Assignment for March 8, 2009
(Based on Writings and Conversations On The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, OCD, edited by Conrad De Meester, OCD, translated from the critical edition by Salvatore Sciurba, OCD, with an preface by Gerald E. May, Ph.D.)
Read the Forwards to the French and English editions and the entire Introduction. Do not worry about the “Quietest” issue at this point, but focus on these questions.
1. What events in Brother Lawrence’s (Nicholas Herman) early life may have contributed to forming his approach to prayer and his unique devotion to the Presence of God?
2. What can we learn from Brother Lawrence’s attempt at living as a hermit? Both about ourselves and those we may be called upon to counsel in the spiritual life?
3. On page X, at the bottom of the page, Gerald May states there is no time to waste, and he also talks about the “Present Moment.” What is the message of the immediacy of this message for us individually? Do we feel the pressure to avoid wasting time? Also, what is the teaching of the Present Moment?
4. What is meant by these passages and how did Brother Lawrence apply them to his own life? Eph 6:18 “18With all (a)prayer and petition (b)pray at all times (c)in the Spirit, and with this in view, (d)be on the alert with all (e)perseverance and (f)petition for all the saints.”
1 Thessalonians 5:17 "17(a)pray without ceasing.”
5. How did Brother Lawrence apply this passage? Philippians 4:6 "6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."
6. On the bottom on page xiv of the Forward to the French edition, Paul Guiberteau says this message should find a ready audience in the twentieth century. How do we go about finding a balance between the business of our modern lives and the need to spend this time with the Lord?
7. On page xxxv of the Introduction, Brother Lawrence is quoted as saying that our prayer must become like breathing and also advocates the union of prayer and life. What are the different levels of this union? Us and Christ, Our will and His, our prayer and our life and our carnal with our spirit.
8. On page xxxvii, Brother Lawrence is quoted as saying that our hearts must be emptied of everything else. What does he mean by this and how do we participate in this self emptying?
9. On page xxxviii of the Introduction, it states that Brother Lawrence’s continuous effort brought about contentment in his person, what is meant by this? What are the elements that need to be brought together?
1 comments:
Today I would like to share some initial thoughts and reflections on questions from our Brother in Carmel, Mark Danis, concerning our reading assignment in Brother Lawrence.
My eye happened to fall on Question 6 first, on the same day I read a posting on Wednesday, Feb. 11 from a Secular Discalced Carmelite, whose e mail identification is mjkotarski JAJ2020@aol.com, posted to our Yahoo Users Group moderated by our Carmelite Fr. Deeney.
Mjkotarski is an American. This posting is from The Phillipines concerning some Catholic Brothers he had just met and his responding to their needs in the sacrament of the present moment. I believe his syntax may be a little tangled because as an international posting, it got translated by one of those computerized translating devices. Maybe? He mentions that he is undertaking a course of study on evangelism through the Teresianum, so I believe his words are well worth studying, and of course we always turn to our first great pilgrim evangelist, St. Paul. Our modern day Carmelite pilgrim sets an example for us in the way he responds to his day. So perhaps the answer to that question 6 is in the support, wise counsel and example we in the Carmelite family offer to each other every day.
My other reaction Mark puts me at the risk of disobedience. You ask that we not yet concern ourselves with the quietism issue. I await your guidance concerning what is in the book. I’m looking forward to having a less shallow understanding of the quietism issue.
I find it helpful in looking in understanding the happenings of one era, to also look at it in historical context. Evidentally, Brother Lawrence’s wisdom was attacked by quietists, or those who wrongly identified him with quietists.
Maybe it would help further the discussion if we had a working definition of quietism by comparing it to what it is not. For that I turn to Fr. Mitch Paqua on EWTN last night who was doing a show on the contemporary Catholic attraction to Buddhism. He described his youth when for a time he flirted with Buddhism. One of the links I’m suggesting for contextual reading describes Catholic fascination with Buddhism as another form of quietism. Fortunately for all of us, Fr. Mitch kept moving toward a more deeply rooted understanding of the Faith. Ultimately Fr. Mitch’s question was, and I believe this is a direct quote: “Am I going to be for the person of Christ, or for my own personal state of consciousness.” From what I understand of the personal charism of Brother Lawrence, his answer to that question was “YES YES, each and every moment of the day.
I too can recall a time in the 70s when we pilgrims through culture’s chaos stumbled upon The Practice of the Presence of God and came up with the assertion that “everything is prayer,” without considering that if everything is prayer, then nothing is prayer. Just saying it is so, doesn’t make it so.
Mark has asked us to bring our Bibles and relevant scripture with us to class. One scripture that I seem to be carrying close to my heart recently is from Romans. “When sin abounds, grace abounds even more.” Our Carmelite life is a way of participating in the saving action of that grace.
Among the links I am offering for contextual reading, i.e., what happened after Brother Lawrence, maybe a hundred years or so was the publication of Jean-Pierre de Caussade’s Abandonment to Divine Providence, also translated as The Sacrament of the Present Moment. His words too were branded with the charge of quietism. Ultimately they emerged unscathed and were published in 1861. A brief biography of de Caussade and a description of that controversy can be read in the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The link is http://www.ccel.org/d/decaussade.
Another link will bring you to one of multiple versions of the Divine Providence Prayer. A well- spoken version may be prayed by going to this link: http://www.catholictradition.org/Christ/providence.htm
I also suggesting a look at good old Wikipedia for an article on Quietism, origins, theology, etc.
It offers a context which I find helpful in my general orientation to the topic before delving more deeply into Brother Lawrence.
And to think that Brother Lawrence, who we might describe as the first Secular Discalced Carmelite, started it all! Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever. May the Blessed Trinity be at home in our souls.
I do plan to attempt answering the questions in a more systematic way 1,2,3 etc. etc. between now and March 8. Perhaps some response from the rest of our community who are participating in this BLOG experiment may stimulate me to greater focus upon the questions at hand.
Your sister in Carmel,
Patty
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