Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection
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Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, OCD (c. 1614 – 12 February 1691) served as a lay brother in a
Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...
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 Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
text, ''
The Practice of the Presence of God ''The Practice of the Presence of God'' is a book of collected teachings of Brother Lawrence (born Nicolas Herman), a 17th-century Carmelite friar, compiled by Father Joseph de Beaufort. The compilation includes letters, as well as records of his ...
''.


Biography

Brother Lawrence was born Nicolas Herman in Hériménil, near
Lunéville Lunéville ( ; German, obsolete: ''Lünstadt'' ) is a commune in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It is a subprefecture of the department and lies on the river Meurthe at its confluence with the Vezouze. History Lun ...
in the region of Lorraine, located in modern-day eastern France. His parents were peasants, so his schooling was limited at best. Young Nicholas Herman grew up during the calamitous Thirty Years' War, which devastated central Europe between 1618 and 1648. As a young man, Herman's poverty forced him into joining the army, which guaranteed him meals and a small stipend. During this period, Herman claimed an experience that set him on a unique spiritual journey. At the age of 16, he saw a leafless tree in the middle of a battlefield. Realizing that the tree would be in full leaf and flower in a few months, he saw the tree as a symbol of God's ability to transform the human heart. He fought in the Thirty Years' War and following an injury, left the army and served as a valet. In 1635, Nicholas fought against Swedish infantry and French cavalry at
Rambervillers Rambervillers () is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Inhabitants are called ''Rambuvetais''. Geography The town is built on the banks of the Mortagne, some to the west of Saint-Dié and to the north-ea ...
, not far from his home village. He was taken prisoner by German troops on the march and was treated like a spy. They even threatened to hang him. He fearlessly answered that he was not what they suspected. When the soldiers saw his courage they released him. The Swedes entered Lorraine, and while passing through the area attacked the little town of Rambervillers where he became wounded leaving him permanently lame (Rambervillers had 2660 inhabitants at the time; eight years later there were only 400 survivors). The ghastly experience of battle seared his mind to such a degree that he fell back on his religious upbringing, and never looked back. He never spoke of the horrors he had experienced, but the effects remained with him for the rest of his life. After a period of convalescence in his parents' home, he entered the employment of William de Fuibert, treasurer to the king of France. Serving as a footman, Lawrence describes himself as "a great awkward fellow who broke everything". Thus when his service as a footman ended, Nicholas sought spiritual fulfillment in the solitude of a hermit's life. He firmly resolved to follow in the footsteps of his uncle, a holy Discalced Carmelite. In mid-June, at the age of twenty-six, he entered the Order of Discalced Carmelites on the Rue Vaugirard in Paris, as a lay brother. In June 1640, Nicolas joined the Discalced Carmelite Priory in Paris. He entered the priory as a lay brother and took the
religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for a religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should ...
"Lawrence of the Resurrection". He made his solemn profession of vows on August 14, 1642. He spent the rest of his life with the Parisian community, where his primary assignments were working in the kitchen and, in his later years, repairing sandals. He entered fearing 'they would skin him alive' for his awkwardness and faults—as he said in his own unpolished language, often seasoned with humor—but fortunately for himself and his brothers 'he experienced only satisfaction'. He carried out this office of cook until his leg became ulcerated, at which point his superiors assigned him an easier task, as sandal maker. Lawrence suffered from 'a kind of
sciatic The sciatic nerve, also called the ischiadic nerve, is a large nerve in humans and other vertebrate animals which is the largest branch of the sacral plexus and runs alongside the hip joint and down the lower limb. It is the longest and widest si ...
gout that made him limp' and worsened as the years went by. Gradually, the influence of the humble sandal-maker grew, not only among the poor. Many learned people, religious and ecclesiastics had esteem for him as well. Despite his lowly position in life and the priory, his character attracted many to him. He had a reputation for experiencing profound peace and visitors came to seek spiritual guidance from him. The wisdom he passed on to them, in conversations and in letters, would later become the basis for the book ''
The Practice of the Presence of God ''The Practice of the Presence of God'' is a book of collected teachings of Brother Lawrence (born Nicolas Herman), a 17th-century Carmelite friar, compiled by Father Joseph de Beaufort. The compilation includes letters, as well as records of his ...
