What was your reaction to the following email sent to you last Tuesday, July 28, 2026: The following Moving Forward suggestion appeared in yesterday’s daily advice: “Find one ordinary moment this week—stirring a pot, folding laundry, sitting in traffic—and let it become a hum of prayer.” Let’s do this just once a day, and we will be true followers of Brother Lawrence!! Is it a practical suggestion? Can this be a standard practice in our daily life? Questions about Brother Lawrence's EducationHe had no formal education and at best he had at-home schooling. He supposedly had no attraction to formal theology and books. So, what were the two books he was receiving from a nun? One of them explained “the presence of God.” I find the vastness in education between the nuns and Brother Lawrence fascinating. In general, the educational level of nuns was higher than most women in the post-medieval period. Since Brother Lawrence was corresponding with the nuns in the Paris region, I am assuming they were the most educated in France. They could not only read French but also Latin and were well-versed in church liturgy. Nuns had to be able to read the Psalter and chant the Divine Office in Latin. I am guessing that Brother Lawrence was in communication with nuns from the elite convents in the Paris region who were known to be able to write books, compose church music, and studied advanced philosophy. I was impressed when I realized that these highly educated nuns were corresponding with an uneducated brother. Surely, they must have known his station at his monastery was that of a kitchen cook who was charged with repairing sandals for the monks and priests. No matter what his station in life was, the nuns apparently recognized his intelligence and spirituality, and they were willing to receive books from him on the “presence of God.” QUESTION ONE: What are your thoughts on Brother Lawrence’s intellect and his spiritual relationship with the nuns? Brother Lawrence preached that our heart must empty all things so that God can possess it alone. He believed we must be in a continual conversation with God. He argued that we should do it “through a principle of love and because God wants it.” At the end of this letter, he was “preaching” to this nun “the practice of the presence of God” and directing “all the world” to do the same. In the last sentence of this letter, Brother Lawrence urges this nun to “make now a holy and firm resolution . . . . to live the rest of your days in this holy presence.” Finally, he boldly offers the nun his meager prayers to practice the presence of God. QUESTION TWO: Is Brother Lawrence espousing a naïve and unrealistic idea from the 17th century, or do you believe it is an important challenge for our present day life in the 21st century? QUESTION THREE: Is it possible to have a depth or love for God and live a life in obedience, humility and concern for others? TODAY’S EXERCISE: Find 5 minutes of total stillness. Sit comfortably and visualize yourself as a block of stone. Don’t try to pray, don’t try to “achieve” a feeling, and don’t try to be holy. Simply “present” yourself to God and say: Lord I am the stone. You are the Carver. Do with me what you please today.” Let the pressure to “do” fall away; and simply “be.”
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
August 2026
Categories |
RSS Feed
