Courageous Witnesses · Week 4 · Grades 6–8
Guided Notes: St. Charles de Foucauld
- Name
- Date
- Class
Follow along as your teacher presents. Fill in each section when its slide is on the screen.
St. Charles de Foucauld
A wasted fortune and a question
Charles was born in blank 1 in Strasbourg, France, to a rich noble family. Both parents died when he was six. As a teenager he stopped believing in God. At military school he was lazy and threw wild parties. He inherited a lot of money and wasted most of it.
In blank 2 the army sent him to Algeria. For the first time he worked hard, and he fell in love with the desert. He quit the army and explored Morocco, which was closed to Europeans, in disguise.
There he saw blank 3 stopping to pray five times a day. He wondered if God might be real after all.
Living for God alone
Back in blank 4, Charles brought his questions to Father Huvelin. The priest told him to go to confession first. Charles did, in October 1886. He later said, “As soon as I believed there was a God, I understood that I could not do anything other than live for Him alone.”
He became a blank 5 monk, then a handyman in Nazareth, and in 1901 a priest. In 1905 he settled in Tamanrasset among the Tuareg, who were Muslim nomads. He did not try to force anyone to become Christian. He wanted to show God's love through friendship.
On December blank 6, 1916, raiders came to his fort and he was shot.
The life of Charles de Foucauld
Write what happened at each point.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1858 | Write your answer |
| 1864 | Write your answer |
| 1883–1884 | Write your answer |
| 1886 | Write your answer |
| 1890 | Write your answer |
| 1901 | Write your answer |
| 1905 | Write your answer |
| 1916 | Write your answer |
Quick check
What did Father Huvelin tell Charles to do before discussing his questions? Circle one.
- A Join the Trappist monks
- B Travel to the Holy Land
- C Give away all his money
- D Kneel and go to confession
Why is that the right answer?
Why did he leave?
Why did Charles leave the Trappist monastery in 1897? Circle one.
- A He found the silence too hard
- B He thought the life was not poor enough
- C He wanted to rejoin the army
- D He was sent away by the monks
Why is that the right answer?
Presence or performance?
Charles lived a hidden life of real friendship. Sort each action: real presence, or just for show? Check one box for each.
| Item | Real presence | Just for show |
|---|---|---|
| Learning a neighbor's language to understand them | ||
| Posting about kindness to collect likes | ||
| Helping a sick person when no one is watching | ||
| Filming yourself giving to someone in need | ||
| Putting your phone away to listen to a friend | ||
| Adding followers you never talk to |
Virtues Charles lived
For each virtue, write how the saint lived it.
| Virtue | How the saint lived it |
|---|---|
| Humility | Write your answer |
| Charity | Write your answer |
| Perseverance | Write your answer |
Think it through
Charles never had a single follower while he was alive. What does his story suggest about success? Circle one.
- A Faithfulness matters more than visible results
- B A good idea always becomes popular quickly
- C Working alone is better than working together
- D A life only counts if others notice it
Why is that the right answer?
Think, pair, share
Charles said, “Cry the Gospel with your whole life.” He shared his faith mostly through friendship, not speeches. If someone looked only at your messages, posts and gaming, what would your life be saying?
Think: my idea before we talk
Sentence starters: “My online life probably says that I ...”“One thing I would change is ...”“Charles shows that faith can be shared by ...”
Pair: something my partner said
Let us pray
Father, you found Charles when he had wandered far from you.
Give us silence to hear you and courage to live for you alone.
Make us brothers and sisters to everyone we meet, face to face and online.
St. Charles de Foucauld, pray for us.
Amen.
My own prayer or intention:
Well done!
Charles went from a selfish rich young man to a humble brother to all. Change is possible, and hidden goodness matters.
One thing I learned today:
One question I still have:
How could the example of St. Charles de Foucauld shape the way I live, online and offline?
Challenge: This week, do three good things that nobody sees and nobody hears about, online or offline.