Brother Lawrence was born Nicholas Herman around 1610 in Herimenil,
Lorraine, a Duchy of France. His birth records were destroyed in a fire at
his parish church during the Thirty Years War, a war in which he fought
as a young soldier. It was also the war in which he sustained a near
fatal injury to his sciatic nerve. The injury left him quite crippled
and in chronic pain for the rest of his life.
The details of his early life are few and sketchy. However, we know he
was educated both at home and by his parish priest whose first name was
Lawrence and who was greatly admired by the young Nicolas. He was well
read and, from an early age, drawn to a spiritual life of faith and love
for God.
We also know that in the years between the abrupt end of his duties as
a soldier and his entry into monastic life, he spent a period of time
in the wilderness living like one of the early desert fathers. Also,
prior to entering the monastery, and perhaps as preparation, he spent
time as a civil servant. In his characteristic, self deprecating way,
he mentions that he was a "footman who was clumsy and broke everything".
At mid-life he entered a newly established monastery in Paris where
he became the cook for the community which grew to over one hundred
members. After fifteen years, his duties were shifted to the sandal repair
shop but, even then, he often returned to the busy kitchen to help out.
In times as troubled as today, Brother Lawrence, discovered, then
followed, a pure and uncomplicated way to walk continually in God's
presence. For some forty years, he lived and walked with Our Father at
his side. Yet, through his own words, we learn that Brother Lawrence's
first ten years were full of severe trials and challenges.
A gentle man of joyful spirit, Brother Lawrence shunned attention and
the limelight, knowing that outside distraction "spoils all". It was not
until after his death that a few of his letters were collected. Joseph
de Beaufort, representative and counsel to the local archbishop,
first published the letters in a small pamphlet. The following year,
in a second publication which he titled, 'The Practice of the Presence
of God', de Beaufort included, as introductory material, the content of
four conversations he had with Brother Lawrence.
In this small book, through letters and conversations, Brother Lawrence
simply and beautifully explains how to continually walk with God -
not from the head but from the heart. Brother Lawrence left the gift
of a way of life available to anyone who seeks to know God's peace and
presence; that anyone, regardless of age or circumstance, can practice
-anywhere, anytime. Brother Lawrence also left the gift of a direct
approach to living in God's presence that is as practical today as it
was three hundred years ago.
Brother Lawrence died in 1691, having practiced God's presence for over
forty years. His quiet death was much like his monastic life where each
day and each hour was a new beginning and a fresh commitment to love
God with all his heart.