with many precautions, make it so that I do not forget to abandon my elf to divine Providence and that this trust, even if it is a little foolish, will not be completely lost in the midst of my calculations.”
“Since we have received without payment, we should give without payment (Mt 10:8); and this is done "by putting all the riches of our body and soul at the disposal of our neighbor, all that we have and all that we are" (PFJ, 34). We are only the managers of our material goods.”
“All of the religious who consider Brother Charles to be their father, all who espouse his plentiful spiritual legacy, strive, as situations dictate, to make this prophetic inspiration concrete.”
“Do I doubt the authenticity of my poverty of heart and feel that it is just an illusion? But, think, if poor, downtrodden, suffering, voiceless, marginalized, and unhappy people feel at ease with me, just as they felt at ease with Jesus, I will have my proof of authenticity.”
“In the Eucharist we encounter the living Jesus. He is present in us and continues his life in us by our imitation of his virtues. The gospel comes alive in us and those around us when we live by the teachings of Jesus found in them. We allow the mystery of Christ to flower in us through deeds of love and mercy toward others.”
“We are the dwellings of a living God. Or, as the first Christians termed it, we are to become Christ-bearers, Christ-carriers, since we live off his life which springs from his presence within us.”
“Through the offspring, the Lord continues and prolongs his life, which was actually limited to only thirty-three years, but through all those that the Lord deifies, his life crosses time and space. Then, all these human actions will, at the same time, become divine, whether they are the most genial or the most ordinary.”
“Brother Charles presents to us a very detailed spirituality of the mystery of Jesus living in us. What thoughts come to mind when you read the comments of Brother Charles on the hidden life of Jesus continuing in each of us? How do you experience God living in you? Do you desire to be transformed into the presence of Jesus through a life of service and simplicity directed toward the poor and neglected of our society?”
“We do good, not by what we say and do, but by what we are, by the grace which accompanies our actions, by the way that Jesus lives within us, by the way that our actions are Jesus' actions, working in and through us .... The soul does good works by its holiness. May we always see this truth (RD, 645- 646).”
“Following her example, we should "evangelize and sanctify the unfaithful by carrying Jesus to their midst in silence, by carrying him, our evangelical life, in our own lives which should provide an example of his. We should be seen as living images of the Christ that we carry" (CFA, 472).”
“Furthermore, Brother Charles did not envision only religious brothers and sisters as his spiritual posterity. The apostolate, the outreaching mission, was not, in his opinion, the sole privilege of specialists: lay people were also called to contribute.”
“Take Jesus' life in Nazareth as an objective, in all things and for all things, in its simplicity and its greatness, by only using the Rule [of the Little Brothers] as a directory. Live just like Jesus of Nazareth- no special costume or habit, no cloiste1~ no living apart from others, rather living close to them, no less than eight hours of work on a daily basis (preferably manual labor), no great land holdings, no large expenses, no acceptance of large gifts, but practice of extreme poverty in all things ... in a short phrase, in all things, just like Jesus in Nazareth (CT, 46).”
“Therefore, it is a time for witnessing, it is a time to "preach the Gospel in silence," just as did Jesus of Nazareth who was our Savior right from the very first moments of his earthly life. It is the time for human relationships, for friendships, just as it was for Jesus, who came to us in human form to redeem us, who lived in our midst in the closest possible contact with ordinary humans.”
“Do you experience your daily work and lifestyle as a means of witnessing the gospel? Throughout the day, do you pause and reflect on what you are doing and why? Do you pray often throughout the day through periods of silent recollection?”
“The main characteristics of the Little Brothers of the Sacred Heart are, first, to continuously imitate Our Lord Jesus in order to be his faithful images; and, second, to be zealots for souls: to fulfill the requirement to see a soul to save in all humans and to devote themselves to the salvation of souls as did their Beloved to the point that the name "savior" sums up their lives as it explains his (RD, 103, 104).”
“The witnesses recognize and agree that, in his life, Brother Charles acted in a more "human" way than he indicated in his writings.”
“Brother Charles believes that the more he converted and sanctified himself, the more he would be united with Christ in the process of saving the world.”
“Charles and Therese are truly brother and sister - one by treading the paths of the desert and the other "by walking in the footsteps of a missionary" behind the gates of a Norman convent.”
“I must show solidarity; I must do it in many different ways, whether I want to or not. I must show solidarity with my coworkers, neighbors, compatriots, and with the faithful of my Church, and even with all the sinners of the world.”
“Let us not give our living selves to Our Lord, since he died for us. Let us give ourselves to him, as he gave himself for us, through death, in perfect obedience, without reservation. Perfect love is perfect obedience (LFT, 149-150).”
