Lawrence of the Resurrection (1614–1691)
Everything I have heard from people about God, everything I have read or understood about Him, cannot satisfy me. How can we describe Him, how can we find words to portray Him when He is infinitely perfect? Only faith can reveal Him or teach me what He is.
Through faith, I will learn very quickly and more about God than I could learn in many years at school.
O faith, faith, you wonderful good force, that enlightens the spirit of man and leads him to the knowledge of his Creator. O, you absolutely lovely virtue, so little known and even less lived, which, once recognized, is filled with glory and the fullness of incomprehensible blessing. The greatest recognition and praise we can give to God is complete distrust in our own powers and total surrender to His protection.
Life is full of dangers and hidden pitfalls, in which we fail if we are without the continuous support of God's grace. However, how can we ask for it if we are not with Him? How can we be with Him if our thoughts are not with Him? How could He be in our thoughts if we do not develop the habit of dwelling in His presence and asking for the grace we need at every moment of our lives?
If we wish to grow in spiritual life, we must avoid relying solely on mere intellect in small decisions and when considering even the slightest matters. Unfortunate are those who seek their desired satisfaction in it. The Creator is the great teacher of truth. We can ponder for many years, but the knowledge of the hidden things of faith and of Him is far fuller and much deeper, shining like light in the hearts of the humble.
Nothing can give us such satisfaction in life's struggles and sorrows as loving communion with God. When experienced consciously, then the ailments that beset the body will seem light. God often allows bodily suffering to purify our souls and to "compel" us to dwell in Him. How can one feel pain whose life is hidden in God and whose only desire is God? Let us worship Him in our ailments and offer Him our sorrows precisely in the moments when we are troubled, and just as a child asks his father, let us earnestly ask Him to give us strength and to transform our will according to His will. Short prayers are very suitable for the sick, as they demonstrate miraculous power against sorrow.
Ah, if only I knew that my heart does not love God, I would immediately tear it out!
(According to the book Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, Unitaria 1990, prepared by: Norbert Žuška, OCarm.)
