The Sacredness of the Moment: Abandonment to Divine Providence

Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751) was a French Catholic Jesuit writer known for his work Abandonment to Divine Providence and his posthumously published letters of instruction to the Nuns of the Visitation at Nancy, where he served as spiritual director from 1733-1740, although he continued to write to the sisters after leaving Nancy. While he is best known for his work with the sisters, he also spent years preaching in southern and central France, as a college rector (at Perpignan and at Albi), and as the director of theological students at the Jesuit house in Toulouse. De Caussade was greatly influenced by the writings of both St. Francis de Sales and St. John of the Cross. He is noted for his belief that the present moment is sacred to God and that self-abandonment to it and its needs is a holy state.