“We see Brother Charles adapt himself to events without resistance.”
“When he received permission to leave the Trappists, had he not already written: "God leads us down such unexpected roads. See how I have been led and bounced around over the last six months: Staoueli, Rome, and now the unknown. We are the dry leaf, the grain of dust, the speck of sea foam which are carried by the whim of the wind. Let us be no more and no less than faithful; let ourselves be carried, with great love and obedience, to where God's will takes us ... until the very last breath of this blessed wind carries us to heaven" (LFT, 153)? Let us remember this enlightenment: God steers us; encounters and events are his messengers.”
“The influence of this spiritual master also shows in some of Brother Charles's meditations. When Charles compares the Beloved's little brother, abandoned to divine will, to the dry leaf carried by the wind, he echoes Father de Caussade, who gave these instructions: "In the state of abandonment, the only rule is that of the present moment; then the soul is as light as a feather, fluid like water, as uncomplicated as a child."”
“Even in the dark of night, my hope keeps vigil like a small lamp: "Hope is faith in goodness," says Brother Charles. "Let us always have hope for everything, since the foundation of our hope is divine goodness" (LLM, 125).”
“The adoration of the Holy Sacrament is an intimate and selfless time since it is a time of love. When I go into the chapel, it is not because I need to, or because I was drawn there, it is because I love.”
“Lord, in the darkness of faith, maybe even in dry spells, I persevere by giving you time which, to humans, would seem to be as wasteful as that "pound of costly perfume made of pure nard" (Jn 12:3) which was poured on your feet.”
“Brother Charles wants his future brothers and sisters to be dedicated to the perpetual adoration of the holy Sacrament. Whatever their occupation, he sees them, hour after hour "with their eyes fixed on the Holy Host as if it were in the holy home in Nazareth between the Blessed Virgin and Saint Joseph, constantly gazing at Jesus, our older brother, and striving ... to melt themselves into Him in an almost always more perfect unity.”
“His passion for the salvation of souls, through the imitation of Jesus, took him "always further down the road" and forced him to give up celebrating Mass as long as he was not authorized to celebrate it alone.”
“Brothers Charles's experience of the Eucharist may be an invitation to us to consider our understanding of this mystery of faith. How do you experience the Eucharist? What thoughts and desires go through your mind during the Eucharist? In what ways do you live the mystery of the Eucharist in your daily life? Does the Eucharist open your eyes to see Jesus in those around you?”
“In his Rule, Brother Charles meticulously stated that his Little Brothers and Sisters would wear on their chests a red fabric heart which is crowned with a cross-"the heart and the cross will measure 15 cm in height"-because "his divine Heart is a model for their own and the emblem of their mission." A heart, not one pierced with an arrow, but pierced with a cross, the price of the love it symbolizes.”
“This symbol alone does not speak on its own to those we meet. It represents a love that comes from God which can only radiate through us. It commits us to manifest this divine love toward all mankind. Brother Charles says thus: "The fraternities of the Sacred Heart are small hearths of love where the Sacred Heart of Jesus burns.”
“Things that happen to me sometimes outrage me or force me to ask unanswerable questions, and my acceptance becomes a battle. Brother Charles describes it as "a battle undertaken through love .. . a proof of pure love, an act of love in the dark of night, in the face of the appearance of desertion, in the face of self-doubt, and in all the bitterness of love with none of its sweetness" (LLM, 67).”
“Lord, may I always live in a state of self-abandonment, like a calm and trusting child. Even during the difficult times, you are there, Lord. Strength which comes from you pushes the limits of my possibilities aside and permits me to repeat: "No matter what you do with me, I thank you."”
“Love was at the center of Brother Charles's life, his great love for Jesus, and his desire to witness to Christ through. loving those around him. Alone and isolated from other Christians, he had to put his life in trust and abandon it to Jesus. In the end, this was total love for Charles.”
“This law of fruitfulness, which is the cross, supports all apostolic activities: it is universal. The grain of wheat represents Christian life. We must die in order to bear fruit. It is not necessary to envision a heroic end, but only an "ordinary death." We are all called to carry our cross and "lose our life."”
I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. I picked this volume because though I have long had a personal devotion to Charles. I have an icon of him up beside my desk. I have read much about him, and after reading so many exerts of his writings in this volume I need to track down a good English translation, available as an eBook and get reading.
This is a great volume in an excellent series. Spending these 15 days with Charles, was in some ways like a visit with an old friend. I admit, there were several days I went back and redid 2 or three days in a row. It took me closer to a month to make it through this one, but it was time well spent. The written reflections and the discussion questions were engaging. I just really wish all of the 40 volumes were available as eBooks, I would work through them all if so.
An excellent read in a great series!
