THE BEST RULE OF A HOLY LIFE
Brother
Lawrence's
Conversations and Letters
Conversations and Letters
Good when He gives,
supremely good;
Nor less when He
denies:
Afflictions, from
His sovereign hand,
Are blessings in
disguise.
Editor's Preface
Brother Lawrence was born
Nicholas Herman around 1610 in Herimenil ,
Lorraine
The details of his early
life are few and sketchy. However, we know he was educated both at home and by
his parish priest whose first name was Lawrence
We also know that in the
years between the abrupt end of his duties as a soldier and his entry into
monastic life, he spent a period of time in the wilderness living like one of
the early desert fathers. Also, prior to entering the monastery, and perhaps as
preparation, he spent time as a civil servant. In his characteristic, self deprecating
way, he mentions that he was a "footman who was clumsy and broke
everything".
At mid-life he entered a
newly established monastery in Paris
In times as troubled as
today, Brother Lawrence, discovered, then followed, a pure and uncomplicated
way to walk continually in God's presence. For some forty years, he lived and
walked with Our Father at his side. Yet, through his own words, we learn that
Brother Lawrence's first ten years were full of severe trials and challenges.
A gentle man of joyful
spirit, Brother Lawrence shunned attention and the limelight, knowing that
outside distraction "spoils all". It was not until after his death
that a few of his letters were collected. Joseph de Beaufort, representative
and counsel to the local archbishop, first published the letters in a small
pamphlet. The following year, in a second publication which he titled, 'The
Practice of the Presence of God', de Beaufort included, as introductory
material, the content of four conversations he had with Brother Lawrence.
In this small book,
through letters and conversations, Brother Lawrence simply and beautifully
explains how to continually walk with God - not from the head but from the
heart. Brother Lawrence left the gift of a way of life available to anyone who
seeks to know God's peace and presence; that anyone, regardless of age or
circumstance, can practice -anywhere, anytime. Brother Lawrence also left the
gift of a direct approach to living in God's presence that is as practical
today as it was three hundred years ago.
Brother Lawrence died in 1691,
having practiced God's presence for over forty years. His quiet death was much
like his monastic life where each day and each hour was a new beginning and a
fresh commitment to love God with all his heart.
CONVERSATIONS
Introduction: At the time of de Beaufort's
interviews, Brother Lawrence was in his late fifties. Joseph de Beaufort later
commented that the crippled brother, who was then in charge of the upkeep of
over one hundred pairs of sandals, was "rough in appearance but gentle in
grace".
First Conversation: The first time I saw Brother
Lawrence was upon the 3rd of August, 1666. He told me that God had done him a
singular favor in his conversion at the age of eighteen. During that winter,
upon seeing a tree stripped of its leaves and considering that within a little
time the leaves would be renewed and after that the flowers and fruit appear,
Brother Lawrence received a high view of the Providence and Power of God which
has never since been effaced from his soul. 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 had increased in the forty years that he had lived since.
Brother Lawrence said he
had been footman to M. Fieubert, the treasurer, and that he was a great awkward
fellow who broke everything. He finally decided to enter a monastery thinking
that he would there be made to smart for his awkwardness and the faults he
would commit, and so he would sacrifice his life with its pleasures to God. But
Brother Lawrence said that God had surprised him because he met with nothing
but satisfaction in that state.
Brother Lawrence related
that we should establish ourselves in a sense of God's Presence by continually
conversing with Him. It was a shameful thing to quit His conversation to think
of trifles and fooleries. We should feed and nourish our souls with high
notions of God which would yield us great joy in being devoted to Him.
He said we ought to
quicken and enliven our faith. It was lamentable we had so little. Instead of
taking faith for the rule of their conduct, men amused themselves with trivial
devotions which changed daily. He said that faith was sufficient to bring us to
a high degree of perfection. We ought to give ourselves up to God with regard
both to things temporal and spiritual and seek our satisfaction only in the
fulfilling of His will. Whether God led us by suffering or by consolation all
would be equal to a soul truly resigned.
He said we need fidelity
in those disruptions in the ebb and flow of prayer when God tries our love to
Him. This was the time for a complete act of resignation, whereof one act alone
could greatly promote our spiritual advancement.
He said that as far as
the miseries and sins he heard of daily in the world, he was so far from wondering
at them, that, on the contrary, he was surprised there were not more
considering the malice sinners were capable of. For his part, he prayed for
them. But knowing that God could remedy the mischief they did when He pleased,
he gave himself no further trouble.
Brother Lawrence said to
arrive at such resignation as God requires, we should carefully watch over all
the passions that mingle in spiritual as well as temporal things. God would
give light concerning those passions to those who truly desire to serve Him.
At the end of this first
conversation Brother Lawrence said that if my purpose for the visit was to
sincerely discuss how to serve God, I might come to him as often as I pleased
and without any fear of being troublesome. If this was not the case, then I
ought visit him no more.
Second Conversation: Brother Lawrence told me he had
always been governed by love without selfish views. Since he resolved to make
the love of God the end of all his actions, he had found reasons to be well
satisfied with his method. He was pleased when he could take up a straw from
the ground for the love of God, seeking Him only, and nothing else, not even
His gifts.
He said he had been long
troubled in mind from a certain belief that he should be damned. All the men in
the world could not have persuaded him to the contrary. This trouble of mind
had lasted four years during which time he had suffered much.
Finally he reasoned: I
did not engage in a religious life but for the love of God. I have endeavored
to act only for Him. Whatever becomes of me, whether I be lost or saved, I will
always continue to act purely for the love of God. I shall have this good at
least that till death I shall have done all that is in me to love Him. From
that time on Brother Lawrence lived his life in perfect liberty and continual
joy. He placed his sins between himself and God to tell Him that he did not
deserve His favors yet God still continued to bestow them in abundance.
Brother Lawrence said
that in order to form a habit of conversing with God continually and referring
all we do to Him, we must at first apply to Him with some diligence. Then,
after a little care, we would find His love inwardly excite us to it without
any difficulty.
