[Untitled]

our lips: ’Hail, Mary, woman full of grace

the Lord is With you

.you are the most blessed woman on earth

and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.’ And since we will be faithful in doing our part, you will be faithful in doing yours: you will remember that you are our mother, and will therefore help us in all our needs: ’Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and, at the.hour of our death. Amen.’ ’Mediatrix ~nd Dispehser of All Graces, pray for us." The Hail Mary has two sharply divided parts. It is like a rocket~ swdft and straight, which ascends on high till it reaches Mary

and then, at the foot of her throne, it breaks and gently descends, in a myriad-colored shower of graces, upon the child.ten of Mary in this vale of t~ars. 178 Remedies for t:he Parficuhr Friendship Gerald Kelly, S.d. C’PEAKING of possible reactions to emotional problems, ~ Father G. Augustine Ellard once wrote in this REVIEW: "Some mak~ the right and in our case, it would be the religious reaction." they face the facts squarely, see what is to be done about them, and then do it, promptly and courageously.’’1 The purpose of the p~esent article might be aptly indicated by sabring that it is an attempt to apply Father Ellard’s words to the specific emotional prob!ems ielative to the particular frie~ndship. This article is rieeded, I think, because in a former article I could do no more than discuss the nature of the particular friendship.~ To be con-tent with that discussion ~vould be like giving all the symp-toms of an illness without saying anything about the cure or the prevention of the malady. In a general way, the problem of restraining .any unwholesome emotional reaction involves some or all of th’e following fact-ors. One should not dodge his problem, but should face it squarely.. One must realize that at least for him the expression of this emotion is really, undesirable-- agenuin¢ evil, or at least a hindrance to a great good. In controlling the emotion, one should avoid everything that stimulates it, in so far as this is reasonably possibly, and, if the stimuli themselves are unavoidable, the impu.lses to f0s~ ter the emotion should then be restrained. It is particularly advisable that this avoidance of stimuli and restraining of imptilses should be accomplished calmly, without fear.and 1See "Sanity and Sanctity," in Vol. III, p. 310. Father Ellard’s article contains many helpful suggestions for analyzing and solving emotional problems. Z"The Particular Friefidship," in Volume V, p. 93. 179 GERALD KELLY ~ Reoieto for Religious worry. And, whenever possible, some positive, wholesome substitute: for ~he undesirable emotion should be cultivated. These-general suggestions should be kept in mirid in solving any emotional problem. In appl.ying them to the question of the particular .friendship, it is necessary to visualize two distinct cases and to treat~ these cases sepa.- rately.. T~h~e first case concerns a person who hhs not ,yet formed a pariicul’ar friendship but who feels a s[rong tend-ency t6wa~d~’d6ing so, In the religious lifethis ~ould be the~ more common, and~ the less ditticult,, pr0bl.eml~ The ~econdcase concerns one who his already formed a p,articu-lar friendship. Because of the great difficulties presented by "this-latter casel we shall . , ~- . consider 7xt first.-~.F.or the sake bfclarity, 0ur remark~ will be grouped round these key-word~ s~ conutc~ton,.cqnadence, 9eneral self-dis~tphne, pt?ysi-cat se]oaration., ~e~t.a.! sepqration, and ~o’tfier interests. BREAKING A FRIENDSHIP By conoiction I me~i’fa realization of.values~ ’sincere, deep motivation. No one will,attempt to restrain a stron~ and pleasant affection unless~he really sees that it is unde-sirable and unless he really wants to restrain it. An uncon-vinced and half-hearted man will do nothing that calls for effort and sacrifice. , Moreover, when there, is question of a personal emotional problem, mere argument i~ generally u~dess. Theo-former article on th~ particular friendship outliiaed many harrrffu], even disastrous, effects of the par-tlcfilar fr~efi~d~hilS~ - tt hurts prayer, interferes with "work, is a nuisa~nce’ to social lif~ within a community, leads to a loss-of ideals, is ~ source of danger to chastity, ~tnd may even’.?~uimir~ate iri a loss of vocation. In fine, at its best it blocks off true,progress in the love of God

at its worst leads to. hell. These varioias effects of the particular .fr.iendship are 180 MaV, 1946 THE PARTICULAR FRIENDSHIP well-known to everyone who has had to deal with such cases. Yet the religious who is involved in ~a particular friendship is apt to hear or read a recital of these evils with-" 6ut being much affected. He.is in the same mental State as the Catholic-who knows his ’faith perfectly yet blinded by love runs off with a divorced person: Such people will rlot be convinced, inthe real sense of the word, withou~ humbie, ~prolonged prayer. They~have tO see, even td feel,, with the aid of what I might call the warniing grace of’God, that these arguments: apply :to t, hem. They have to :fight’ love - with love. The ~love~ involved in theib ’human. attachment conflicts’with the love theyowe.to OUr L’ord. ~Compromis~ in this~ ma~ter is an impossibility),,they cannot have both ¯ Real convicti’om theiefore~, results in a desire to break" a particula’r friendship. L But desire in itself is not enough. One. must.also have confidence:that this can be done. No one, will att,empt to do what he reall)?’judges to be impossible

