Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Larry Bro
So I've been blessed recently by the writings and life of Brother Lawrence, a 17th Century Parisian monk...
From his eulogy, about a third of the way in (it's on page 37 in my book*, the 10th page of a 30-page eulogy):
...At the beginning of my duties, I said to God with a son-like trust, "My God, since You are with me, and since it is Your will that I should apply my mind to these outward things, I pray that You will give me the grace to remain with You and keep company with You. But so that my work may be better, Lord, work with me; receive my work and possess all my affections." Finally, during my work, I continued to speak to Him in a familiar way, offering Him my little services, and asking for His grace. At the end of my work, I examined how I had done it, and if I found any good in it, I thanked God. If I noticed errors, I asked His forgiveness for them, and without becoming discouraged, I resolved to change and began anew to remain with God as if I had never strayed. So, by picking myself up after my falls, and by doing many little acts of faith and love, I came to a state in which it would be as difficult for me not to think of God as it had been difficult to accustom myself to thinking of Him at the beginning.
Later in the book it is revealed that while Brother Lawrence was dying, he refused comfort measures and in fact intentionally laid in uncomfortable positions, so that he could better understand and honor Christ's suffering...
*The Practice of the Presence of God. By Brother Lawrence. A new translation by Robert J. Edmonson. Edited by Hal M. Helms. Paraclete Press, 1985.
From his eulogy, about a third of the way in (it's on page 37 in my book*, the 10th page of a 30-page eulogy):
...At the beginning of my duties, I said to God with a son-like trust, "My God, since You are with me, and since it is Your will that I should apply my mind to these outward things, I pray that You will give me the grace to remain with You and keep company with You. But so that my work may be better, Lord, work with me; receive my work and possess all my affections." Finally, during my work, I continued to speak to Him in a familiar way, offering Him my little services, and asking for His grace. At the end of my work, I examined how I had done it, and if I found any good in it, I thanked God. If I noticed errors, I asked His forgiveness for them, and without becoming discouraged, I resolved to change and began anew to remain with God as if I had never strayed. So, by picking myself up after my falls, and by doing many little acts of faith and love, I came to a state in which it would be as difficult for me not to think of God as it had been difficult to accustom myself to thinking of Him at the beginning.
Later in the book it is revealed that while Brother Lawrence was dying, he refused comfort measures and in fact intentionally laid in uncomfortable positions, so that he could better understand and honor Christ's suffering...
*The Practice of the Presence of God. By Brother Lawrence. A new translation by Robert J. Edmonson. Edited by Hal M. Helms. Paraclete Press, 1985.
