Carmelite Quote

Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection

During our work and other activities, during our spiritual reading and writing, even more so during our formal devotions and spoken prayers we should stop as often as we can, for a moment, to adore God from the bottom of our hearts, to savor Him, by stealth as it were, as he passes by. Since you know God is with you in all your actions, that He is in the deepest recesses of your soul, why not, from time to time, leave off your external activities and even your spoken prayers to adore Him inwardly, to praise Him, to petition Him, to offer Him your heart and to give Him thanks?

What can be more agreeable to God than to withdraw thus many times a day from the things of man to retire into ourselves and adore Him interiorly; in addition these interior retreats to God gradually free us by destroying that self love which can exist only among our fellow human beings.

And finally, we can give God no greater witness of our fidelity than in renouncing and despising time and again material things to be with our Creator for a single moment.(From his spiritual maxims)

Brother Lawrence is a true son of St. Teresa of Jesus. In his own way, he is explaining what St. Teresa teaches us about interior recollection. She tells us to withdraw to that holy place within our heart where we can speak and listen to the one whom we know loves us. She further teaches us that this practice of interior recollection is the gateway to the higher mansions of pure contemplation.

We must also keep in mind, that even though we make the effort to remember God in our heart, it is the action of the Holy Spirit that gives us the desire to do so. If we remember God at a certain time in the midst of our activity, it is a great joy to know that He first thought of us and gave us pause to think of Him-in Brother Lawrence's words-to be present as He passes by!

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS