Letters from the Desert

At the age of 44, after a prominent career as a Catholic activist, Carlo Carretto was summoned by a voice that said: 'Leave everything, come with me into the desert. I don't want your action any longer, I want your prayer, your love.' Carretto responded by leaving for North Africa, where he joined the Little Brothers and embraced the example of Charles de Foucauld.Among the fruits of his response was Letters from the Desert, the first and most popular of his many books. A modern classic, its affirmative message has inspired countless readers in a dozen languages. Simply, it reminds us that in the evening of our lives we will be judged by love.A life of prayer, a passion for justice and the spirit of solidarity cannot be separated.

I read this years ago when the worker priest movement and the idea of mixing contemplative prayer with work was something I thought of as cool. I can't remember if Carretto was a member of the Little Brothers of Jesus or if he was just hanging out with them for a time. Anyway he spent some time in the North African desert doing contemplative prayer and learning about desert spirituality. I remember it as a book where I learned more about the desert than about prayer, but then I'd read most of Merton by that time.

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