www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology The Secret to Holiness: Living Daily in the Presence of God

THE UNCEASING PRESENCE OF GOD
(according to Br. Lawrence)

Everyone who gives thought to the matter can agree that God is always present to all that He has created. When God was sending Moses to Egypt and to the chosen people Moses asked for a name so that he could tell the people of Israel who it was that sent him, and God said: "I am Who am." When this mysterious statement is reflected upon it is seen to say that God, and only He, is the One who always was and always will be, because He must by His very nature exist. He cannot begin to exist nor can He cease existing. It is this that makes Him so radically different from everything else because all was created and depends on Him for its existence. God must then be present to everything that is, both to bring it into existence and to keep it in existence. He also must give the power to move so that the planets can stay in orbit, so that things can grow and animals and people and angels can live. He gives to us the power to live and feel and think and make free choices, even when these are contrary to His clear command. And at all times He knows everything that goes on everywhere, even our innermost thoughts. Reflection on this gives us some passing awareness of the immensity of God. To practice the presence of God is to make a habit of reflecting on this until our awareness of the limitless God becomes a normal everyday condition that shapes our thoughts, our decisions, our whole lives. It was this habit, this practice, that made Brother Lawrence the kind of person he was, that enabled him to walk with the Lord.

Sacred Scripture has many, many texts that lead us to this practice; in fact all scripture arises from a deep awareness of a God who is present and not far away. The prophets speak regularly of walking before the Lord or standing in His Presence. There is a passage in the Book of Wisdom that gives what we might call the basic scriptural thinking, the thought on which other thinking is built: "For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated you would not have fashioned. And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved had it not been called forth by you? But you spare all things because they are yours, O Lord and lover of souls." This is a real expression of faith in God's presence and a fine example of a correct response. The God of the Bible is not far off but very close; He intervenes in the life of His people, making Himself known by signs and messages. His love is strong and does not change, and like all true love it calls for a response, for a corresponding commitment. In the beginning of the Bible, the places where God manifested Himself became sacred to His presence. We can see a development whereby His people gradually became aware of His presence, not merely in certain places but in all places and especially in the people themselves. His people would be removed from their sacred places but not from Him. There is a passage in Deuteronomy that prepares them for this, "Yet there, too, you will seek the Lord your God, and you shall indeed find him when you search after him with your whole heart and with your whole soul. In your distress, when all these things should have come upon you, you will finally return to the Lord, your God, and heed his voice. Since the Lord your God is a merciful God, he will not abandon and destroy you, nor forget the covenant which under oath he made with your fathers." A very interesting passage is to be found in the second book of Samuel. This is the story of King David's wish to build a special house for the Lord and not have Him dwell in a tent while David himself had a house of cedar. And the Lord got the message to David that he would not have his house of cedar if the Lord had not taken him from behind the sheep, and furthermore that the Lord himself had not dwelt in a house from the day He led the Israelites out of the land of Egypt. Then He said: "Your house and your kingdom shall endure for ever before me." And the words 'house' or 'kingdom' do not refer to a place or a territory but to people. The prophet Elijah had a way of speaking of "Yahweh, in whose presence I stand," and his mission was to bring the people back to an awareness of the true God. In his great challenge with the priest of Baal he prayed, "Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done these things by your command. Answer my Lord, answer me, that these people may know that you. Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to their senses." That last line makes one think. If, as St. Augustine says, "We are born for God and our hearts do not rest until they rest in him," then putting the search for God first in our lives should establish a balance in our psyche that would bring us back to our senses.

Brother Lawrence had a lot of good sense to begin with. In the monastery, he was assigned to work in the kitchen and must have overcome his tendency to break things, because he was left at that work for some thirty years. Because of his awareness of God's presence he grew to like that difficult assignment more and more and found more happiness there. He once said that he joined the monastery to do some penance for his sins, but that the lord had disappointed him in that and had given him nothing but joy instead.

But to continue a little further with the lessons of Sacred Scripture. God's presence and unchanging love for us have always brought out a great response in those who take these facts to heart. Nowhere do we get better examples of this than in the Psalms.

Psalm 62:1:
In God alone is my soul at rest:
my help comes from him alone.
He alone is my rock, my stronghold,
my fortress. I stand firm.

Psalm 63: 1-4:
O God, you are my God, for you I long,
for you my soul is thirsting.
My body pines for you
like a dry, weary land with-
out water.

