La Vida Sacra Book

It is truly fitting and proper'somewhat ironic too'that the author of the shortest, sweetest, and perhaps the most useful guide to prayer and union with God was written by a Catholic who never became a saint, never became a priest, and worked almost his entire life in the kitchen.

Nicholas Herman grew up amid the violence and upheavals of The Thirty Years War, and, being a poor peasant, he joined the army in order to eat and survive. One winter, while still a soldier, he happened to gaze upon the bare branches of a tree, and he knew in that instant not only that its leaves and its fruits were certain to arrive, in good time, in the coming spring and in the summer, but also that grace would surely bring him to a flowering and a ripeness too. That tree had "flashed upon [his] soul the fact of God" and from that moment he never ceased to burn with Love.

After being wounded and discharged from the army, Nicholas first worked briefly as a footman, and then entered the Discalced Carmelite monastery. Considered too unlettered to be a priest and too ignorant to perform any but the most menial tasks, he was assigned to cook and clean in the kitchen.

The name he chose for himself was Lawrence, for St. Lawrence was the Patron Saint of Cooks, having achieved his martyrdom by being cooked to death on a grate. ("Turn me over! I'm done on this side!" St. Lawrence cried out to his torturers, and this dark witticism eventually earned him the additional title of Patron Saint of Comedians.)

By concentrating on the simple, uncomplicated duties of the kitchen, Brother Lawrence developed his method of prayer. Whether he was picking up a stray straw from a broom or washing a bowl or a plate, he continually sought "to fix [himself] firmly in the presence of God by conversing all the time with Him." This practice, after years, led him to great peace, a conviction of God's presence, thoughtfulness toward others, and an extraordinary sweetness of manner. He was revered within the monastery, admired without, and eventually the aide of a local bishop arrived to crystallize Brother Lawrence's spiritual teachings by transcribing his conversation, which'along with a few letters of spiritual direction'make up The Practice of the Presence of God.

If you can, try to obtain a copy of The Practice which, like this one, also includes the "maxims." The Practice is a better read, for it conveys clearly the sweet personality of the aging friar, but the maxims are more succinct, and numbered, and thus a more efficient aid to reflection and meditation.