The 17th-century Carmelite, Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, was a simple man who, in The Practice of the Presence of God, left some of the most profound insights on the spiritual life I’ve ever read.
The following are some of the most potent of these insights.
Holy Indifference
Early in his life, Brother Lawrence lived in exceeding scrupulosity and anxiety about his eternal destiny. While leanings in this direction would be perhaps a step in the right direction for most in the world today, God called Brother Lawrence higher.
That he had been long troubled in mind from a certain belief that he should be damned; that all the men in the world could not have persuaded him to the contrary; but that he had thus reasoned with himself about it: I did not engage in a religious life but for the love of God, and 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. That this trouble of mind had lasted four years; during which time he had suffered much.
Reading this the first time floored me in a way I’d never been before. Brother Lawrence, in an instant, cared no more about his eternal destiny and cared rather only to please God. He sought heaven only to the degree that, by doing so, he would please God.
Of course, this exposes the paradox that this disposition leaves one perhaps the most likely to be saved.
The Chapel of His Soul
Brother Lawrence brings to the practical conclusion the Church’s teaching on sanctifying grace — that the Holy Trinity lives in the souls of those who are in sanctifying grace.
It is not necessary for being with God to be always at church; we may make an oratory of our heart, wherein to retire from time to time, 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.
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, so that he passed his life in continual joy.
This is backed up explicitly by Our Lord
If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and will make our abode with him.1
Of course, this is not to discourage actually visiting Our Lord in a chapel but to visit this same Lord in the chapel God infused into our souls at Baptism.
It should be noted that the presence of God in one’s soul is dependent entirely on one’s sanctifying grace. If one is not baptized or has unconfessed mortal sins, one must seek this grace to be given in Baptism or in Confession.
Where We Leave Most on the Table in the Spiritual Life
The purpose of the spiritual life — or rather, of our entire life — is to love God. While this certainly requires certain actions such as regular prayers, obedience, and mortifications, these only do us good to the degree that they aid us in loving God.
However, The Practice of the Presence of God leaves the reader with a near certainty that the area we leave the most on the table in the spiritual life is the failure to purify our intentions to do all things explicitly in the presence of and for the love of God.
I get dressed every day; do I do that in God’s presence for the love of Him? I drive to work every day; do I do that in God’s presence for the love of Him? I help tidy the house every day; do I do that in God’s presence for the love of Him?
Brother Lawrence’s sanctity consisted almost exclusively in this manner.
That he had always been governed by love, without selfish views; and that having resolved to make the love of God the end of all his actions, he had found reasons to be well satisfied with his method. That 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.
Sanctity to this degree is truly a gift from God. While the heights of it may be daunting, God does afford us the luxury of it being profoundly simple.
John 14:23