Brother Lawrence was born Nicolas Herman in Hériménil, near Lunéville in the region of Lorraine, located in modern-day eastern France.[1] His parents were peasants, so his schooling was limited at best. Young Nicholas Herman grew up during the Thirty Years' War, which devastated central Europe between 1618 and 1648.[2] 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 which set him on a unique spiritual journey.[3] 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.[4] In 1635, he fought against Swedish infantry and French cavalry at Rambervillers, not far from his home village. He was taken prisoner by German troops on the march and was threatened with hanging under suspicion of being a spy. 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. 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 Discalced Carmelites at what is now Saint-Joseph-des-Carmes on the Rue de Vaugirard in Paris,[5] as a lay brother. In June 1640, Nicolas joined the Discalced Carmelite Priory in Paris.[6] He entered the priory as a lay brother and took the religious name "Lawrence of the Resurrection". He made his solemn profession of vows on August 14, 1642.[7] 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.[8] 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 sciaticgout 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.[9] 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 conversations had been conducted and recorded by a notable cleric, the Abbé Joseph de Beaufort, who compiled this work after Brother Lawrence died.[10] This little book was approved by Archbishop of Paris, Louis Antoine de Noailles. 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.[11] 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 and Protestants alike, with John Wesley,[12] Willard L Sperry,[13][14]A. W. Tozer[15] and Hannah Whitall Smith recommending it to others. Hannah Whitall Smith writes: "This little book seems to me one of the most helpful I know."[16]
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[17] occurred in relative obscurity, but his teachings lived on in the compilation of his words. François Fénelon, his compatriot and cousin of Madame Guyon, quoted and discussed his views in the books he wrote and also compared him to Jean-Joseph Surin[18] 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.[19]
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.[20]
The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Historical records about its origin remain uncertain; it was probably founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel in what is now Israel.
Teresa of Ávila, OCD, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, was a Carmelite nun and prominent Spanish mystic and religious reformer.
St. John of the Cross was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest, Christian mystic, and Carmelite friar of Converso ancestry. He is a major figure of the Counter-Reformation in Spain, and he is one of the thirty-seven Doctors of the Church.
Pierre de Bérulle was a French Catholic priest, cardinal and statesman in 17th-century France. He was the founder of the French school of spirituality and counted among his disciples Vincent de Paul and Francis de Sales, although both developed significantly different spiritual theologies.
The term third order signifies, in general, lay members of Christian religious orders, who do not necessarily live in a religious community such as a monastery or a nunnery, and yet can claim to wear the religious habit and participate in the good works of a great order. Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism and Anglicanism all recognize third orders.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or Virgin of Carmel, is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated as patroness of the Carmelite Order.
Simon Stock, OCarm was an English Catholic priest and saint who lived in the 13th century and was an early prior of the Carmelite Order. The Blessed Virgin Mary is traditionally said to have appeared to him and given him the Brown Scapular. Although his visionary meeting with Mary is likely legendary, popular devotion to Stock is usually associated with devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Raphael of St. Joseph Kalinowski, OCD, religious name: Raphael of Saint Joseph, was a Polish Discalced Carmelite friar. He was a teacher, engineer, prisoner of war, royal tutor, and priest, who founded many Carmelite convents around Poland after their suppression by the Russians. Kalinowski was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1991.
The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel or the Order of Discalced Carmelites, is a Catholic mendicant order with roots in the eremitic tradition of the Desert Fathers. The order was established in the 16th century, pursuant to the reform of the Carmelite Order by two Spanish saints, Teresa of Ávila (foundress) and John of the Cross (co-founder). Discalced is derived from Latin, meaning "without shoes".
A discalced religious order is one whose members go barefoot or wear sandals. These orders are often distinguished on this account from other branches of the same order. The custom of going unshod was introduced into the West by Saint Francis of Assisi for men and by Saint Clare of Assisi for women.
The Practice of the Presence of God is a book of collected teachings of Brother Lawrence, a 17th-century Carmelite friar, compiled by Father Joseph de Beaufort. The compilation includes letters, as well as records of his conversations kept by Brother Lawrence's interlocutors. The basic theme of the book is the development of an awareness of the presence of God.
Elizabeth of the Trinity, OCD, born Élisabeth Catez, was a French Discalced Carmelite, a mystic, and a spiritual writer. She was known for the depth of her spiritual growth as a Carmelite as well as bleak periods in which her religious calling was perceived to be unsure according to those around her; she however was acknowledged for her persistence in pursuing the will of God and in devoting herself to the charism of the Carmelites.
Mary of Saint Peter was a Discalced Carmelite nun who lived in Tours, France. She is best known for starting the devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus which is now one of the approved Catholic devotions and for The Golden Arrow prayer. She also introduced the "Little Sachet" sacramental.
The Book of the First Monks is a medieval Catholic book in the contemplative and eremitic tradition of the Carmelite Order, thought to reflect the spirituality of the Prophet Elijah, honored as the Father of the Order.
Raffaele Rossi, OCD, born Carlo Rossi,, was an Italian Discalced Carmelite and cardinal. Rossi served in the Sacred Consistorial Congregation in the Roman Curia from 1930 until his death and as a friar had the religious name "Raffaele of Saint Joseph". Pope Pius XI elevated him into the cardinalate in 1930. His cause of beatification began three decades after his death and he is known as a Servant of God.
Mental prayer is a form of meditational prayer, "performed without aid of any particular formula." It is distinguished from vocal prayers, "prayers performed by means of a given formula." The aim of mental prayer is 'to inflame souls with the love of God' and 'live without sin'. In mystical practice, it is to be followed-up by contemplative prayer.
Hériménil is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.
Francisco Palau y Quer, OCD was a Catalan Discalced Carmelite priest.
Denis of the Nativity, OCD was a French Discalced Carmelite friar who served in Goa. He had previously been a sailor and cartographer in the service of the king of Portugal. He was killed in Sumatra while taking part in a diplomatic mission there on behalf of the Portuguese Empire. He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1900.
John of St. Samson (1571–1636), also known as Jean du Moulin or Jean de Saint-Samson, was a French Carmelite friar and mystic of the Catholic Church. He is known as the soul of the Touraine Reform of the Carmelite Order, which stressed prayer, silence and solitude. John was blind from the age of three after contracting smallpox and receiving poor medical treatment for the disease. He insisted very strongly on the mystical devotion of the Carmelites. He has been referred to as the "French John of the Cross" by students of Christian mysticism.
References
↑ Lawrence of the Resurrection, Brother, Writings and Conversations on the Practice of the Presence of God (Washington, D.C.: ICS Publications, 1994), p.xviii.
↑ Fanning, Steven (2005). Mystics of the Christian Tradition. Routledge. p.169. ISBN9780415224680.
↑ STRANGERS & PILGRIMS in Classics of Christian Devotion BY WILLARD L. SPERRY, Dean of the Harvard Divinity School, BOSTON, LITTLE, BROWN AND COMPANY, 1939
A list of all the congregations, notable members, priories, churches, and convents of the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (Carmelites)
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