Psalm 42:1-2:
Like a deer that yearns
for running streams,
so my soul is yearning
for you, my God.
("Grail" translation)

When we move on into the New Testament we are really into the story of God-with-us. We find God in human form living among His people and telling them that wherever two or three are gathered in His name that He is there among them; that if we love Him and keep His commandments that His father will love us and that the Divine Persons will come to us and make their abode with us. Such statements reveal to us the mystery of God dwelling within us as individuals and as community. We are talking about a presence that penetrates our very being and sanctifies us. It is this that caused St. Paul to tell his converts that they were temples of the Holy Spirit. God, our creator, our Redeemer, our Sanctifier permeating our very existence, this is what the Scripture conveys to us.

May we all strive to live today in His holy presence!

In His Holy Name,
+Fr. Gregory

Is this from Bro. Lawrence of the Ressurection's "Practice of the Presence of God"?

Yes indeed it is. Great isn't it? Br. Lawrence was certainly a saint!

May we all practice this living in His presence daily!

In His great love for us,
+Fr. Gregory

When I was a high school freshman, my algebra teacher began every class, without exception, with the words, "Let us recall the presence of God." After a few seconds of silence, we launched into the day's dissertation on x's and y's and whatever.

Almost 30 years later, despite pursuing a career in math/science/technology, those words are the only thing I can really remember him teaching me. Thank you Brother Francis, wherever you are.

You must have attended a Christian Brother's school? They had this practice at one time of ringing a small bell every 15 minutes and a student was appointed to say, "Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God!"

I'll bet they no longer have this practice. Sad...as it is totally true and is one of THE most important realities that can be promoted.

In Him Who calls us,
+Fr. Gregory

Bless, Father Gregory!

Was it the Cure of Ars who met a man who spent hours in Church and asked him what he could possibly be telling God?

And the reply was, "I'm not telling him anything - I'm looking at Him, and He's looking at me!"

Alex

Dear Friends,

My best prayer is silence. The Holy Trinity is within me. The mental image of our beautiful Blessed Mother, St. Joseph or some holy saint is comforting.

God is supplying me and my loved ones needs in Christ Jesus. Yes, I petition God, but His wonderful presence is found in silence.

Brother Lawrence taught me this.

Christ is our peace.

Paul

Dear Paul,

Our Anglican bookstore here has Brother Lawrence's book as an all time best-seller, especially among its Protestant visitors!

Alex

Alex,

My sister, a Catholic to Evangelical Christian convert, recommended Bro. Lawrence's book to
me.

I pray that my sister and her husband return to the fullness of the Catholic faith.

Paul

No, it was the Brothers of Mary. However, I wish I could have experienced the practice you describe. Perhaps I can rig something up on my computer at work to beep at me every 15 minutes so I can help keep my mind focused on the spiritual realities in the midst of the day's usual turmoil.

Elkages,
That is a wonderful idea!
Though, getting in the habit of looking at your watch seems more practical than setting a timer, because you wear your watch more places than you take your computer. If you forget, just start over again. I'll bet after a few weeks of concerted effort it'll become part of your rhythm.

I will try it too.

Peace,
Indigo

Another way to remain aware of God's prayer is to say a prayer before and after every activity. It would seem that a short , but heartfelt and conscious prayer would be better than a long wordy prayer.

Peace,
Indigo

It's good to see athletes make the sign of the cross before or after competing in an event.

Likewise, it was nice to see Prince Andrew make the sign of the cross during Princess Diana's funeral.

Paul

Living in the presence of God is a constant struggle and yet it gives great joy to the soul.... this struggle to seek Him always in all that we do, in all we meet, and in ourselves. Even though failure is inevitable, the fact that one is striving with all their heart and soul to be present to "The Presence" is already a great source of consolation. We have found the precious pearl!!! The pearl of great price that is worth so much that we can give up everything else.

Life is filled with tiny moments...and in those moments it can simply be a silent glance, a plunge into the Mystery of the Indwelling,a heartfelt murmuring of the Jesus prayer, a desperate plea for aid....it doesn't matter what form the prayer takes....all that matters is that we are in contact with the One whom our heart desires.... sometimes we forget and we live the moment alone...but then we remember and we get back to Him whom our soul seeks... and before we know it the forgetful moments become less and less and the tiny prayerful moments become connected so that every moment is filled with remembrance of Him.

....just a few thoughts from someone trying to live a life of prayer in His presence.

Chaire,

Welcome to the Forum!
Thank you for your meditation.

I told a priest-friend that I didn't pray enough. His response was, don't worry how much you pray, God's unreasonable love is living in you even when you don't know it. The Holy Spirit will help you to pray.

Christ is our peace.

Paul