THE first time I saw Brother Lawrence was the August 3, 1666. He told me that GOD had done him a singular favor, in his conversion at the age of eighteen.
He said that in the winter, he saw a tree without its leaves. And he thought that within a little time, the leaves would be renewed, and after that the flowers and fruit would appear. Because of this, he received a high view of the Providence and Power of GOD, which has never since been erased from his soul. He said that this view had perfectly set him loose from the world, and kindled in him such a love for GOD, that he could not tell whether it has grown in the forty years since.
He said that he had been a servant to Monsieur Fieubert, the treasurer, and that he was a large awkward fellow who broke everything.
He said that he had wanted to go into a monastery, thinking that he would be punished for his awkwardness and the faults he might commit, and in that way he would sacrifice to GOD his life, with its pleasures. But GOD had disappointed him, because he had only experienced satisfaction in that place.
He said that we should establish ourselves in a sense of GOD’s Presence, by continually conversing with Him. He said it was a shameful thing to leave His conversation, to think of small, foolish things.
He said that we should feed and nourish our souls with high ideas of GOD; which would give us great joy in being devoted to Him.
He said that we ought to enliven our faith. He said it was very sad that we had so little faith; and that instead of making faith the rule of their behavior, men had fun with unimportant loves, which changed daily. He said that the way of Faith was the spirit of the Church, and that it was sufficient to bring us to a high level of perfection.
He said that we ought to give ourselves to GOD. We should give GOD both things earthly and spiritual, and seek our satisfaction only in doing His will. This is true whether He leads us by suffering or by comfort. They would be equal to a soul truly resigned to GOD’s will. He said that there should be faithfulness in those drynesses, or insensibilities in prayer. GOD uses these to test our love to Him. He said that was a good time for us to resign ourselves to Him in a good and effective way. One of these resignations alone would often advance our spiritual growth a lot.
He said that, regarding the miseries and sins he heard about daily in the world, he was not at all surprised by them. On the contrary, he was surprised there were not more, considering the evil sinners were capable of. He said that he prayed for them; but because he knows that GOD could fix the problems they made, whenever He wanted, he didn’t worry about it any more.
He said that to resign onself to GOD as GOD requires, we should be attentive to all the passions which are about spiritual things as well as those that are not spiritual. He said that GOD would give light about those passions to those who truly desire to serve Him. He said that if my plan was to serve GOD sincerely, I might come to him (Bro. Lawrence) as often as I pleased, without worrying about being troublesome; but if not, that I should not visit anymore.
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1. What did Brother Lawrence say he learned by looking at a tree when he was 18 years old?
Why was this important to him, and why did it make him love God?
What is a time you learned something like that?
2. Why do you think Brother Lawrence felt satisfaction from living in the monastery?
3. Consider: “The Lord said, ‘I will go with you and give you peace.’ Then Moses replied, ‘If you aren’t going with us, please don’t make us leave this place. But if you do go with us, everyone will know that you are pleased with your people and with me.” (Exodus 33:14-16)
What rewards do we get in God’s presence? Why is it shameful to leave his presence?
4. Consider: “[God] knows all your thoughts and your reasons for doing things, and so if you turn to him, he will hear your prayers. But if you ignore him, he will reject you forever.” (1 Chronicles 28:9)
Why is it important to give everything to God?
5. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul says, “If I live, it will be for Christ, and if I die, I will gain even more,” (1:21) and “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (4:12,13 NIV)
What was Paul’s secret? Are you as content as Paul? How does focusing on God make us content?
6. Again consider the words of James: “My friends, be glad, even if you have a lot of trouble. You know that you learn to endure by having your faith tested. But you must learn to endure everything, so that you will be completely mature and not lacking anything.” (1:2-4)
Why are the hard times in our lives valuable or important?
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Based on the words of Brother Lawrence
Edited and paraphrased, questions: Amanda Brockus
You can access the original text at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/lawrence/practice.toc.html.
