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.
Faith is the root, the necessary beginning. Hope is the stem, the energy that makes the plant grow. Love is the fruit, the flower, the visible product, the bottom line. The plant of our new life in Christ is one; the life of God comes into us by faith, through us by hope, and out of us by the works of love.
Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God? O be not weary of well doing!
What an encouraging thought that Jesus - our beloved Husband - can find comfort in our lowly feeble gifts! Can this be, for it seems far too good to be true? May we then be willing to endure trials or even death itself if through these hardships we are assisted in bringing gladness to Immanuel's heart.
Whenever there is a cross to be carried by any of Christ’s followers, He always bears the heavy end on His own shoulders.
The faith of the Church is this: That one and identical is the Word of God and the Son of Mary Who suffered on the Cross, Who is present in the Eucharist, and Who rules in Heaven
If my life is surrendered to God, all is well. Let me not grab it back, as though it were in peril in His hand but would be safer in mine!
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