Week 4: Letters Five through Eight — The Practice in Daily Life

1.In the Fifth Letter, Brother Lawrence makes a bold claim: 'It seems to me that whoever duly practices [the presence of God] will soon become devout.' He also says the heart must be 'empty of all other things' because 'God will possess the heart alone.' Do you find this condition — emptying the heart of everything that is not God — appealing, frightening, or both? What are you most reluctant to let go of?

2.Also in the Fifth Letter, Brother Lawrence writes: 'Were I a preacher, I would above all other things preach the practice of the presence of God. Were I a director, I would advise all the world to do it, so necessary do I think it, and so easy too.' He then adds: 'Ah! knew we but the want we have of the grace and assistance of God, we would never lose sight of Him, not for a moment.' What does it mean to truly know your need for God — not as a theological idea but as a felt reality? What would it take for you to feel that need more consistently?

3.In the Sixth Letter, Brother Lawrence writes: 'We must serve God in a holy freedom. We must work faithfully without trouble or disquiet, recalling our mind to God mildly and with tranquillity as often as we find it wandering from Him.' He is careful to say we must not put 'violent constraint upon ourselves.' How does this balance of discipline and gentleness challenge the way you typically respond when you realize your mind has wandered from God?