Brother Lawrence said that “the foundation of his spiritual life was an exalted idea and esteem of God in faith. Once he conceived it, his only concern was, in the beginning, to faithfully reject every other thought, and to perform all his actions for the love of God. Sometimes a long time would pass without…

Brother Lawrence was not as hard on himself as we are sometimes prone to be. He said: “When I realize I have failed, I acknowledge it and say: this is typical; it’s all I can do! If I have succeeded, I thank God and acknowledge that this grace comes from him.” When Brother Lawrence failed…

Brother Lawrence said that “he thought neither of death, nor of his sins, nor of paradise, nor of hell, but only of doing little things for the love of God, since he was not capable of doing great things. Other than that, whatever happened to him was God’s will, and he was at peace with…

Brother Lawrence said that even doing all the acts of penitence possible, they would not so much as take away one single sin. “Without worrying, we must look to the blood of Christ for the remission of sin, working only at loving God with our whole heart. God seems to choose the worst sinners to…

Brother Lawrence said that “the actions of the understanding are very different from those of the will, for the former amounted to little, while the latter were everything. Only loving and rejoicing with God truly matter.” Brother Lawrence elevates a heart that chooses to love God supremely over a mind that seeks understanding. We may…

In learning how to pray, Brother Lawrence had to find his own way. “He was never able to pray by rules like others; he would meditate for a while in the beginning but afterward he did not know how it went, and it would be impossible for him to explain it.” Brother Lawrence tried to…

In learning how to pray, Brother Lawrence had to find his own way. “He was never able to pray by rules like others; he would meditate for a while in the beginning but afterward he did not know how it went, and it would be impossible for him to explain it.” Brother Lawrence tried to…

In learning to pray, Brother Lawrence had to learn how to deal with distractions. “In the beginning he had often spent the whole period of prayer fighting off thoughts and falling into them again.” When we pray, we also discover that our mind wanders. We try to stay on track, but sometimes our thoughts drift…

Sometimes Brother Lawrence makes some bold statements that we need to clarify. He said that “thoughts spoil everything; that’s how trouble starts! We must be careful to reject them as soon as we notice that they have nothing to do with our present occupation or our salvation, and begin again our conversation with God, which…

After working for many years in the kitchen and having other responsibilities, Brother Lawrence “was assigned to the sandal shop, which was a delight for him, but he was willing to give up this task like the others. He would find joy everywhere doing little things for the love of God.” Brother Lawrence had already…