He expected after the
pleasant days God had given him, he would have his turn of pain and suffering.
Yet he was not uneasy about it. Knowing that, since he could do nothing of
himself, God would not fail to give him the strength to bear them.
When an occasion of
practicing some virtue was offered, he addressed himself to God saying,
"Lord, I cannot do this unless Thou enablest me". And then he
received strength more than sufficient. When he had failed in his duty, he only
confessed his fault saying to God, "I shall never do otherwise, if You
leave me to myself. It is You who must hinder my falling and mend what is
amiss." Then, after this, he gave himself no further uneasiness about it.
Brother Lawrence said we
ought to act with God in the greatest simplicity, speaking to Him frankly and
plainly, and imploring His assistance in our affairs just as they happen. God
never failed to grant it, as Brother Lawrence had often experienced.
He said he had been
lately sent into Burgundy Auvergne
So, likewise, in his
business in the kitchen (to which he had naturally a great aversion), having accustomed
himself to do everything there for the love of God and asking for His grace to
do his work well, he had found everything easy during the fifteen years that he
had been employed there. He was very well pleased with the post he was now in.
Yet he was as ready to quit that as the former, since he tried to please God by
doing little things for the love of Him in any work he did. With him the set
times of prayer were not different from other times. He retired to pray
according to the directions of his superior, but he did not need such
retirement nor ask for it because his greatest business did not divert him from
God.
Since he knew his
obligation to love God in all things, and as he endeavored to do so, he had no
need of a director to advise him, but he greatly needed a confessor to absolve
him. He said he was very sensible of his faults but not discouraged by them. He
confessed them to God and made no excuses. Then, he peaceably resumed his usual
practice of love and adoration.
In his trouble of mind,
Brother Lawrence had consulted no one. Knowing only by the light of faith that
God was present, he contented himself with directing all his actions to Him. He
did everything with a desire to please Him and let what would come of it.
He said that useless thoughts
spoil all - that the mischief began there. We ought to reject them as soon as
we perceived their impertinence and return to our communion with God. In the
beginning he had often passed his time appointed for prayer in rejecting
wandering thoughts and falling right back into them. He could never regulate
his devotion by certain methods as some do. Nevertheless, at first he had
meditated for some time, but afterwards that went off in a manner that he could
give no account of. Brother Lawrence emphasized that all bodily mortifications
and other exercises are useless unless they serve to arrive at the union with
God by love. He had well considered this. He found that the shortest way to go
straight to God was by a continual exercise of love and doing all things for
His sake.
He noted that there was a
great difference between the acts of the intellect and those of the will. Acts
of the intellect were comparatively of little value. Acts of the will were all
important. Our only business was to love and delight ourselves in God. All
possible kinds of mortification, if they were void of the love of God, could
not efface a single sin. Instead, we ought, without anxiety, to expect the
pardon of our sins from the blood of Jesus Christ only endeavoring to love Him with
all our hearts. And he noted that God seemed to have granted the greatest
favors to the greatest sinners as more signal monuments of His mercy.
Brother Lawrence said the
greatest pains or pleasures of this world were not to be compared with what he
had experienced of both kinds in a spiritual state. As a result he feared
nothing, desiring only one thing of God - that he might not offend Him. He said
he carried no guilt. "When I fail in my duty, I readily acknowledge it,
saying, I am used to do so. I shall never do otherwise if I am left to myself.
If I fail not, then I give God thanks acknowledging that it comes from
Him."
Third Conversation: Brother Lawrence told me that the
foundation of the spiritual life in him had been a high notion and esteem of
God in faith. When he had once well established his faith he had no other care
but to reject every other thought so he might perform all his actions for the
love of God. He said when sometimes he had not thought of God for a good while
he did not disquiet himself for it. Having acknowledged his wretchedness to
God, he simply returned to Him with so much the greater trust in Him.
He said the trust we put
in God honors Him much and draws down great graces. Also, that it was
impossible not only that God should deceive but that He should long let a soul
suffer which is perfectly resigned to Him and resolved to endure everything for
His sake.
Brother Lawrence often
experienced the ready succors of Divine Grace. And because of his experience of
grace, when he had business to do, he did not think of it beforehand. When it
was time to do it, he found in God, as in a clear mirror, all that was fit for
him to do. When outward business diverted him a little from the thought of God
a fresh remembrance coming from God invested his soul and so inflamed and
transported him that it was difficult for him to contain himself. He said he
was more united to God in his outward employments than when he left them for
devotion in retirement.
Brother Lawrence said
that the worst that could happen to him was to lose that sense of God which he
had enjoyed so long. Yet the goodness of God assured him He would not forsake
him utterly and that He would give him strength to bear whatever evil He
permitted to happen to him. Brother Lawrence, therefore, said he feared
nothing. He had no occasion to consult with anybody about his state. In the
past, when he had attempted to do it, he had always come away more perplexed.
Since Brother Lawrence was ready to lay down his life for the love of God, he
had no apprehension of danger.
He said that perfect
resignation to God was a sure way to heaven, a way in which we have always
sufficient light for our conduct. In the beginning of the spiritual life we
ought to be faithful in doing our duty and denying ourselves and then, after a
time, unspeakable pleasures followed. In difficulties we need only have
recourse to Jesus Christ and beg His grace with which everything became easy.
Brother Lawrence said
that many do not advance in the Christian progress because they stick in
penances and particular exercises while they neglect the love of God which is
the end. This appeared plainly by their works and was the reason why we see so
little solid virtue. He said there needed neither art nor science for going to
God, but only a heart resolutely determined to apply itself to nothing but Him
and to love Him only.
Fourth Conversation: Brother Lawrence spoke with great
openness of heart concerning his manner of going to God whereof some part is
related already. He told me that all consists in one hearty renunciation of
everything which we are sensible does not lead to God. We might accustom
ourselves to a continual conversation with Him with freedom and in simplicity.
We need only to 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 which we plainly see He
requires of us, offering them to Him before we do them, and giving Him thanks
when we have completed them.
In our conversation with
God we should also engage in praising, adoring, and loving Him incessantly for
His infinite goodness and perfection. Without being discouraged on account of
our sins, we should pray for His grace with a perfect confidence, as relying
upon 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 that 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 by reason of their human or
selfish regards. 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 season. His own prayer was nothing else but a
sense of the presence of God, his soul being at that time insensible to
everything but Divine Love. When the appointed times of prayer were past, he
found no difference, because he still continued with God, praising and blessing
Him with all his might. Thus he passed his life in continual joy. Yet he hoped
that God would give him somewhat to suffer when he grew stronger.
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 care and
to our exceeding 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 labors 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, to 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.
Being questioned by one
of his own community (to whom he was obliged to open himself) by what means he
had attained such an habitual sense of God, Brother Lawrence told him that,
since his first coming to the monastery, he had considered God as the end of
all his thoughts and desires, as the mark to which they should tend, and in
which they should terminate.
He noted that in the
beginning of his novitiate he spent the hours appointed for private prayer in
thinking of God so as to convince his mind and impress deeply upon his heart
the Divine existence. He did this by devout sentiments and submission to the
lights of faith, rather than by studied reasonings and elaborate meditations.
By this short and sure method he exercised himself in the knowledge and love of
God, resolving to use his utmost endeavor to live in a continual sense of His
Presence, and, if possible, never to forget Him more.
When he had thus, in
prayer, filled his mind with great sentiments of that Infinite Being, he went
to his work appointed in the kitchen (for he was then cook for the community).
There having first considered severally the things his office required, and
when and how each thing was to be done, he spent all the intervals of his time,
both before and after his work, in prayer.
When he began his
business, he said to God with a filial trust in Him, "O my God, since Thou
art with me, and I must now, in obedience to Thy commands, apply my mind to
these outward things, I beseech Thee to grant me the grace to continue in Thy
Presence; and to this end do Thou prosper me with Thy assistance. Receive all
my works, and possess all my affections." As he proceeded in his work, he
continued his familiar conversation with his Maker, imploring His grace, and
offering to Him all his actions.
When he had finished, he
examined himself how he had discharged his duty. If he found well, he returned
thanks to God. If otherwise, he asked pardon and, without being discouraged, he
set his mind right again. He then continued his exercise of the presence of God
as if he had never deviated from it. "Thus," said he, "by rising
after my falls, and by frequently renewed acts of faith and love, I am come to
a state wherein it would be as difficult for me not to think of God as it was
at first to accustom myself to it."
As Brother Lawrence had
found such an advantage in walking in the presence of God, it was natural for
him to recommend it earnestly to others. More strikingly, his example was a
stronger inducement than any arguments he could propose. His very countenance
was edifying with such a sweet and calm devotion appearing that he could not
but affect the beholders.
It was observed, that in
the greatest hurry of business in the kitchen, he still preserved his
recollection and heavenly-mindedness. He was never hasty nor loitering, but did
each thing in its season with an even uninterrupted composure and tranquillity
of spirit. "The time of business," said he, "does not with me
differ from the time of prayer. In the noise and clutter of my kitchen, while
several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess
God in as great tranquillity as if I were upon my knees at the Blessed
Supper."
Letters
Introduction: Brother Lawrence's fifteen
letters are the very heart and soul of what is titled 'The Practice of the
Presence of God'. All of these letters were written during the last ten years
of his life. Many of them were to long-time friends, a Carmelite sister and a
sister at a nearby convent. One or both of these friends were from his native
village, perhaps relatives.
The first letter was
probably written to the prioress of one of these convents. The second letter
was written to Brother Lawrence's own spiritual adviser. Note that the fourth
letter is written in the third person where Brother Lawrence describes his own
experience. The letters follow the tradition of substituting M-- for specific
names.
First Letter: You so earnestly desire that I
describe the method by which I arrived at that habitual sense of God's
presence, which our merciful Lord has been pleased to grant me. I am complying
with your request with my request that you show my letter to no one. If I knew
that you would let it be seen, all the desire I have for your spiritual
progress would not be enough to make me comply.
The account I can give
you is: Having found in many books different methods of going to God and divers
practices of the spiritual life, I thought this would serve rather to puzzle me
than facilitate what I sought after, which was nothing but how to become wholly
God's. This made me resolve to give the all for the All. After having given
myself wholly to God, to make all the satisfaction I could for my sins, I
renounced, for the love of Him, everything that was not He, and I began to live
as if there was none but He and I in the world.
Sometimes I considered
myself before Him as a poor criminal at the feet of his judge. At other times I
beheld Him in my heart as my Father, as my God. I worshipped Him the oftenest I
could, keeping my mind in His holy presence and recalling it as often as I
found it wandered from Him. I made this my business, not only at the appointed
times of prayer but all the time; every hour, every minute, even in the height
of my work, I drove from my mind everything that interrupted my thoughts of
God.
I found no small pain in
this exercise. Yet I continued it, notwithstanding all the difficulties that
occurred. And I tried not to trouble or disquiet myself when my mind wandered.
Such has been my common practice ever since I entered religious life. Though I
have done it very imperfectly, I have found great advantages by it. These, I
well know, are to be imputed to the mercy and goodness of God because we can do
nothing without Him; and I still less than any.
When we are faithful to
keep ourselves in His holy presence, and set Him always before us, this hinders
our offending Him, and doing anything that may displease Him. It also begets in
us a holy freedom, and, if I may so speak, a familiarity with God, where, when
we ask, He supplies the graces we need. Over time, by often repeating these
acts, they become habitual, and the presence of God becomes quite natural to
us.
Please give Him thanks
with me, for His great goodness towards me, which I can never sufficiently
express, and for the many favors He has done to so miserable a sinner as I am.
May all things praise Him. Amen.
Second Letter: Not finding my manner of life
described in books, although I have no problem with that, yet, for reassurance,
I would appreciate your thoughts about it.
In conversation some days
ago a devout person told me the spiritual life was a life of grace, which
begins with servile fear, which is increased by hope of eternal life, and which
is consummated by pure love; that each of these states had its different steps,
by which one arrives at last at that blessed consummation.
I have not followed these
methods at all. On the contrary, I instinctively felt they would discourage me.
Instead, at my entrance into religious life, I took a resolution to give myself
up to God as the best satisfaction I could make for my sins and, for the love
of Him, to renounce all besides.
For the first years, I
commonly employed myself during the time set apart for devotion with thoughts
of death, judgment, hell, heaven, and my sins. Thus I continued some years
applying my mind carefully the rest of the day, and even in the midst of my
work, to the presence of God, whom I considered always as with me, often as in
my heart.
At length I began to do
the same thing during my set time of prayer, which gave me joy and consolation.
This practice produced in me so high an esteem for God that faith alone was
enough to assure me.
Such was my beginning.
Yet I must tell you that for the first ten years I suffered a great deal.
During this time I fell often, and rose again presently. It seemed to me that
all creatures, reason, and God Himself were against me and faith alone for me.
The apprehension that I
was not devoted to God as I wished to be, my past sins always present to my
mind, and the great unmerited favors which God did me, were the source of my
sufferings and feelings of unworthiness. I was sometimes troubled with thoughts
that to believe I had received such favors was an effect of my imagination,
which pretended to be so soon where others arrived with great difficulty. At
other times I believed that it was a willful delusion and that there really was
no hope for me.
Finally, I considered the
prospect of spending the rest of my days in these troubles. I discovered this
did not diminish the trust I had in God at all. In fact, it only served to
increase my faith. It then seemed that, all at once, I found myself changed. My
soul, which, until that time was in trouble, felt a profound inward peace, as
if she were in her center and place of rest.
Ever since that time I
walk before God simply, in faith, with humility, and with love. I apply myself
diligently to do nothing and think nothing which may displease Him. I hope that
when I have done what I can, He will do with me what He pleases.
As for what passes in me
at present, I cannot express it. I have no pain or difficulty about my state
because I have no will but that of God. I endeavor to accomplish His will in
all things. And I am so resigned that I would not take up a straw from the
ground against His order or from any motive but that of pure love for Him.
I have ceased all forms
of devotion and set prayers except those to which my state requires. I make it
my priority to persevere in His holy presence, wherein I maintain a simple
attention and a fond regard for God, which I may call an actual presence of
God. Or, to put it another way, it is an habitual, silent, and private
conversation of the soul with God. This gives me much joy and contentment. In
short, I am sure, beyond all doubt, that my soul has been with God above these past
thirty years. I pass over many things that I may not be tedious to you.
Yet, I think it is
appropriate to tell you how I perceive myself before God, whom I behold as my
King. I consider myself as the most wretched of men. I am full of faults,
flaws, and weaknesses, and have committed all sorts of crimes against his King.
Touched with a sensible regret I confess all my wickedness to Him. I ask His
forgiveness. I abandon myself in His hands that He may do what He pleases with
me.
My King is full of mercy
and goodness. Far from chastising me, He embraces me with love. He makes me eat
at His table. He serves me with His own hands and gives me the key to His
treasures. He converses and delights Himself with me incessantly, in a thousand
and a thousand ways. And He treats me in all respects as His favorite. In this
way I consider myself continually in His holy presence.
My most usual method is
this simple attention, an affectionate regard for God to whom I find myself
often attached with greater sweetness and delight than that of an infant at the
mother's breast. To choose an expression, I would call this state the bosom of
God, for the inexpressible sweetness which I taste and experience there. If, at
any time, my thoughts wander from it from necessity or infirmity, I am
presently recalled by inward emotions so charming and delicious that I cannot
find words to describe them. Please reflect on my great wretchedness, of which
you are fully informed, rather than on the great favors God does one as
unworthy and ungrateful as I am.
As for my set hours of
prayer, they are simply a continuation of the same exercise. Sometimes I
consider myself as a stone before a carver, whereof He is to make a statue.
Presenting myself thus before God, I desire Him to make His perfect image in my
soul and render me entirely like Himself. At other times, when I apply myself
to prayer, I feel all my spirit lifted up without any care or effort on my
part. This often continues as if it was suspended yet firmly fixed in God like
a center or place of rest.
I know that some charge
this state with inactivity, delusion, and self-love. I confess that it is a
holy inactivity. And it would be a happy self-love if the soul, in that state,
were capable of it. But while the soul is in this repose, she cannot be
disturbed by the kinds of things to which she was formerly accustomed. The
things that the soul used to depend on would now hinder rather than assist her.
Yet, I cannot see how
this could be called imagination or delusion because the soul which enjoys God
in this way wants nothing but Him. If this is delusion, then only God can
remedy it. Let Him do what He pleases with me. I desire only Him and to be
wholly devoted to Him.
Please send me your
opinion as I greatly value and have a singular esteem for your reverence, and
am yours.
Third Letter: We have a God who is infinitely
gracious and knows all our wants. I always thought that He would reduce you to
extremity. He will come in His own time, and when you least expect it. Hope in
Him more than ever. Thank Him with me for the favors He does you, particularly
for the fortitude and patience which He gives you in your afflictions. It is a
plain mark of the care He takes of you. Comfort yourself with Him, and give
thanks for all.
I admire also the
fortitude and bravery of M--. God has given him a good disposition and a good
will; but he is still a little worldly and somewhat immature. I hope the
affliction God has sent him will help him do some reflection and inner
searching and that it may prove to be a wholesome remedy to him. It is a chance
for him to put all his trust in God who accompanies him everywhere. Let him
think of Him as much as he can, especially in time of great danger.
A little lifting up of
the heart and a remembrance of God suffices. One act of inward worship, though
upon a march with sword in hand, are prayers which, however short, are
nevertheless very acceptable to God. And, far from lessening a soldier's
courage in occasions of danger, they actually serve to fortify it. Let him
think of God as often as possible. Let him accustom himself, by degrees, to
this small but holy exercise. No one sees it, and nothing is easier than to
repeat these little internal adorations all through the day.