and when the emotions have been captivated one naturally~ and qtiite spontaneously/feels help, less to adjust’ them, One.way of counteracting this feeling of helpli~ssness is the practice of the toormuch-neglected virtue of hope. We have Our Lord’s solemn promise that He’ will° give Us the graces necessary for doing His will

and we have the examples of the saints and of everyday experience to prove that those who stretch.out their,hands to Him and cooperate with His grace,can do-almost incredibly heroic things. It is hardly necessary to dwell here on the examples of great conversions.fimong the saints, but it may be helpful to insist 0n the fact that~daily experience proves that those who sin-cerely want to control even the strongest emotions can do so. " Religious themselves, as guides of young people, fre~ quently have to urge them to break off some unsuitable cohr.tship, i’Many lose be’art and do not follow the advice

GERALD KELLY Review [or Relig!ous but many others do follow it and succeed. What they can do, religious can surely do, especially since religious have such easy access to supernatural helps. The third key-word is general self-discipline. The organization called Alcoholics Anonymous, which has achieved remarkable results in the rehabilitation of persons addicted to alcoholism, has capitalized on this point as, indeed, it has capitalized on almost the entire program outlined here. The alc6holic’S attention is not wholly concentrated on his one central problem, as if he were a saint except ,for that

he is directed to make an inventory of all his faults and to begin a complete reform by general. self-discipline. This is sound psychology and sound asceticism, too

and the religious who faces the problem of breaking a particular friendship would do Well to follow it. To speak, cqncre.tely, the whole spiritual life mus~ be tuned up: observance of rule, application to duty, control of temper, and so on. The ~regtdar..practice of prayer and of ’small mortifications is especially important. An inte-grated program like this has the natural advantage of giving general control over feelings and impulses and the super-natural advantage of winning the special graces necessary for victory in.the central problem, .namely, the breaking of the friendship. ¯ , The first direct attack on the friendship itself is the blocking 6ff of all unn&essarystimuli"~o the emotioff. Evi-dently this includes some degree of physical separation. At the very minimum, private mee~tings must cease

.and really Severe cases can hardly be cured without complete l~hysical separation,-which implies a change of residence for one of tFie parties,a Obviously, a change of residence cannot be aWhen I say that severe cases may call for a change of residence I do not wish to imply that an even greater change might not occasionally tie required. Cases, may occur in which one or both parties manifest either an excessive and very dangerous lack of emotional control or even an abnormally-directed instinct. In such cases the 182 Mag, 1946 THE PARTICULAR FRIENDSHIP effected without the cooperation of the superior

and when a subject frankly approaches a superior on a matter of this kind, the s.uperior should be sympathetic and as helpful as circumstances permit. Harshness with a subject who has sponta~neously asked for help is certainly inexcusable. Some-times, of course, a change of residence is impossible, at least temporarily

and sometimes it is not necessary because the friendship is not far enough advanced to call for such a drastic measure. Physical separation alone will not accomplish the desired result

there must also be mental separation. There slfiould ~be no letter writing

and little souvenirs such as pic-tflres, no~es, and old letters, should be destroyed. Tl~en, with these external reminders out of the way, the next step is~ fb purify the im.aginati0n of its tendency to dwell fondly .~ on "the good old times." This involves the same p~oBlem that is encountered in ariy attempt to rid the mind of per-sistent undesirable thoughts. The preceding steps are largely negative

they are designed to empty th~ mifid and heart of the troublesome attachment. But one cannot preserve a vac~i~um-of soul. One must love something and be intere~sted in something. Hence, the final step is the cultivation ofother interests. At first this is very difficult, for loneliness, moodiness, and a distaste for other persons and things are the natural keac-tions tO an effort to break a particular friendship. But one must not succumb to such unwholesome reactions. This_is not the time to indulge a rn~arty’r complex by volunteering for the foreign missions

rather, it is khe time to’learn to appreciate the interesting things, the enjoyable companion-ships, and the profitable labors that are right at hand. Wholesome friendships and a more intensified love of God, good of the individual and especially the common good call for a change, not merely of residence, but of vocation. In the text I am supposing the existence of a genuine vocation and am simply giving the remedies fora temporary emotional difficulty. 183 GERALD KELLY Rev[eu~ [or Reffqious manifested by a, willingness to work arid’to .takepart in common recreations and entertainmentsPthings like these will ~di~pel the gloom and readjust the violently shaken. emotions. . . Such’ in gene~ral is the program for~l~reaking a particular ftiendship:~:" The second case to be’ Considered-concerns the person who has not ~formed such a friendship but who feels stronglp attracted towards doing so. RESTRAINING AN ATTRACTION Perhaps the most fundamental rule to be observed by a religious when he.first feel~ a strong exclusive attraction towards another is this: clo r~ot be surprised. In this-con-nection, I might mention the very effective technique fol-lowed by a certain wise spiritual director in quieting young religious who were unnecessarily worried over the fact that they experienced temptations against, chastity. He would -.begin by asking his worried consultant: .."On a fast day, don’t you ever feel: hungry at about ten or eleven o’clock in the morning?’:’ "Why

9f course," would be the iilercitable answer. "And do ~you get surprised or worried?" "Of course not,", the equally, inevitable answer. "Then why should you be s, urprised at these tempta-tions?., You are denying ,a, very ~trong appetite’..~These strong urges that you feel are merely signs of i~ts hunger." TI’IiS samd reasoningmay be aigplied to the longing for intimate exclusive companionsfiip., God gaveeveryone this yearning

but the religioos has renounced its fulfillment in ¯ favor of a greater good. Yet~in renouncing the.right to -satisfy the yearning, the religious has not destboyed the yearning itself

and’he Should not be surprised,if it should make itself felt at times in regard to so~rne person either of his own or of the opposite sex.- 184 THE PARTICULAR FRIENDSHIP The first bule, therefore, is to keep calm and to remem-ber, "I’m fasting." Then very quietly’ but firmly"one should see thfit he does not foster the exclusive attraction in ~ny way: by needless thinking of the other person, by .1~ri-vate meetings, o~ special signs of affection. Let him be faith-ful~ to the common life, to the practice of universal charity, to his work, and to his prayer. As his mind tends to be absorbed with thoughts of the one person, let him quietly try to replace these by other thoughts. It is high.ly desirable that a religious who is undergoing this trial should be perfectlTf frank with hisspiritual direc-tor or with his superior, or with both. The young religious is apt to fear this

he is prone to think that he may be con-sider~ d singular. This fear is vain. If he is singular, then to be human is singular. It is very heltSful, if not a~Sso-lutely necessary, to be able to unburden one’s soul in these human difficulties. Even if the spiritual direct6r or the ¯ superior can do little more than listen sympathetically, the. soul is cheeredand encouraged. Occasionally a religious ~:ho does not wish to talk over his difficulty with the superior or spiritual director feels,, a strong impulse to talk it over with th~ person towards whom he is attracted. This impulse is to be suspected

it is very likely just a subtle manifestation Of the very tendency that is worrying him. It is a type of self-manifestation that can do no good, but much harm

at the very least it is iikely to lead to distressing embarrassment. It sometimes happens that in a friendship that is other-wise very wholesome and beneficial one party begins to experience the .tendencies characteristic of tl~e particular. friendship. ~rhat is to be done in’a case like this? A very brief answer to this question might be, "Don’t be surprised or worried, but do be careful." It is.certainly not necessary to break the friendship immediately

but on the other hand 185’ GERALDKELLY it is necessary to take precautions: -In the words, of Father Tanquerey" "One must first of all forego what would.fos-ter sentiment, like frequent and affectionate conversations, fairiiliariiy, etc. From time to time one must deny oneself meetings otherwise in Order, and be willing to shorten con-" versations that cease to be useful. In this way one gains control of sentiment and wards off danger." (The Spirffual. Lit:e, n. 606.) - CONCLUSION It is hardly necessary to mention, by way of conclusion, that extremist attitudes are to be avoided. One should not .make too little of the particular friendship for it does pre-sent a re.al danger, and few religious, if any, can safely con-sider themselves immune from it in all its forms. It is true that advancing age does diminish liability. Yet who ’can set the definite age at which falling-_in-love ceases to be a possibility? On the other hand the problem should not be exagger-ated. It is unwise to raise the cry, "particular friendship," merely because two people have been rather frequently seen toge.ther. It is also unwise to look upon this as the onlg type of harmful companionship

for there are many other damaging associations, in which little or no sentiment is involved. Finally, it.is not wise to guide oneself according to a policy of undue fear and to shun all friendship in order to avoid a particular friendship. In companionhips, as in other matters, virtue follows the middle course. And the plan for the middle course-seems to be this: avoid unwhole-some friendships entirely, and purify wholesome friend-ships of unwholesome tendencies.. 186 Brot:her Lawrence on I:he Presence ot: God Augustine Klaas, S.,J. 44

