2016-52 Brother Lawrence and "The Practice of the Presence of God"
YouTubeAudio: The Praqctice of the Presence of God: Full Audio Book: [Click Here]
Brother Lawrence was born Nicolas
Herman in 1611, in the village of Herimenil in Lorraine, France. His parents
were peasants. So his schooling was limited at best.
As a young man, Nicholas
fought in the Thirty Years War. But being captured by the Germans and accused
of spying, then wounded by the Swedes in a later battle, he turned away from a
soldier’s life.
Soon he was employed as a footman to M. William de Fieubet,
treasurer of the King of France. Nicholas recalled of himself that “he was a
clumsy fellow who used to break everything”. His time as a soldier and a
footman totaled about 18 years.
Around the time he had entered
the army, at age 18, he had experienced a spiritual awakening. One winter he
saw a tree stripped of its leaves. He considered that soon afterwards, these
leaves would reappear, followed by flowers and fruit. This gave him “a lofty
awareness of the providence and power of God that never left him.”
Thus when his service as a
footman ended, Nicholas sought spiritual fulfillment in the solitude of a
hermit’s life. Soon realizing this wasn’t for him, in 1649 at age 38, he offered himself
to the Order of “Barefooted” Carmelites in Paris. The Carmelites were one of
the most austere monastic communities, and the barefooted Carmelites practiced
even more severe self-denial. Nicholas was accepted into the order as a lay
brother and was given the name Lawrence of the Resurrection.
Early on, Brother Lawrence was
assigned kitchen duty, a work to which he had a natural aversion. But having
decided to do everything for the love of God, he prayerfully went about his
duties and for 15 years “found great ease in doing things” there. Later,
Lawrence was given the task of cobbling shoes, likely because he was crippled
in one leg. He enjoyed this work but said that he remained ready to leave the
work for whatever task he was assigned. His only desire was to find joy in
doing little things for the love of God.
By his own testimony, Brother
Lawrence spent the last 40 years of his life in the practice of the presence of
God—that is, in silent and intimate conversation with Him. A plain, blunt man
with a rough exterior, unlearned and living in total obscurity, daily
performing the most menial tasks, he became known and respected by high and low
alike. His life was a shining example of holiness. He had a frank, open manner
that inspired confidence and candor.
Many sought to learn the source
of his Christlike spirit. They found his wisdom practical, unadorned, and to
the point, yet profound and beautifully broad in viewpoint. His classic work,
The Practice of the Presence of God, is actually a compilation of letters,
conversations, and spirtual maxims, much of it recorded and preserved by those who knew
him. He died in 1691, aged 80 years.
The Practice of thePresence of God is a book of collected teachings of Brother
Lawrence compiled by Father Joseph de Beaufort.
The
compilation includes 4 letters, 16 conversations and some spiritual maxims, kept by
Brother Lawrence's interlocutors.
The first conversation in the book recounts Brother Lawrence's conversion to Christianity when he was 18 years old.
The text attempts to explain Lawrence's method
of acquiring the presence
of God. A summary of his approach can be gleaned from
the following passages.
"That he had always been governed by love, without
selfish views; and that having resolved to make the love of GOD the end of all
his actions, he had found reasons to be well satisfied with his method. That he
was pleased when he could take up a straw from the ground for the love of GOD,
seeking Him only, and nothing else, not even His gifts."[1] "That in order to form a habit of
conversing with GOD continually, and referring all we do to Him; we must at
first apply to Him with some diligence: but that after a little care we should
find His love inwardly excite us to it without any difficulty."
YouTubeAudio: The Praqctice of the Presence of God: Full Audio Book: [Click Here]
this book was recommended by one of your old students;
ReplyDeletethe incidence of getting reference was a miracle like the very message of Brother Lawrence...God Bless You...with lots of Love...rajagopal