PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE
(Posted 2010-09-24 10:28:37 by ArchPaladin)

I spoke once earlier [ https://www.archpaladin.net/2010/08/23/hypnotic/ ]
[archpaladin.net] about a book that I had finished reading, and it seems
like a decent idea to keep up the practice, so here's another one.

I have also most recently finished reading _Practice of the Presence of
God_ by brother Lawrence, written back sometime in the 17th century.  (You
can read it online here [ http://www.ccel.org/ccel/lawrence/practice ]
[ccel.org])  It's a short read that I dragged out for a considerable amount
of time because I wanted to spend some effort reflecting on the text to see
if any of it was worthwhile.  The text is a series of letters and
conversations that this one monk had with friends of his, and how he
continually encouraged them to observe the presence of God.  In action,
this equates to being consistently in prayer and having mindfulness that
God is present with you in your daily actions.

I should stress the "consistently" part of that last sentence so you
understand what is meant.  Brother Lawrence worked as a cook in the kitchen
and apparently hated the scheduled devotions that he had to perform as a
monk.  Rather than spending large blocks of time in ritualized worship, his
practice of worship was effectively to converse with God in prayer as he
went throughout his daily chores in the kitchen.  This meant that he was
literally _always_ in prayer.  Much of the text is devoted to either
explaining this process to others, or discussing how best to start and
maintain such a habit, or providing encouragement to others in times of
distress with the statement that being in God's presence is sufficient and
is a means of finding solace.

I found both good and bad things about the text.  Certainly it has some
outstanding value, probably the foremost being its encouragement to people
to avoid conflating the trappings and rituals of worship for the actual
experience of resting in God's presence.  Brother Lawrence's theology that
ritualized practices draw us away from actually pursuing God is refreshing
when surrounded by legalistic doctrine, although notably the monk's own
practice is nothing more than an eternal, very simple ritual.

The second value I find in the text is a similar theme I found in St. John
of the Cross' _Dark Night of the Soul_.  Both brother Lawrence and St. John
express an appreciation for understanding the subtle changes of internal
motivation that take place when allowing God to work to change the self,
although they do this in considerably different ways.  For _Dark Night_,
understanding self-change is the text's primary focus - he exposes the
transformations a mind goes through in times of turmoil like a mechanic
explaining the individual parts of a car engine.  For _Practice of the
Presence_, brother Lawrence doesn't speak about what occurs within the self
so much as about the need for intensity of focus on God, and how
maintaining that focus results in positive change.  Turning back to the car
analogy, the monk is a driver who can't maintain the vehicle, but he can
tell you precisely how far a running engine will take you with a certain
kind of fuel.

The third value I found was a practical one: reading the text is a good
reminder to pray, and to do it often.

Probably the only complaint I have is that brother Lawrence's fanatical
dependency on reliance on God could be construed as learned helplessness. 
The monk expresses such a dependency on turning every situation over to God
that I often wondered how he managed to convince himself to work at all.  I
don't think that every reader will share this same impression, but I
certainly did, and particularly so as the text progressed and we read
letters from late in the monk's life.  I suspect that I have this
impression at least partly because of the time & place differences between
myself and the writer - 17th century monastic living is certainly different
than 21st century professional life.  Increases in technology and
scientific knowledge have not rendered reliance on God moot, but I still
find it hard to relate here.

So there you have it.  If you have some time, and could use a good reminder
to pray, I recommend reading the book.

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