The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
The Practice of the Presence of God is a book that is attributed to Brother Lawrence, though it is primarily a collection of letters he had written to people in need of spiritual counselling. It also includes a number of conversations recorded by a M. Beaufort as well as a piece by the same man reflecting upon the life and character of Brother Lawrence, a few seemingly random “collected thoughts” and a number of short pieces by Brother Lawrence that have been sub-titled “Ways of Attaining the Presence of God”.
Far from being a theologian of great learning, Brother Lawrence was in fact a simple lay brother in a French Carmelite monastery and had previously been a soldier in the army. He had undergone a conversion experience after coming across a barren tree in the winter and coming to the realisation that in spite of appearances to the contrary, come the spring and summer the tree would once again flourish with new life. Feeling at that time as lifeless as the tree appeared to be, he still had hope that in God’s own time he would eventually be restored to spiritual health. Upon leaving the army he entered into the monastery where he changed his name from his original “Nicolas Herman” to “Lawrence of the Resurrection”. His role in the monastery was as a simple “kitchen-hand” performing some of the most menial and tedious tasks in the community.
He came to believe that everything, no matter how seemingly mundane, could be a way of serving God and a vehicle of obtaining God’s grace. The book could almost be subtitled “The God of the Little Things”, as Brother Lawrence’s approach was to see the work of God in what was often regarded as the small and unimportant things as well as the grander side of life. The opening sentence in the book sums up his whole attitude “It matters not to me what I do, or what I suffer, so long as I abide lovingly united to God’s will ---- that is my whole business”.[1] The constant thread that runs through the book is one of finding total fulfilment through the submission of every part of his life to the will of God.
In the constant busyness of our everyday lives it can often seem difficult to find “quality” time to spend with God. Brother Lawrence seems to overcome this obstacle by seeking to devote ALL of his time and actions towards God. “How can we be with him unless our thoughts are ever of Him? How can he be in our thoughts unless we form a holy habit of abiding in His presence, there asking for the grace we need each moment of our life”?[2] In the noise and clatter of the kitchen and the often menial duties he was required to perform, he discovered the ability to know that God was present at all times, and in all things. It was sensing the presence of God with him at all times that seemed to bring him to such profound peace, both within himself as well as with God.
The back cover of the book says “Amid his pots and pans, Brother Lawrence became so noted for his serenity and joy while he worked at the most menial kitchen tasks that cardinals and theologians came to see him and learn his secret, even the pope of the day is said to have visited him”.[3] For a simple uneducated layman to have such people wanting to know the secret of his relationship with God was certainly something out of the ordinary.
The book describes how due to his closeness to God Brother Lawrence had no need of a spiritual confessor. He was certainly conscious of the times when he failed to have God at the forefront of his thoughts and when he fell into sin. His strategy for dealing with it was to simply confess directly to God in the knowledge that he had been forgiven and then to move on with his aim of being in God’s Presence at all times.
The letters that he wrote were written for specific people with specific issues including a Prioress. He strives to encourage the recipients of these letters to constantly place themselves in the hands of God. He describes the struggle of his first ten years in religious life where he often felt unworthy of God’s love, with his past sins often tormenting him (possibly a sort of “dark night” experience). He recognises that by putting himself completely in the hands of God he can be transformed into the person God wants him to be. In his letters to people suffering from a variety of ailments Brother Lawrence does not so much as to offer the hope of healing to people as that they be given the strength from God to endure their suffering by feeling the presence of God with them at all times and being completely focused upon Him. In one letter he actually says, “I do not pray that you will be delivered from your pains, but I pray God earnestly that He will give you strength and patience to bear them as long as He pleases”.[4] Certainly as he neared his own death he did not seek respite from his pain, rather he sought to identify his suffering with that of Christ and in doing so was more able to enter fully into God’s will for him.
The book does give pause for thought at how God can be in ALL aspects of life, no matter how mundane or painful it may be at the time. Brother Lawrence seems to be suggesting that God is always present with us even in our suffering; we simply need to recognise that and allow God to work in us as He will. I’m not sure that many of us could ever attain the depth of what it is to know the Presence of God as constantly as Brother Lawrence, but it’s certainly a goal worth aiming for no matter how slowly we may get there.
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