“Our life does not belong to us, but to God who wishes that we live for his glory and his works.” — Blessed Basil Moreau, C.S.C., to Father Edward Sorin, C.C.S. (July 6, 1844)
Blessed Basil Moreau, the founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, wrote frequently about the importance of trusting in Divine Providence. For Father Moreau, every success, triumph, disappointment and failure were part of God’s plan for his religious community of priests and brothers.
Father Moreau’s example of trust in God’s loving action and presence in our lives is one of his important virtues. By trusting in Divine Providence, we can come to discern God’s presence in our lives and we can understand, little by little, how God is calling us to continue to follow His will. For Father Moreau, it took a great amount of courage to trust in Divine Providence. His trust was not a shallow belief that all will somehow work out in the future. Moreau’s trust in Divine Providence required courage because it enabled him, and invites us too, to look to the past with confidence and to the future with hope.
Through prayer, we can be thankful for the past, with all it has entailed, and look to the future with hope in the sure knowledge that, as God has carried us to the present moment, He will continue to provide all that we need. To live and work for God’s glory, we must pray for the grace to recognize and love God as the One who has always and will continue to provide in every moment. We can trust that, as God has been faithful in the past, He will continue to work marvels in the future.
With this trust, we can come to discern and continue to trust that we are in God’s hands. It is comforting to know that our life does not belong to us because we can trust that something greater is at work in the unfolding of our lives. By trusting in Divine Providence, as Fr. Moreau so faithfully did, we will know more deeply of God’s loving presence and be able to follow Him ever more closely.
By Br. Jacob Eifrid, C.S.C.
Published May 20, 2026 by the Office of Vocations
Photo provided by Br. Jacob Eifrid, C.S.C., of his renewal of temporary vows at the Shrine of Blessed Basil Moreau in Le Mans, France.