Please recommend to him
that he think of God the most he can in this way. It is very fit and most
necessary for a soldier, who is daily faced with danger to his life, and often
to his very salvation.
I hope that God will
assist him and all the family, to whom I present my service, being theirs and
yours.
Fourth Letter: I am taking this opportunity to
tell you about the sentiments of one of our society concerning the admirable
effects and continual assistance he receives from the presence of God. May we
both profit by them.
For the past forty years
his continual care has been to be always with God; and to do nothing, say
nothing, and think nothing which may displease Him. He does this without any
view or motive except pure love of Him and because God deserves infinitely
more.
He is now so accustomed
to that Divine presence that he receives from it continual comfort and peace.
For about thirty years his soul has been filled with joy and delight so
continual, and sometimes so great, that he is forced to find ways to hide their
appearing outwardly to others who may not understand.
If sometimes he becomes a
little distracted from that Divine presence, God gently recalls Himself by a
stirring in his soul. This often happens when he is most engaged in his outward
chores and tasks. He answers with exact fidelity to these inward drawings,
either by an elevation of his heart towards God, or by a meek and fond regard
to Him, or by such words as love forms upon these occasions. For instance, he
may say, "My God, here I am all devoted to You," or "Lord, make
me according to Your heart."
It seems to him (in fact,
he feels it) that this God of love, satisfied with such few words, reposes
again and rests in the depth and center of his soul. The experience of these
things gives him such certainty that God is always in the innermost part of his
soul that he is beyond doubting it under any circumstances.
Judge by this what
content and satisfaction he enjoys. While he continually finds within himself
so great a treasure, he no longer has any need to search for it. He no longer
has any anxiety about finding it because he now has his beautiful treasure open
before him and may take what he pleases of it.
He often points out our
blindness and exclaims that those who content themselves with so little are to
be pitied. God, says he, has infinite treasure to bestow, and we take so little
through routine devotion which lasts but a moment. Blind as we are, we hinder
God, and stop the current of His graces. But when He finds a soul penetrated
with a lively faith, He pours into it His graces and favors plentifully. There
they flow like a torrent, which, after being forcibly stopped against its
ordinary course, when it has found a passage, spreads itself with impetuosity
and abundance.
Yet we often stop this
torrent by the little value we set upon it. Let us stop it no more. Let us
enter into ourselves and break down the bank which hinders it. Let us make way
for grace. Let us redeem the lost time, for perhaps we have but little left.
Death follows us close so let us be well prepared for it. We die but once and a
mistake there is irretrievable.
I say again, let us enter
into ourselves. The time presses. There is no room for delay. Our souls are at
stake. It seems to me that you are prepared and have taken effectual measures
so you will not be taken by surprise. I commend you for it. It is the one thing
necessary. We must always work at it, because not to persevere in the spiritual
life is to go back. But those who have the gale of the Holy Spirit go forward
even in sleep. If the vessel of our soul is still tossed with winds and storms,
let us awake the Lord who reposes in it. He will quickly calm the sea.
I have taken the liberty
to impart to you these good sentiments that you may compare them with your own.
May they serve to re-kindle them, if at any time they may be even a little
cooled. Let us recall our first favors and remember our early joys and
comforts. And, let us benefit from the example and sentiments of this brother
who is little known by the world, but known and extremely caressed by God.
I will pray for you.
Please pray also for me, as I am yours in our Lord.
Fifth Letter: Today I received two books and a
letter from Sister M--, who is preparing to make her profession. She desires
the prayers of your holy society, and yours in particular. I think she greatly
values your support. Please do not disappoint her. Pray to God that she may
take her vows in view of His love alone, and with a firm resolution to be
wholly devoted to Him. I will send you one of those books about the presence of
God; a subject which, in my opinion, contains the whole spiritual life. It
seems to me that whoever duly practices it will soon become devout.
I know that for the right
practice of it, the heart must be empty of all other things; because God will
possess the heart alone. As He cannot possess it alone, without emptying it of
all besides, so neither can He act there and do in it what He pleases unless it
be left vacant to Him. There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and
delightful than that of a continual conversation with God. Only those can
comprehend it who practice and experience it. Yet I do not advise you to do it
from that motive. It is not pleasure which we ought to seek in this exercise.
Let us do it from a principle of love, and because it is God's will for us.
Were I a preacher, I
would above all other things preach the practice of the presence of God. Were I
a director, I would advise all the world to do it, so necessary do I think it,
and so easy too. Ah! knew we but the want we have of the grace and assistance
of God, we would never lose sight of Him, no, not for a moment.
Believe me. Immediately
make a holy and firm resolution never more to forget Him. Resolve to spend the
rest of your days in His sacred presence, deprived of all consolations for the
love of Him if He thinks fit. Set heartily about this work, and if you do it
sincerely, be assured that you will soon find the effects of it.
I will assist you with my
prayers, poor as they are. I recommend myself earnestly to you and those of
your holy society.
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 and which you must have received. 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 tranquillity 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 spirits 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.
Seventh Letter: I pity you much. It will be a
great relief if you can leave the care of your affairs to M-- and spend the
remainder of your life only in worshipping God. He requires no great matters of
us; a little remembrance of Him from time to time, a little adoration.
Sometimes to pray for His grace. Sometimes to offer Him your sufferings. And
sometimes to return Him thanks for the favors He has given you, and still gives
you, in the midst of your troubles. Console yourself with Him the oftenest you
can. Lift up your heart to Him at your meals and when you are in company. The
least little remembrance will always be pleasing to Him.
You need not cry very
loud. He is nearer to us than we are aware. And we do not always have to be in
church to be with God. We may make an oratory of our heart so we can, from time
to time, retire to converse with Him in meekness, humility, and love. Every one
is capable of such familiar conversation with God, some more, some less. He
knows what we can do.
Let us begin then.
