Pages with highlighted sentences, notes written in ink, and coffee stains. These are some of my favorite kinds of pages to peel open, because it usually means it’s a book given to me by my mom, a book that helped her through her own vocation as a wife and home-schooling mother of seven.
One such book was written by a French Carmelite who lived in the seventeenth century:Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection. The title? The Practice of the Presence of God.
It is a book filled with wisdom, bringing me back to it for my second read in less than one year. I won’t be surprised if it’s a book that pulls the dust off of my bookshelf many times more. It is written through the heart and mind of a brother whose task in the monastery was to work in the kitchen.
One of the lines in my copy of this book which has stuck with me the most, is actually from the introduction written by Dorothy Day:
A philosopher once said “Do what you are doing’—that is, pay attention to what you are doing. Brother Lawrence obviously had no books in his kitchen, to study ways of finding God. He had to find his way, obviously by prayer. (p.7)
This reminds me of a conversation I once had with the Mother Superior of a religious order. She said that each of her sisters was only allowed five books at a time to be kept in their room.
This struck me, because I love holding on to my books, especially the ones which have shaped my spiritual life. I have way more than five books on my bookshelf, and I have many more that I still want to acquire.
But what I’ve been reminded of again and again in Brother Lawrence’s book, is that it isn’t about the perfect spiritual formula that I so often try to mix up. It’s about calling Jesus to mind in the simple moments of everyday life.
One of the ways I am trying to practice this is by actively living out his words, “...we ought to act very simply towards God, speaking frankly to Him, and asking His help in things as they occurred” (p. 25).
I’m trying to invite God into everything. When my three children are all either whining or crying, I am doing my best to ask God to be there with us. Before we dive into a messy art project, I ask Jesus to be there with us (and to help prevent us from making too big a mess). When we drive to a playdate, I ask Jesus to give us safe travels and blessed conversation. Then, when there is crying, or finger paint all over the kitchen chairs, or freezing cold weather to carry the children in and out of the car and I am tempted to complain, I can be encouraged by Brother Lawrence’s reminder that “our business is simply to love and be happy in God” (p. 28).
One person observed that Brother Lawrence “was more united with God during his ordinary activities than in religious exercises, in which he was generally afflicted with spiritual dryness” (p. 32).
How amazing! I often daydream about quiet moments of prayer with God. Yet here we have an example of someone who lived out his call exactly how it is meant to be! He lived out his vocation, as a brother and as someone responsible for a kitchen, by practicing the presence of God. By calling Christ to mind at every moment, and being faithful to his daily duties, Brother Lawrence trusted that Jesus would give him the grace he needed to be a joyful servant: “[W]e ought not to get tired of doing little things for the love of God, because He looks at the love rather than the work” (p. 36). This means that wiping sticky faces clean, sweeping up play dough, and simply just holding my child are all acts of great worship, so long as I do them with love.
In a letter he wrote “To a Woman in the World” he said: “To be with God it is not necessary to be always in church. We may make a chapel of our heart whereto we may escape from time to time to talk with Him quietly, humbly, and lovingly” (p. 50).
These words are beautiful, but not always easy—I do not always remember that the Trinity dwells within my soul because of my Baptism. Sometimes the escape I long for is an hour in Eucharistic Adoration or a retreat. Yet these moments of “escape” Brother Lawrence describes are often meant to be interior, and they are taken throughout the actions of one's day. It is the whispered prayer during a long day, it is a plea for mercy when falling short, it is a word of thanks for an unexpected blessing.
He is always there with you. Will you escape with Him?
Susanna Parent is a regular contributor to the BIS blog, speaker and a freelance writer. While a Wisconsin native, she now begins her mornings brewing French press coffee in the home she shares with her husband and children in the Twin Cities. When the sun sets, you’ll find her with friends enjoying a glass of red wine, preferably outside underneath twinkly lights. When not exploring all that the Twin Cities has to offer, she is indulging her wanderlust spirit by brainstorming their family's next new adventure. You can find out more about her here. Read all of Susanna's posts here.
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