For the life of me, I cannot remember who or what caused me to read this book. However, I have read it more than once. It is a profoundly spiritual book. I read as part of my Lenten devotion The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth am I Here For? by Rick Warren. I read this book many years ago during Lent, and I was impressed. Warren is the pastor of a mega-church in Lake Forest, California. I am normally not a fan of pastors of mega-churches, but he is different. He and his church were expelled by the Southern Baptist Convention for having female pastors on the church staff. Now, that is my kind of mega-pastor!! OK, let me go back to Brother Lawrence. Warren cites Brother Lawrence when he maintains that whatever we do in life, no matter how mundane, we do it for God. Rick praises Brother Lawrence when he maintains we should worship God through the common tasks of life. Warren urged his readers to follow Brother Lawrence’s advice to have shorter conversational prayers throughout the day. He also praised the Benedictine monks who used hourly chimes of a clock to pause and pray “the hour prayer.” Of course. Anglicans and Episcopalians have Morning Prayer, Noon Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline, which is based on monastic practices. I’ll get back to the current followers of Brother Lawrence shortly. Brother Lawrence at the age of 18 deeply committed himself to the Christian faith because he saw the power of God in the changing of the seasons, which was a mystic journey for him. I experienced this feeling briefly on a fall trip to New England. I was warned that at one particular spot on the highway through the mountains I would be mesmerized by the “Bubble Gum Valley.” There it was. A valley packed with so many trees of various colors that I thought we were looking inside a gum machine. I pulled over to the parking area designated for this scene, and I could not take my eyes off of it. Brother Lawrence was right. You could feel the power of God. Let’s get back to the good monk. Taking the religious name of “Lawrence of the Resurrection,” he spent his whole life as a friar cultivating a keen sensitivity to the presence of God in everyday life. He made the love of God the end of all his actions. Lawrence wrote that all that we do is as valuable to God as the priest. He referred to his simple way of praying as “practicing the presence of God.” Lawrence learned to commune with God continuously, not just in church or during personal devotions. The monk made constant pleas that were being in the company of God as he worked as a cook in the monastery kitchen, doing daily chores, or while he conversed with others. The following is a gentle reminder from Brother Lawrence on how to practice the presence of God: “Lift up your heart to Him, the least little thought of Him will be acceptable. You need not cry very loud; There have been many translations of Lawrence’s book. The Vatican Publishing House just published a new edition The Practice of the Presence of God, and Pope Leo XIV wrote in the introduction that “the writings of Saint Augustine and other books, this is one of the texts that have most shaped my spiritual life and have formed me in what the path can be for knowing and loving the Lord.” Having a tremendous sense of humor, Pope Leo XIV reminds us that Brother Lawrence, like Teresa of Avila, urges us to speak to the “God of the pots and pans.”
I sent a copy of Brother Lawrence’s little book to Mother Liz, and she has shared it with a parishioner. In conversing with one of my spiritual partners, I told her about Brother Lawrence. She said she was quite familiar with him, and she in the past sent copies of his little book to 4 or 5 parishioners as graduate gifts upon confirmation. Since there are at least maybe 8 or more of us with Brother Lawrence’s book, is anyone interested in shaking those pots and pans?
1 Comment
Jan
5/9/2026 06:36:45 pm
John, I bought the book a while back. I would be interested in a book study. Leave a Reply. |
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