Quotes from Brother Lawrence

It is shameful to abandon this divine communion to occupy our minds with trivial matters. We should feed and nourish our souls with high thoughts of God, which yield us great joy in devotion to Him.

O my GOD, since Thou art with me, and I must now, in obedience to Thy commands, apply my mind to these outward things, I beseech Thee to grant me the grace to continue in Thy Presence; and to this end do Thou prosper me with Thy assistance, receive all my works, and possess all my affections.

That we should establish ourselves in a sense of GOD'S Presence, by continually conversing with Him. That it was a shameful thing to quit His conversation, to think of trifles and fooleries.

My most usual method is this simple attention, and such a general passionate regard to GOD; to whom I find myself often attached with greater sweetness and delight than that of an infant at the mother's breast: so that if I dare use the expression, I should choose to call this state the bosom of GOD, for the inexpressible sweetness which I taste and experience there.

Why should we be satisfied with a brief moment of worship? With such meager devotion, we restrain the flow of God's abundant grace. If God can find a soul filled with a lively faith, He pours His grace into it in a torrent which, having found an open channel, gushes out exuberantly.

The goal of the spiritual life is to become the most perfect worshippers of God that we can possibly be, in this life and throughout all eternity.

The trust we put in God honors Him greatly and draws down great blessings.

Many people do not advance in the Christian life, because they get stuck in penances and particular spiritual exercises. They neglect the love of God, which is the goal.

he told me the spiritual life was a life of grace, which begins with servile fear, which is increased by hope of eternal life, and which is consummated by pure love.

The spiritual life is neither an art nor a science. To arrive at union with God all one needs is a heart resolutely determined to apply itself to nothing but Him, do nothing but for His sake, and to love Him only.

Sometimes I consider myself there as a stone before a carver, whereof he is to make a statue; presenting myself thus before GOD, I desire Him to form His perfect image in my soul, and make me entirely like Himself.

Only the blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse us of sin. For this reason, we should strive to love Him with all our hearts.