''. The conversations had been conducted and recorded by a notable cleric, the Abbé Joseph de Beaufort, who compiled this work after Brother Lawrence died. This little book was approved by Archbishop of Paris,
Louis Antoine de Noailles Louis-Antoine de Noailles (27 May 16514 May 1729), second son of Anne, 1st duc de Noailles, was a French bishop and cardinal. His signing of the Unigenitus bull in 1728 would end the formal Jansenist controversy. Biography Louis-Antoine de Noai ...
. When the Archbishop of Paris approved the life of Brother Lawrence made by his Grand Vicar and in his own organisation, he approved that it is said that this brother "forgot himself and was willing to lose himself for God, That he no longer thought of virtue or his salvation ... that he had always governed himself by love without interest. The book consists of sixteen short ''Letters'' by himself, a short collection of ''Spiritual Maxims'' embodying his views, four ''Conversations'', probably written down by M. Beaufort and a brief ''Life'', apparently from the same hand. It became popular among
Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and
Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
alike, with
John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...
, Willard L Sperry,
A. W. Tozer Aiden Wilson Tozer (April 21, 1897 – May 12, 1963) was an American Christian pastor, author, magazine editor, and spiritual mentor. For his accomplishments, he received honorary doctorates from Wheaton College (Illinois), Wheaton and Houghton ...
and
Hannah Whitall Smith Hannah Tatum Whitall Smith (February 7, 1832 – May 1, 1911) was a lay speaker and author in the Holiness movement in the United States and the Higher Life movement in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. She was also active in ...
recommending it to others.
Hannah Whitall Smith Hannah Tatum Whitall Smith (February 7, 1832 – May 1, 1911) was a lay speaker and author in the Holiness movement in the United States and the Higher Life movement in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. She was also active in ...
writes "This little book seems to me one of the most helpful I know." Father de Beaufort recalls that "Lawrence was open, eliciting confidence, letting you feel you could tell him anything ... Once you got past the rough exterior you discovered unusual wisdom, a freedom beyond the reach of the ordinary lay brother". He was ill three times during the last years of his life. When he recovered the first time he said to his physician, "Doctor, your remedies have worked too well for me. You have only delayed my happiness." He ended his last letter on February 6 with, "I hope for the merciful grace of seeing him in a few days." Lucid up to the last moments, Brother Lawrence died at the age of seventy-seven. His death on February 12, 1691 occurred in relative obscurity, but his teachings lived on in the compilation of his words.
François Fénelon François de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon (), more commonly known as François Fénelon (6 August 1651 – 7 January 1715), was a French Catholic archbishop, theologian, poet and writer. Today, he is remembered mostly as the author of '' Th ...
, his compatriot and cousin of
Madame Guyon Jeanne-Marie Bouvier de la Motte-Guyon (Commonly known as Madame Guyon, ; 13 April 1648 – 9 June 1717) was a French mystic accused of advocating Quietism, which was considered heretical by the Roman Catholic Church. Madame Guyon was imprisone ...
, quoted and discussed his views in the books he wrote and also compared him to Jean-Joseph Surin His words from first letter ''to give the all for the all'' is a well-known phrase in the writings both of Madame Guyon and of Fenelon. Francois Fénelon in ''Œuvres de Fénelon'' (p. 430) in a letter to a lady dated Thursday, August 5 (1700), says that he met Brother Lawrence and describes him as follows: 'The sayings of the saints are well outside the rhetoric of traditions they are painting. Saint Catherine of Genoa is a genius of love. Brother Lawrence (Laurent) looks rough in appearance, and gentle by manners. This blend demonstrates God in him. I met him and there's a place in the book where the author, without naming me by name, told in a nutshell a very good talk I had with him about death when he was very ill and very cheerful.''


See also

*
Carmelite Rule of St. Albert The eremitic Rule of Saint Albert is the shortest of the rules of consecrated life in existence of the Catholic spiritual tradition, and is composed almost exclusively of scriptural precepts. To this day it is a rich source of inspiration for the ...
* Book of the First Monks * Constitutions of the Carmelite Order * Hermit


References


External links

* * * * *
Practice of the Presence of God at CCEL.org

Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection at CarmelitesofBoston.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Brother 1610s births 1691 deaths 17th-century Christian mystics 17th-century French people Carmelite spirituality Carmelites Discalced Carmelites French Christian monks French male writers French military personnel of the Thirty Years' War French religious writers Roman Catholic mystics Venerated Carmelites