Audiobook · read by volunteers
Practice of the Presence of God
Brother Lawrence (1614–1691)
Read by Kirsten Ferreri · 19 chapters · 1 h 13
About the book
Brother Lawrence spent his days in a monastery kitchen, scrubbing pots and preparing meals, and found there the centre of his spiritual life. The Practice of the Presence of God gathers the conversations and letters in which he explained, with disarming simplicity, how he tried to live every moment in awareness of God, whether at prayer or at the stove. There are no elaborate theories here, only a plain man’s advice to continue steadily, to begin again after every failure and to avoid worry. The book also records his last words to his friends as illness approached. In nineteen short chapters and just over an hour, one reader brings out the calm humour and sincerity of the text. Whether you are religious or simply curious about quiet wisdom, this small classic of devotional writing offers a gentle, practical companion.
Introduction
Brother Lawrence, who lived from 1614 to 1691, was a lay brother in the Carmelite order in Paris, where he worked for years in the monastery kitchen. The Practice of the Presence of God is not a book he wrote himself in the usual sense. It is a collection of conversations and letters, put together after his death by a disciple, and it presents the ideas of a man who became known as a mystic and spiritual adviser despite his humble position.
The core of the message is easy to state and hard to practise: one can be in the presence of God at all times, in ordinary work as much as in formal prayer. Lawrence insists that no special method or learning is needed. He describes how he trained himself to keep his attention on God while doing the most routine tasks, and how he kept his composure in difficulties. His reputation spread widely in his day, and visitors came to seek his counsel.
The book has been read for more than three centuries by Christians of many traditions, and it remains one of the best-known short works of devotional literature. Its tone is modest, affectionate and free of rhetoric.
This LibriVox recording is divided into nineteen short chapters, beginning with the four conversations, and lasts about an hour and a quarter. It is read by one volunteer, Kirsten Ferreri. It can be heard in a single sitting or a few pages at a time. Its short chapters are easily taken one at a time, and many listeners keep the recording as a quiet companion for early mornings or for a break during a busy working day.
Public domain
Brother Lawrence died in 1691: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text