Perhaps He expects but one generous resolution on our part. Have courage. We
have but little time to live. You are nearly sixty-four, and I am almost
eighty. Let us live and die with God. Sufferings will be sweet and pleasant
while we are with Him. Without Him, the greatest pleasures will be a cruel
punishment to us. May He be blessed by all.
Gradually become
accustomed to worship Him in this way; to beg His grace, to offer Him your
heart from time to time; in the midst of your business, even every moment if
you can. Do not always scrupulously confine yourself to certain rules or
particular forms of devotion. Instead, act in faith with love and humility.
You may assure M-- of my
poor prayers, and that I am their servant, and yours particularly.
Eighth Letter: You tell me nothing new. You are
not the only one who is troubled with wandering thoughts. Our mind is extremely
roving. But the will is mistress of all our faculties. She must recall our
stray thoughts and carry them to God as their final end.
If the mind is not
sufficiently controlled and disciplined at our first engaging in devotion, it
contracts certain bad habits of wandering and dissipation. These are difficult
to overcome. The mind can draw us, even against our will, to worldly things. I
believe one remedy for this is to humbly confess our faults and beg God's mercy
and help.
I do not advise you to
use multiplicity of words in prayer. Many words and long discourses are often
the occasions of wandering. Hold yourself in prayer before God, like a dumb or
paralytic beggar at a rich man's gate. Let it be your business to keep your
mind in the presence of the Lord. If your mind sometimes wanders and withdraws
itself from Him, do not become upset. Trouble and disquiet serve rather to
distract the mind than to re-collect it. The will must bring it back in
tranquillity. If you persevere in this manner, God will have pity on you.
One way to re-collect the
mind easily in the time of prayer, and preserve it more in tranquillity, is not
to let it wander too far at other times. Keep your mind strictly in the
presence of God. Then being accustomed to think of Him often, you will find it
easy to keep your mind calm in the time of prayer, or at least to recall it
from its wanderings. I have told you already of the advantages we may draw from
this practice of the presence of God. Let us set about it seriously and pray
for one another.
Ninth Letter: The enclosed is an answer to that
which I received from M--. Please deliver it to her. She is full of good will
but she would go faster than grace! One does not become holy all at once. I
recommend her to your guidance. We ought to help one another by our advice, and
yet more by our good example. Please let me hear of her from time to time and
whether she is very fervent and obedient.
Let us often consider
that our only business in this life is to please God, that perhaps all besides
is but folly and vanity. You and I have lived over forty years in the monastic
life. Have we employed them in loving and serving God, who by His mercy has
called us to this state and for that very end? I am sometimes filled with shame
and confusion when I reflect, on the one hand, upon the great favors which God
has done and continues to do for me; and, on the other, upon the ill use I have
made of them and my small advancement in the way of perfection.
Since, by His mercy, He
gives us yet a little time, let us begin in earnest. Let us repair the lost
time. Let us return with full assurance to that Father of mercies, who is
always ready to receive us affectionately. Let us generously renounce, for the
love of Him, all that is not Himself. He deserves infinitely more. Let us think
of Him perpetually. Let us put all our trust in Him.
I have no doubt that we
shall soon receive an abundance of His grace, with which we can do all things,
and, without which we can do nothing but sin. We cannot escape the dangers
which abound in life without the actual and continual help of God. Let us pray
to Him for it constantly.
How can we pray to Him
without being with Him? How can we be with Him but in thinking of Him often?
And how can we often think of Him, but by a holy habit which we should form of
it? You will tell me that I always say the same thing. It is true, for this is
the best and easiest method I know. I use no other. I advise all the world to
do it.
We must know before we
can love. In order to know God, we must often think of Him. And when we come to
love Him, we shall then also think of Him often, for our heart will be with our
treasure.
Tenth Letter: I have had a good deal of
difficulty bringing myself to write to M. I do it now purely because you desire
me to do so. Please address it and send it to him. It is pleasing to see all
the faith you have in God. May He increase it in you more and more. We cannot
have too much trust in so good and faithful a Friend who will never fail us in
this world nor in the next.
If M-- takes advantage of
the loss he has had and puts all his confidence in God, He will soon give him
another friend more powerful and more inclined to serve him. He disposes of
hearts as He pleases. Perhaps M-- was too attached to him he has lost. We ought
to love our friends, but without encroaching upon the love of God, which must
always be first.
Please keep my
recommendation in mind that you think of God often; by day, by night, in your
business, and even in your diversions. He is always near you and with you. Leave
Him not alone. You would think it rude to leave a friend alone who came to
visit you. Why, then, must God be neglected? Do not forget Him but think on Him
often. Adore Him continually. Live and die with Him. This is the glorious work
of a Christian; in a word, this is our profession. If we do not know it, we
must learn it.
I will endeavor to help
you with my prayers, and am yours in our Lord.
Eleventh Letter: I do not pray that you may be
delivered from your pains; but I pray earnestly that God gives you strength and
patience to bear them as long as He pleases. Comfort yourself with Him who
holds you fastened to the cross. He will loose you when He thinks fit. Happy
are those who suffer with Him. Accustom yourself to suffer in that manner, and
seek from Him the strength to endure as much, and as long, as He judges
necessary for you.
Worldly people do not
comprehend these truths. It is not surprising though, since they suffer like
what they are and not like Christians. They see sickness as a pain against
nature and not as a favor from God. Seeing it only in that light, they find
nothing in it but grief and distress. But those who consider sickness as coming
from the hand of God, out of His mercy and as the means He uses for their
salvation, commonly find sweetness and consolation in it.
I pray that you see that
God is often nearer to us and present within us in sickness than in health. Do
not rely completely on another physician because He reserves your cure to
Himself. Put all your trust in God. You will soon find the effects in your
recovery, which we often delay by putting greater faith in medicine than in
God. Whatever remedies you use, they will succeed only so far as He permits.
When pains come from God, only He can ultimately cure them. He often sends
sickness to the body to cure diseases of the soul. Comfort yourself with the
Sovereign Physician of both soul and body.
I expect you will say
that I am very much at ease, and that I eat and drink at the table of the Lord.
