Brother Lawrence said that “when his duties distracted him somewhat from thinking about God, God impressed a remembrance of himself on his soul, giving him so intense an awareness of God, warming and inflaming him so strongly, that he cried out and made exaggerated gestures, singing and jumping about like a fool.” When God moved…

Brother Lawrence said that “when he had some matter to take care of, he never thought about it in advance, but within the necessary time period he found in God, as in a clear mirror, what he needed at the moment. For some time now he acted in this manner with no apprehension, although before…

Brother Lawrence “reached the point where his thoughts were exclusively of God. In his struggle against temptation, he could sense the temptation from the first moment. His experience of God’s prompt help was such, however, that he sometimes allowed the temptations to advance, but at just the right moment he called upon God, and they…

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…