Brother Lawrence of the
Resurrection (c. 1614 – 12 February 1691) served as a lay brother
in a Carmelite monastery in Paris. Christians commonly
remember him for the intimacy he expressed concerning his relationship to God as recorded in a book
compiled after his death, the classic Christian text, The Practice of the Presence of God.
The passage below explains a simple philosophy of life,
a kind of mysticism of daily life, quite similar in spirit to the type of yoga
practice explained in the Bhagavad Gita:
8. 8. Meditating with the mind engaged in
the Yoga of constant practice, not passing over to any thing else,
one goes to the Supreme Purusha, the Resplendent, O son of Pritha.
Practice
consists in the repetition of one and the same idea, uninterrupted by any
other thought, with reference to Me, the sole object of your thought. Such
a practice is itself said to be Yoga. With the mind thus solely engaged
in Yoga, not passing over to any other object, the Yogin
who meditates according to the teaching of the scripture and of the
teacher—of the sastra and acharya—reaches the Purusha, the Transcendental
Being in the Solar Orb (Sankaracharya. Sastry, Alladi Mahadeva. Transl. Bhagavad
Gita with the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya. Madras. Samata Books. 1897/1979).
The Means of Acquiring God’s Presence
1.The first means of acquiring the presence of God is a
new life, received by salvation through the blood of Christ.
2.The second
is faithfully practicing God’s presence. This must always be done gently,
humbly, and lovingly, without giving way to anxiety or problems.
3.Next, the
soul’s eyes must be kept on God, particularly when something is being done in
the outside world. Since much time and effort are needed to perfect this practice,
one should not be discouraged by failure. Although the habit is difficult
to form, it is a source of divine pleasure once it is learned. It is
proper that the heart—which is the first to live and which dominates all the
other parts of the body— should be the first and the last to love God. The
heart is the beginning and the end of all our spiritual and bodily actions and,
generally speaking, of everything we do in our lives. It is, therefore, the
heart whose attention we must carefully focus on God.
4.Then, in the
beginning of this practice, it would not be wrong to offer short phrases that
are inspired by love, such as “Lord, I am all Yours,” “God of love, I
love You with all my heart,” or “Lord, use me according to Your will.”
However, remember to keep the mind from wandering or returning to the world.
Hold your attention on God alone by exercising your will to remain in His presence.
5.Finally,
although this exercise may be difficult at first to maintain, it has
marvelous effects on the soul when it is faithfully practiced. It draws
the graces of the Lord down in abundance and shows the soul how to see God’s presence
everywhere with a pure and loving vision, which is the holiest, firmest,
easiest, and the most effective attitude for prayer. (Spiritual
Maxims of Brother Lawrence)
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