You have reason. But think how painful it would be to the greatest criminal in
the world to eat at the king's table and be served by him, yet have no
assurance of pardon? I believe he would feel an anxiety that nothing could calm
except his trust in the goodness of his sovereign. So I assure you, that
whatever pleasures I taste at the table of my King, my sins, ever present
before my eyes, as well as the uncertainty of my pardon, torment me. Though I
accept that torment as something pleasing to God.
Be satisfied with the
condition in which God places you. However happy you may think me, I envy you.
Pain and suffering would be a paradise to me, if I could suffer with my God.
The greatest pleasures would be hell if I relished them without Him. My only
consolation would be to suffer something for His sake.
I must, in a little time,
go to God. What comforts me in this life is that I now see Him by faith. I see
Him in such a manner that I sometimes say, I believe no more, but I see. I feel
what faith teaches us, and, in that assurance and that practice of faith, I
live and die with Him.
Stay with God always for
He is the only support and comfort for your affliction. I shall beseech Him to
be with you. I present my service.
Twelfth Letter: If we were well accustomed to the
practice of the presence of God, bodily discomforts would be greatly
alleviated. God often permits us to suffer a little to purify our souls and
oblige us to stay close to Him.
Take courage. Offer Him
your pain and pray to Him for strength to endure them. Above all, get in the
habit of often thinking of God, and forget Him the least you can. Adore Him in
your infirmities. Offer yourself to Him from time to time. And, in the height
of your sufferings, humbly and affectionately beseech Him (as a child his
father) to make you conformable to His holy will. I shall endeavor to assist
you with my poor prayers.
God has many ways of
drawing us to Himself. He sometimes seems to hide Himself from us. But faith
alone ought to be our support. Faith is the foundation of our confidence. We
must put all our faith in God. He will not fail us in time of need. I do not
know how God will dispose of me but I am always happy. All the world suffers
and I, who deserve the severest discipline, feel joys so continual and great
that I can scarcely contain them.
I would willingly ask God
for a part of your sufferings. I know my weakness is so great that if He left
me one moment to myself, I would be the most wretched man alive. And yet, I do
not know how He could leave me alone because faith gives me as strong a
conviction as reason. He never forsakes us until we have first forsaken Him.
Let us fear to leave Him. Let us always be with Him. Let us live and die in His
presence. Do pray for me, as I pray for you.
Thirteenth Letter: I am sorry to see you suffer so
long. What gives me some ease and sweetens the feeling I have about your
griefs, is that they are proof of God's love for you. See your pains in that
view and you will bear them more easily. In your case, it is my opinion that,
at this point, you should discontinue human remedies and resign yourself
entirely to the providence of God. Perhaps He waits only for that resignation
and perfect faith in Him to cure you. Since, in spite of all the care you have
taken, treatment has proved unsuccessful and your malady still increases, wait
no longer. Put yourself entirely in His hands and expect all from Him.
I told you in my last
letter that He sometimes permits bodily discomforts to cure the distempers of
the soul. Have courage. Make a virtue of necessity. Do not ask God for
deliverance from your pain. Instead, out of love for Him, ask for the strength
to resolutely bear all that He pleases, and as long as He pleases. Such prayers
are hard at first, but they are very pleasing to God, and become sweet to those
that love Him.
Love sweetens pains. And
when one loves God, one suffers for His sake with joy and courage. Do so, I
beseech you. Comfort yourself with Him. He is the only physician for all our
illnesses. He is the Father of the afflicted and always ready to help us. He
loves us infinitely more than we can imagine. Love Him in return and seek no
consolation elsewhere. I hope you will soon receive His comfort. Adieu.
I will help you with my
prayers, poor as they are, and shall always be yours in our Lord.
Fourteenth Letter: I give thanks to our Lord for
having relieved you a little as you desired. I have often been near death and I
was never so much satisfied as then. At those times I did not pray for any
relief, but I prayed for strength to suffer with courage, humility, and love.
How sweet it is to suffer with God! However great your sufferings may be,
receive them with love. It is paradise to suffer and be with Him. If, in this
life, we might enjoy the peace of paradise, we must accustom ourselves to a
familiar, humble, and affectionate conversation with God.
We must hinder our
spirits wandering from Him on all occasions. We must make our heart a spiritual
temple so we can constantly adore Him. We must continually watch over ourselves
so we do not do anything that may displease Him. When our minds and hearts are
filled with God, suffering becomes full of unction and consolation.
I well know that to
arrive at this state, the beginning is very difficult because we must act
purely on faith. But, though it is difficult, we know also that we can do all
things with the grace of God. He never refuses those who ask earnestly. Knock.
Persevere in knocking. And I answer for it, that, in His due time, He will open
His graces to you. He will grant, all at once, what He has deferred during many
years. Adieu.
Pray to Him for me, as I
pray to Him for you. I hope to see Him soon.
Fifteenth Letter: God knows best what we need. All
that He does is for our good. If we knew how much He loves us, we would always
be ready to receive both the bitter and the sweet from His Hand. It would make
no difference. All that came from Him would be pleasing. The worst afflictions
only appear intolerable if we see them in the wrong light. When we see them as
coming from the hand of God and know that it is our loving Father who humbles
and distresses us, our sufferings lose their bitterness and can even become a
source of consolation.
Let all our efforts be to
know God. The more one knows Him, the greater one desires to know Him. Knowledge
is commonly the measure of love. The deeper and more extensive our knowledge,
the greater is our love. If our love of God were great we would love Him
equally in pain and pleasure.
We only deceive ourselves
by seeking or loving God for any favors which He has or may grant us. Such
favors, no matter how great, can never bring us as near to God as can one
simple act of faith. Let us seek Him often by faith. He is within us. Seek Him
not elsewhere.
Are we not rude and
deserve blame if we leave Him alone to busy ourselves with trifles which do not
please Him and perhaps even offend Him? These trifles may one day cost us
dearly. Let us begin earnestly to be devoted to Him. Let us cast everything
else out of our hearts. He wants to possess the heart alone. Beg this favor of
Him. If we do all we can, we will soon see that change wrought in us which we
so greatly desire.
I cannot thank Him enough
for the relief He has given you. I hope to see Him within a few days. Let us
pray for one another.
Brother Lawrence died
peacefully within days of this last letter.
The Sayings of Brother Lawrence
Whatever
becomes of me, whether I be lost or saved, I will always continue to act purely
for the love of God. I shall have this good, at least, that till death I shall
have done all that is in me to love Him.
Those
who have the gale of the Holy Spirit go forward even in sleep. If the vessel of
our soul is still tossed with winds and storms, let us awake the Lord who
reposes in it. He will quickly calm the sea.
How
can we pray to Him without being with Him? How can we be with Him without
thinking of Him often? And how can we think of Him but by a holy habit we
should form of it?
The more one knows God, the
greater one desires to know Him. Knowledge is commonly the measure of love. The
deeper and more extensive our knowledge, the greater is our love.
Comfort yourself with the
Sovereign Physician of both body and soul.
There
is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful, than that of a
continual conversation with God: those only can comprehend it who practice and
experience it.
I
walk before God simply, in faith, with humility and with love; and I apply
myself diligently to do nothing and think nothing which may displease Him.
We
must know before we can love. In order to know God, we must often think of Him.
And when we come to love Him, we shall then also think of Him often, for our
heart will be with our treasure.
We are made for God alone,
who can only be pleased when we turn away from ourselves to devote ourselves to
Him.
It
is the Creator who teaches truth, who in one moment instructs the heart of the
humble and makes him understand more about the mysteries of faith and even
about Himself than if he had studied them for a long term of years.
One way to re-collect the
mind easily in the time of prayer, and preserve it more in tranquillity, is not
to let it wander too far at other times.
... to live as if there were
none but He and I in the world.
We ought not to grow tired
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.
When
an occasion of practicing some virtue was offered, Brother Lawrence addressed
himself to God, saying, "Lord, I cannot do this unless Thou enablest
me," and then he received strength more than sufficient.
I
know that for the right practice the heart must be empty of all other things;
because God will possess the heart alone; and as He cannot possess it alone,
without emptying it of all else besides, so neither can He act there, and do in
it what He pleases, unless it be left vacant to Him.
Perhaps all we need is a
hearty resolution.
Pay
little attention to the beautiful words and subtle discourse of the wise of the
earth. Woe to those who look to human knowledge to satisfy their curiosity. It
is the Creator who teaches the truth and instructs the heart of the humble.
I see Him in such a manner
as might make me say, sometimes, I believe no more, but I see.
He converses and delights Himself with me incessantly, in a thousand and a
thousand ways.
God
has infinite treasure to bestow, and we take up with a little sensible devotion
which passes in a moment. Blind as we are, we hinder God and stop the current
of His graces. But when He finds a soul penetrated with a lively faith, He
pours into it His graces and favors plentifully; there they flow like a
torrent, which, after being forcibly stopped against its ordinary course, when
it has found a passage, spreads itself with impetuosity and abundance.
Be always with God; and do
nothing, say nothing, and think nothing which may displease Him; and this
without any other view than purely for the love of Him, and because He deserves
infinitely more.
I
know that some charge this state with inactivity, delusion, and self-love. I
confess that it is a holy inactivity, and it would be a happy self-love if the
soul in that state were capable of it. However, while she is in this repose,
she cannot be disturbed by such acts as she was formerly accustomed to and
which were then her support. Such former acts would now hinder rather than
assist her.
God alone is capable of
making Himself known as He really is. We search in reasoning and in sciences,
as in a poor copy. What we neglect to see is God's painting Himself in the
depth of our soul.
God
does not ask much of us. But remembering Him, praising Him, asking for His
grace, offering Him your troubles, or thanking Him for what He has given you
will console you all the time ... lift up your heart ... little remembrances
please Him.
People seek methods of
learning to know God. Is it not much shorter and more direct to simply do
everything for the love of Him? There is no finesse about it. One only has to
do it generously and simply.
When
the mind, for want of being sufficiently reduced by recollection at our
engaging in devotion, has contracted certain bad habits of wandering and
dissipation, they are difficult to overcome. They commonly draw us, even
against our wills, to the things of the earth. I believe one remedy for this is
to confess our faults and to humble ourselves before God.
The end we ought to propose
to ourselves is to become, in this life, the most perfect worshippers of God we
can possibly be, as we hope to be through all eternity.
We
ought to give ourselves up to God, both in temporal and spiritual things, and
seek our satisfaction only in fulfilling His will. Whether He leads us by
suffering or consolation, all is the same to one truly resigned.
In continuing the practice
of conversing with God throughout each day, and quickly seeking His forgiveness
when I fell or strayed, His presence has become as easy and natural to me now
as it once was difficult to attain.
It
is a great delusion to think our times of prayer ought to differ from other
times. We are as strictly obliged to cleave to God by action in the time of
action as by prayer in the season of prayer.
Useless thoughts spoil all,
mischief begins there. We ought to reject them as soon as we perceive their
impertinence and return to our communion with God.
The most excellent method of
going to God is that of doing our common business without any view of pleasing
people but purely for the love of God.
Our
mind is extremely roving; but as the will is mistress of all our faculties, she
must recall them, and carry them to God, as their last end. If your mind
sometimes wanders and withdraws itself from Him, do not much disquiet yourself.
Trouble and disquiet serve rather to distract the mind rather than to
re-collect it. The will must bring it back in tranquillity. If you persevere in
this manner then God will have pity on you.
We
should establish ourselves in a sense of God's presence by continually conversing
with Him. It is a shameful thing to quit His conversation to think of trifles
and fooleries.
Let us think often that our
only business in this life is to please God. Perhaps all besides is but folly
and vanity.
We
should, once and for all, heartily put our whole trust in God, and make a total
surrender of ourselves, secure that He will not deceive us.
Everyone is capable of these
intimate conversations with God, some more, some less, and God knows what we
can do.
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