Practice of God's Presence: Fourth Conversation, Part 1
Due to its length, I have divided the 4th conversation into 2 parts.
Fourth Conversation: Brother Lawrence spoke with great openness of heart concerning his manner of going to God. He told me that all consists in one hearty renunciation of everything which we know does not lead to God. We might accustom ourselves to a continual conversation with Him with freedom and in simplicity. We need only recognize God intimately present with us and address ourselves to Him every moment. We need to beg His assistance for knowing His will in things doubtful and for rightly performing those things which we plainly see He requires of us, offering them to Him before we do them, and giving God thanks when we have completed them.
In our conversation with God we should engage in praising, adoring, and loving Him incessantly for His infinite goodness and perfection. Without being discouraged because of our sins, we should pray for His grace with perfect confidence, relying on the infinite merits of our Lord. Brother Lawrence said that God never failed offering us His grace at each action. It never failed except when Brother Lawrence's thoughts had wandered from a sense of God's presence, or he forgot to ask His assistance. He said that God always gave us light in our doubts when we had no other design but to please Him.
Our sanctification did not depend upon changing our works. Instead, it depended on doing those things for God's sake which we commonly do for our own. He thought it was lamentable to see how many people mistook the means for the end, addicting themselves to certain works which they performed very imperfectly because of their human or selfish regard. The most excellent method he had found for going to God was that of doing our common business without any view of pleasing men but purely for the love of God.
Brother Lawrence felt it was a great delusion to think that the times of prayer ought to differ from other times. We are as strictly obliged to adhere to God by action in the time of action, as by prayer in its time. His own prayer was simply a sense of the presence of God, his soul being at that time aware of nothing other than Divine Love. When the appointed times of prayer were past, he found no difference, because he still continued with God, praising and thanking Him with all his might. Thus his life was a continual joy.
Brother Lawrence said we ought, once and for all, heartily put our whole trust in God, and make a total surrender of ourselves to Him, secure that He would not deceive us. We ought not weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed. We should not wonder if, in the beginning, we often failed in our endeavors, but that at last we should gain a habit which will naturally produce its acts in us without our effort and to our great delight.
The whole substance of religion was faith, hope, and charity. In the practice of these we become united to the will of God. Everything else is indifferent and to be used as a means that we may arrive at our end and then be swallowed up by faith and charity. All things are possible to him who believes. They are less difficult to him who hopes. They are more easy to him who loves, and still more easy to him who perseveres in the practice of these three virtues. The end we ought to propose to ourselves is to become, in this life, the most perfect worshippers of God we can possibly be, and as we hope to be through all eternity.
We must, from time to time, honestly consider and thoroughly examine ourselves. We will, then, realize that we are worthy of great contempt. Brother Lawrence noted that when we directly confront ourselves in this manner, we will understand why we are subject to all kinds of misery and problems. We will realize why we are subject to changes and fluctuations in our health, mental outlook, and dispositions. And we will, indeed, recognize that we deserve all the pain and labor God sends to humble us.
After this, we should not wonder that troubles, temptations, oppositions, and contradictions happen to us from men. We ought, on the contrary, submit ourselves to them and bear them as long as God pleases as things highly advantageous to us. The greater perfection a soul aspires after, the more dependent it is upon Divine Grace.
Questions:
What is there in your life that does not lead you to God? What distracts you from God? Which of those things can you eliminate from your life?
In what ways do you adore and thank God every day? How many different ways can you find to adore Him? How many different things can you find to thank Him for?
In paragraph 3, Bro Lawrence tells us it is not what we do that distracts us from God but the way in which we approach our tasks. Doing the task for its own sake, with our egos tied up in the result, is going to distract us from God. How can you change your attitude toward everything you do so that all that you do becomes an offering to God?
Bro Lawrence says that our prayer times should be no different than any other moments. What does this mean?
Putting our whole trust in God... does that thought scare you? Are there things you feel you must keep control of? Have you reduced your tithe because you are afraid that you won't have enough money for the things you want? Are you willing to do without a want so that others may have have what they need?
Bro Lawrence has some strong words for the results of self-examination. Contempt seems to be going a bit too far. On the other hand, it is one end of a contiuum whose other end is complete self-indulgence and inflated egos. Surely Bro Lawrence offers us a happy medium. What are you in denial about? We all have those little voices we keep shushing. what is your little voice trying to get you to pay attention to? To admit to? To change?
Bro Lawrence says what attitude we should have in times of trouble. Is yours like his? Or do you say "Why did God...?" If the latter, have you allowed your sufferings to take you away from God? Or have you looked for His face in the midst of them?
Fourth Conversation: Brother Lawrence spoke with great openness of heart concerning his manner of going to God. He told me that all consists in one hearty renunciation of everything which we know does not lead to God. We might accustom ourselves to a continual conversation with Him with freedom and in simplicity. We need only recognize God intimately present with us and address ourselves to Him every moment. We need to beg His assistance for knowing His will in things doubtful and for rightly performing those things which we plainly see He requires of us, offering them to Him before we do them, and giving God thanks when we have completed them.
In our conversation with God we should engage in praising, adoring, and loving Him incessantly for His infinite goodness and perfection. Without being discouraged because of our sins, we should pray for His grace with perfect confidence, relying on the infinite merits of our Lord. Brother Lawrence said that God never failed offering us His grace at each action. It never failed except when Brother Lawrence's thoughts had wandered from a sense of God's presence, or he forgot to ask His assistance. He said that God always gave us light in our doubts when we had no other design but to please Him.
Our sanctification did not depend upon changing our works. Instead, it depended on doing those things for God's sake which we commonly do for our own. He thought it was lamentable to see how many people mistook the means for the end, addicting themselves to certain works which they performed very imperfectly because of their human or selfish regard. The most excellent method he had found for going to God was that of doing our common business without any view of pleasing men but purely for the love of God.
Brother Lawrence felt it was a great delusion to think that the times of prayer ought to differ from other times. We are as strictly obliged to adhere to God by action in the time of action, as by prayer in its time. His own prayer was simply a sense of the presence of God, his soul being at that time aware of nothing other than Divine Love. When the appointed times of prayer were past, he found no difference, because he still continued with God, praising and thanking Him with all his might. Thus his life was a continual joy.
Brother Lawrence said we ought, once and for all, heartily put our whole trust in God, and make a total surrender of ourselves to Him, secure that He would not deceive us. We ought not weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed. We should not wonder if, in the beginning, we often failed in our endeavors, but that at last we should gain a habit which will naturally produce its acts in us without our effort and to our great delight.
The whole substance of religion was faith, hope, and charity. In the practice of these we become united to the will of God. Everything else is indifferent and to be used as a means that we may arrive at our end and then be swallowed up by faith and charity. All things are possible to him who believes. They are less difficult to him who hopes. They are more easy to him who loves, and still more easy to him who perseveres in the practice of these three virtues. The end we ought to propose to ourselves is to become, in this life, the most perfect worshippers of God we can possibly be, and as we hope to be through all eternity.
We must, from time to time, honestly consider and thoroughly examine ourselves. We will, then, realize that we are worthy of great contempt. Brother Lawrence noted that when we directly confront ourselves in this manner, we will understand why we are subject to all kinds of misery and problems. We will realize why we are subject to changes and fluctuations in our health, mental outlook, and dispositions. And we will, indeed, recognize that we deserve all the pain and labor God sends to humble us.
After this, we should not wonder that troubles, temptations, oppositions, and contradictions happen to us from men. We ought, on the contrary, submit ourselves to them and bear them as long as God pleases as things highly advantageous to us. The greater perfection a soul aspires after, the more dependent it is upon Divine Grace.
Questions:
What is there in your life that does not lead you to God? What distracts you from God? Which of those things can you eliminate from your life?
In what ways do you adore and thank God every day? How many different ways can you find to adore Him? How many different things can you find to thank Him for?
In paragraph 3, Bro Lawrence tells us it is not what we do that distracts us from God but the way in which we approach our tasks. Doing the task for its own sake, with our egos tied up in the result, is going to distract us from God. How can you change your attitude toward everything you do so that all that you do becomes an offering to God?
Bro Lawrence says that our prayer times should be no different than any other moments. What does this mean?
Putting our whole trust in God... does that thought scare you? Are there things you feel you must keep control of? Have you reduced your tithe because you are afraid that you won't have enough money for the things you want? Are you willing to do without a want so that others may have have what they need?
Bro Lawrence has some strong words for the results of self-examination. Contempt seems to be going a bit too far. On the other hand, it is one end of a contiuum whose other end is complete self-indulgence and inflated egos. Surely Bro Lawrence offers us a happy medium. What are you in denial about? We all have those little voices we keep shushing. what is your little voice trying to get you to pay attention to? To admit to? To change?
Bro Lawrence says what attitude we should have in times of trouble. Is yours like his? Or do you say "Why did God...?" If the latter, have you allowed your sufferings to take you away from God? Or have you looked for His face in the midst of them?
posted by Gloriamarie Amalfitano @ 10:58 AM
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