Practice of God's Presence: 6th letter
Sixth Letter: I have received from M_ the things which you gave her for me. I wonder that you have not given me your thoughts on the little book I sent to you. Set heartily about the practice of it in your old age. It is better late than never.
I cannot imagine how religious persons can live satisfied without the practice of the presence of God. For my part I keep myself retired with Him in the depth and center of my soul as much as I can. While I am with Him I fear nothing; but the least turning from Him is insupportable. This practice does not tire the body. It is, however, proper to deprive it sometimes, nay often, of many little pleasures which are innocent and lawful. God will not permit a soul that desires to be devoted entirely to Him to take pleasures other than with Him. That is more than reasonable.
I do not say we must put any violent constraint upon ourselves. No, we must serve God in a holy freedom. We must work faithfully without trouble or disquiet, recalling our mind to God mildly and with tranquility as often as we find it wandering from Him. It is, however, necessary to put our whole trust in God. We must lay aside all other cares and even some forms of devotion, though very good in themselves, yet such as one often engages in routinely. Those devotions are only means to attain to the end.
Once we have established a habit of the practice of the presence of God, we are then with Him who is our end. We have no need to return to the means. We may simply continue with Him in our commerce of love, persevering in His holy presence with an act of praise, of adoration, or of desire; or with an act of resignation, or thanksgiving, and in all the ways our spirit can invent.
Be not discouraged by the repugnance which you may find in it from nature. You must sacrifice yourself. At first, one often thinks it a waste of time. But you must go on and resolve to persevere in it until death, notwithstanding all the difficulties that may occur.
I recommend myself to the prayers of your holy society, and yours in particular. I am yours in our Lord.
Questions:
I sure wish I knew which little book the good Brother is so keen on!!!
Does the 2nd paragraph trouble you? For one thing, in the 1st sentence, I'd prefer it to say "Christian" rather than "religious" person, but then, we must remember that his correspondent is a vowed religious. In what ways do you think all Christians would benefit from this practice?
How about those last 2 sentences of this paragraph? Let us remember again, that Br. Lawrence is writing to someone who has vowed to live the religious life and to embrace the Evangelical Counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. On the other hand, in what way might it be worth it to forgo some innocent practice, habit or interest and to replace it with God's continual presence?
In what does the third paragraph modify the starkness of the second?
What does it mean to put your whole trust in God? How does this manifest itself in your lives?
I love this bit in the fourth paragraph: "We have no need to return to the means. "
How often do you place a higher value on the means rather than the end? Have you ever considered that emphasis on the means of grace might be an form of idolatry?
What is the difference between concentrating on the means and "simply continuing in our commerce of love"? Yes, that language is unusual to us, perhaps, but let your imagination soar.
The fifth paragraph reminds me of Romans where Paul writes of the battle between our flesh and our spirit, where the things of God do not come naturally to us. About how we must persevere in holy things even though it is difficult.
Have you ever though of it from this perspective, though? Since we are created in the image and likeness of God, is it not the most truly natural thing in the world that we should live in intimate relationship with Him? And is the converse also true that thanks to the entry of sin into the world, we have been living most unnaturally , that is, out of relationship with God? Is not the Christian life the struggle to replace the unnatural with the natural? What, then, does this struggle look like in your life?
I cannot imagine how religious persons can live satisfied without the practice of the presence of God. For my part I keep myself retired with Him in the depth and center of my soul as much as I can. While I am with Him I fear nothing; but the least turning from Him is insupportable. This practice does not tire the body. It is, however, proper to deprive it sometimes, nay often, of many little pleasures which are innocent and lawful. God will not permit a soul that desires to be devoted entirely to Him to take pleasures other than with Him. That is more than reasonable.
I do not say we must put any violent constraint upon ourselves. No, we must serve God in a holy freedom. We must work faithfully without trouble or disquiet, recalling our mind to God mildly and with tranquility as often as we find it wandering from Him. It is, however, necessary to put our whole trust in God. We must lay aside all other cares and even some forms of devotion, though very good in themselves, yet such as one often engages in routinely. Those devotions are only means to attain to the end.
Once we have established a habit of the practice of the presence of God, we are then with Him who is our end. We have no need to return to the means. We may simply continue with Him in our commerce of love, persevering in His holy presence with an act of praise, of adoration, or of desire; or with an act of resignation, or thanksgiving, and in all the ways our spirit can invent.
Be not discouraged by the repugnance which you may find in it from nature. You must sacrifice yourself. At first, one often thinks it a waste of time. But you must go on and resolve to persevere in it until death, notwithstanding all the difficulties that may occur.
I recommend myself to the prayers of your holy society, and yours in particular. I am yours in our Lord.
Questions:
I sure wish I knew which little book the good Brother is so keen on!!!
Does the 2nd paragraph trouble you? For one thing, in the 1st sentence, I'd prefer it to say "Christian" rather than "religious" person, but then, we must remember that his correspondent is a vowed religious. In what ways do you think all Christians would benefit from this practice?
How about those last 2 sentences of this paragraph? Let us remember again, that Br. Lawrence is writing to someone who has vowed to live the religious life and to embrace the Evangelical Counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. On the other hand, in what way might it be worth it to forgo some innocent practice, habit or interest and to replace it with God's continual presence?
In what does the third paragraph modify the starkness of the second?
What does it mean to put your whole trust in God? How does this manifest itself in your lives?
I love this bit in the fourth paragraph: "We have no need to return to the means. "
How often do you place a higher value on the means rather than the end? Have you ever considered that emphasis on the means of grace might be an form of idolatry?
What is the difference between concentrating on the means and "simply continuing in our commerce of love"? Yes, that language is unusual to us, perhaps, but let your imagination soar.
The fifth paragraph reminds me of Romans where Paul writes of the battle between our flesh and our spirit, where the things of God do not come naturally to us. About how we must persevere in holy things even though it is difficult.
Have you ever though of it from this perspective, though? Since we are created in the image and likeness of God, is it not the most truly natural thing in the world that we should live in intimate relationship with Him? And is the converse also true that thanks to the entry of sin into the world, we have been living most unnaturally , that is, out of relationship with God? Is not the Christian life the struggle to replace the unnatural with the natural? What, then, does this struggle look like in your life?
posted by Gloriamarie Amalfitano @ 11:25 AM
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