Abandonment is a term often used by mystic and ascetic writers to signify the first stage of the union of the soul with God by conforming to God's will,[1] for example in the work of Jean Pierre de Caussade, Abandonment to Divine Providence:
Several recent Popes have referred to abandonment in their teachings. In 2011, Pope Benedict XV reflected that "prayer is not a reflection on one's self, but a complete abandonment to the word and will of God",[3] and in 2013, Pope Francis spoke of Pope John XXIII's "daily abandonment to God's will" as "a lesson for all of us, and also for the Church of our time".[4]