The Practice of the Presence of God

A member of the Carmelite Roman Catholic religious order, formally known as the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, founded in Palestine during the Middle Ages. Carmelites are known equally for their emphasis on contemplation and on missionary activity. The Carmelite order produced two famous 16th-century mystics: St. Theresa of Avila, and St. John of the Cross. Brother Lawrence joined the Carmelites as a lay brother after discovering his religious vocation and eventually became a noted figure in Christian mysticism.

Divine favor or aid to human beings, understood as unmerited and flowing from God’s loving nature. Grace plays a role in the text as part of the force of the divine presence that initiates communion between God and the individual. As a result of God’s grace, the individual experiences inner peace and relief from suffering and the burdens of life. In particular, God’s grace is expressed as forgiveness of one’s sins, which allows the individual to find peace in their soul.

Humility is “the moral virtue that keeps a person from reaching beyond himself” (Hardon, John A. Pocket Catholic Dictionary. Doubleday, 1985). For Brother Lawrence, humility is an attitude that keeps a person in the right place in relation to God and other human beings. It is the opposite of pride and the desire for personal greatness. Lawrence comes to be known to others particularly for his virtue of humility.

A lay brother is a member of a monastic order who is neither a priest nor preparing for the priesthood. In the text, Brother Lawrence belongs to a community of monks in a monastery where he devotes himself to a life of prayer and service presumably bound by vows of poverty and celibacy; however, he is not a priest and doesn’t plan to become one.

The presence of God can be defined as the existence of God as perceived by human beings and the belief that God is acting on their behalf and is open to having a relationship with them. The pursuit of the awareness of God’s presence is the main theme of the book, which describes Brother Lawrence’s spiritual quest for God’s presence. The awareness of God’s presence is described as the goal of life, to be continually pursued.

Temporal means pertaining to the present life, temporary and transitory as opposed to eternal. Spiritual denotes the opposite, that which is eternal and divine as opposed to earthly and human. One of the underlying motifs of the book is the relationship that our everyday activities should have toward God and the spiritual life.