Quote of the day, 14 January: Brother Lawrence
Reverend and Dear Mother,
I received from Miss N. the rosaries that you gave her. I am surprised you haven’t let me know what you think of the book I sent you. You must have received it. Put it diligently into practice in your later days. Better late than never.
I cannot understand how religious people can remain content without the practice of the presence of God. As for me, I keep myself recollected in him in the depth and center of my soul as much as possible, and when I am thus with him I fear nothing, though the least deviation is hell for me.
This exercise does not hurt the body. It is nonetheless appropriate to deprive it occasionally, and even with some frequency, of some innocent, permissible, little consolations. For God will not permit a soul desirous of being entirely his to find consolation other than with him, and that is more than reasonable!
I do not say we must put ourselves to a great deal of trouble to do this; no, we must serve God in holy freedom. We must work faithfully, without turmoil or anxiety, gently and peacefully bringing our minds back to God as often as we find ourselves distracted.
We must, however, place all our trust in God and let go of all our cares, including a multitude of private devotions, very good in themselves but often carried out for the wrong reason, for these devotions are nothing more than the means to arrive at the end. If, then, we are with the one who is our end by this practice of the presence of God, it is certainly useless to return to the means. We can continue our loving exchange with him, remaining in his holy presence sometimes by an act of adoration, praise, or desire, other times by acts of oblation, thanksgiving, or anything else that our minds can devise.
Do not be discouraged by the repugnance you feel on the side of nature. You must do it violence. In the beginning you may often think you are wasting your time; nonetheless, you must continually resolve to persevere until death in spite of all the difficulties. I commend myself to the prayers of your holy community and to yours in particular and I am in Our Lord,
Yours,
From Paris, November 3, 1685
Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, O.C.D.
Letter 4, to the same nun as Letter 3
Saturday, 3 November 1685
Lawrence of the Resurrection, B; De Meester, C 1994, Writings and Conversations on the Practice of the Presence of God, translated from the French by Salvatore Sciurba, OCD, ICS Publications, Washington DC.
Featured image: Photographer Mark Notari captures this image of pots and pans on a stove in a commercial kitchen within a market in Oaxaca, Mexico. Image credit: notarim / Flickr (Some rights reserved)
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