The Practice of the Presence of God

Although Brother Lawrence spent his life retired from the world in a monastery, there is still no one who cannot take great profit from what is given here concerning his way of life. He teaches people engaged in the world to turn to God, asking for grace as they fulfill their duties, take care of their business affairs, carr

Although Brother Lawrence spent his life retired from the world in a monastery, there is still no one who cannot take great profit from what is given here concerning his way of life. He teaches people engaged in the world to turn to God, asking for grace as they fulfill their duties, take care of their business affairs, carry on conversations, and even engage in recreation. By his example they will be moved not only to give thanks to Him for His blessings and for the good His grace has allowed them to do, but also to humble themselves before Him for their faults.

This is not a speculative devotion that can be practiced only in monasteries...

In his spiritual sufferings [Brother Lawrence] had not consulted anyone; but with faith as his guide, and his only knowledge being that God was present with him, he was content to live and act for Him, come what may. He was willing to lose himself for the love of God, and in so doing, he found satisfaction.

The multitude of thoughts that crowd in on us spoil everything. Evil begins in our thoughts, so we must be careful to reject them as soon as we become aware that they are not essential to our present duties or to our salvation. Doing this allows us to begin our conversation with God once again. (68)

[L]et us generously renounce for the love of God everything that is not Him. He is worthy of infinitely more. Let us think about Him without ceasing and put our whole trust in Him. I have no doubt that we will soon experience the effect of trusting in Him, and that we will experience the abundance of His grace, with which we are capable of everything, and without which we are capable only of sin.

We cannot avoid the dangers and reefs that life holds without the very present help of God. How can we ask for it unless we are with Him? How can we think often about Him except through the holy practices that we must form within ourselves? You will probably tell me that I am always telling you the same thing. That is true! I know no more proper or easier method than this one. And as I practice no other method, I advise it to everyone. (103)

So, after having given myself to God to make amends for my sins, I renounced for His love everything that was not Himself, and I began to live as if there were only He and I in the world. I sometimes considered myself before Him as a poor criminal at the feet of his judge, and at other times I regarded Him in my heart as my Father, as my God. I worshiped Him there as often as I was able, keeping my mind in His holy presense, and recalling it whenever I found it had become distracted from him. I had no trouble with this exercises, which I continued in spite of all the difficulties I found in practicing it, not becoming troubled or worried when I was involuntarily distracted... (110)

[W]e can give no greater witness to God of our faithfulness than by continually renouncing and turning from the created things around us to take pleasure, even for a single moment, in our Creator.

This is not to suggest that you should withdraw inwardly forever. That is not possible. But prudence, the mother of virtues, will guide you. Nonetheless, I maintain that it is a common error among spiritual persons not to withdraw from outward things from time to time to worship God within themselves and to find comfort and pleasure in the peace of His Divine presence for a few moments. (126)

"He [God] alone...is capable of making Himself known to us as He is. We search in reasoning and in the sciences, as in a poor copy, what we neglect to see in an excellent Original. God paints His own portrait in the depths of our souls, and yet we do not want to see Him there. We leave Him alone in order to engage in foolish arguments, and we disdain to converse with our King who is always present in us.

"It is not enough...to love God and to know Him only by what books tell us about Him, by what we feel about Him in our souls, by fleeting spiritual illumination. We must make our faith alive and by faith rise above our feelings, to adore God and Jesus Christ in all Their divine perfections, such as They are in Themselves. This way of faith is the spirit of the Church, and it is all we need to arrive at a high degree of perfection." (143)

Sometimes a crowd of unruly thoughts would violently shove out his thoughts of God. He would then simply push them gently aside in order to return to his normal conversation with God. finally, his perseverance was rewarded with a continual remembrance of God. His different and varied acts were changed into a simple vision of God, into an illumined love, into an enjoyment without interruption.

"The time of business," he used to say, "is no different from the time of prayer. I possess God as tranquilly in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, where sometimes several people ask me different things at the same time, as if I were on my knees before the Blessed Sacrament." (144-5)