Hidden in God

Blessed Charles de Foucauld (1858–1916) was a complex man. Born into French aristocracy, he floundered as a military officer, but rediscovered his Catholic heritage and eventually lived voluntarily as an impoverished priest/hermit in the Sahara Desert in Algeria. Foucauld wanted to emulate the hidden life of Jesus in Nazareth and in doing so, left a spiritual legacy that attracted such figures as Dorothy Day and author, poet, and spiritual director Bonnie Thurston.

Published in celebration of the one-hundredth anniversary of Charles de Foucauld’s death on December 1, 1916, Hidden in God highlights the profound conversion that led Foucauld to embrace the life of a hermit in the Sahara, where he was eventually murdered by a band of marauders.

Foucauld’s legacy is an enduring spiritual vision: believe in God, you should live for God and make him your reason for living. Drawing from his letters and journals, Bonnie Thurston explores how the hidden life of Nazareth brings the grace of great closeness to Jesus; the gift of the desert is the grace of complete dependence on God; and the grace of public life is the practice of charity and self-giving. Thurston adeptly demonstrates how these three locations are metaphors for states of spiritual life and ministry and how each one brings both a challenge and a danger. Words of wisdom from Foucauld, as well as questions to ponder and biblical texts to explore conclude each chapter.

Thurston shares how she became enamored with Foucauld for the passionate way he lived his ideals without regard for recognition or success. “I’ve fallen in love with a dead Frenchman who was a hermit,” she admitted to a friend.

Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker movement, also was attracted to Foucauld’s desert spirituality and wrote to Thomas Merton and others about Foucauld’s spiritual influence.

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The one hundredth anniversary of Foucauld’s death is on December 1, 2016.

Bonnie Thurston is a highly regarded poet, author, and scholar of Thomas Merton and contemplative spirituality.

Foucauld’s followers today include more than 1,200 Little Sisters of Jesus of 65 different nationalities; 6,000 members of the Lay Fraternity of Charles de Foucauld in 49 countries; more than 250 Little Brothers of Jesus; and the Jesus Caritas Fraternity of Priests in the United States.

Bonnie Thurston is a New Testament scholar who held the William F. Orr Professorship in the New Testament at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary from 1999 to 2002. She is the author or editor of eighteen theological books and five collections of poetry. In addition, she has written poetry and articles for numerous publications.

Thurston earned a bachelor’s degree in English (First Honors) from Bethany College and a master’s degree and doctorate from the University of Virginia. She has done post-doctoral work in the New Testament at Harvard Divinity School; Eberhard Karls University in Tuebingen, Germany; and the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem.

Thurston taught at the university level for thirty years and has also served as a pastor at five churches and two overseas ministries. She is a spiritual director and experienced retreat leader and a founding member and past president of the International Thomas Merton Society.

Thurston lives in West Virginia.