-TURN my. little omelette in the pan for the love of "[ God

when it is finished, if I have nothing to do, I prostrate myself on the ground and adore my God, Who gave me the grace to make it, after which I arise, more content than a king.’.’ These are the simp.le self-revealing words of’Brother Lawrence of I?he Resurrection, a Discalced Carmelite, who spent thirty years in a kitchen "~,hich~ he hated," and incidenta.lly became an authority 0nth~ prac-tire of the presence of Gdd. Brothers and Sisters in the k~tchen, give ear toa fell0w-cook who found God pres’ent. among your pots and pans!1 I Brother Lawrence’s name in the world was Nicholas Herman. He wasborn in l 611 at H~rimini iri Lorraine of Catholi’c parents who grofinded him well in baiic religi6us principles. As a youth he seems to have been first, employed as a footman to Monsieur di~ Fuibert, treasurer of a savings bank, and on his own admission was "a clumsy loul~who used to break everything." When war came, he joined the army of Lorraine. He was suddenly ca.ptured by some German troops, accused of being a spy, and was on the poi~i’t of being hanged when I/is coolness’, courage, and indiffer-ence to death finally convinced his captors of his innocence and they released him. Later, fighting against the Swedes, he was seriously wounded, being carried half de~d to his home nearby. ’Though the wound healed eventually, it - put an end to his army career. 1What follows is based on the book, Practice of tbe Presence of God, which is re-viewed on p. 201 of this issue. 187 AUGUSTINE KLAAS Review for Relioious Alwa~

s a serious:minded youth, although he ~dmits ~.l~a’~fie ~lid n~St ’c6me through his soldiering morally q~ns~th~eO, ~ichg[as-,Hermhn now decided to take up spir-itual warfare, and after an acute interior struggle, placed-h~ msdf u~der the direction of an uncle, a Discalced Carmel-ite. ,Forthwith he made some real advances on the road, to perfection, but somewhat hastily made up his mind to fol-lo~ a hermit’s life of so!itude. ~With a like-minded young nobleman, who had renounced tile world, he retired to a lo~Iy, desert pla

e: but after a few months o~ isolation he was convinced~ ~hat this manner of life was not suited to a beginner in perfection such as he was. Of a ~olatile, impttuous, impressi6nable nature, he felt heneeded ~ more stable, orderly, regulated hfe. He went’t0 Par{S~]hd asked to be. received among the lay brothers of the Order of Dis-calced Carmelites. He passed the preliminary probations, received the habit, and took the name of Brother Lawrenc~ ¯ of the Resurrection. As a ~rmelite novice he made rapid progress in virtue. He was assigned to the humblest tasks~ of the monastgry, tned~by every.sort of contradiction known to ~xperi~h~d no~ce masters, and came through them all ,n spitg 9f ~omy ve[y ~e~e~sing ~nterior .dimcul~ie~ ~hich~clhng tO him for gears after his novitia~g ffas over. ~ ’His ~profess"i o"n madd, he was" detailed toduty ~n the kitchen.. ’Thirfy gears fie held th~s’important honastery post, to whtch was added that of ~buyer for the commumty, thdugh he always protested he had "no head for business." Towards the end of this long span of years his work had to be lightened because he was now lamed by an ugly ulcer on his leg caused by sciatica, from which he had been quietlE suffering for some twenty-five years. Finally he had to give up the kitchen altogether and spent the .remainder of his life doing "shoe-repatr work" fdr his discalced brethre’n~ 188 ~Ma~t 1946 PRESENCE OF GOD Throughout his long career Brother Lawrence was an alert, top-notch worker. His brethren used to say that he regularly did the normal work of two men, yet withal was hai~dly ever seen to bustle or rush things unduly because he "did his work calmly, peacefully, steadily, and efficiently. His general character was not severe, but rather on the genial side.. He was extremely kind, patient, and cheerftil, espe-cially when the going was. hardest.. Consequently it is not ~urprising thathe won the esteem, .confidence, and love of all’ With whom he came into.contact. People liked him chiefly for his uncommon common sense. " His spiritual life was just as simple and unostentatious. It centered about the continual practice of the presence ,of God and the prayer that spontaneously flowed from it, prayer which the Brother himself described paradoxically as "a mute, familiar conversation with Him." By means of thisoexercise faithfully adhered to and perfected through the years, and by the practice of the virtues it presupposes, ’such as faith, humility, penance, and mortification,. 1~ reached a very high level of spiritual life. A bit contemp-tuous of human learning, .he was skilled in divine wisdom arid could impart it simply but~effectively to others. Tha~t is why he was consulted on the spiritual life by so many devout layfolk, religious, priests, and even bishops. He taught and adapted to the. needs of others what he had found so beneficial in his.own spiritual life, namely, the constant, practice of the 15resence of God, so that he might rightly be called its apostle. As he once wrote: "If I were a preacher, I would preach nothing else than the practice of the presence of God

and if I were a,director of souls, I would urge it upon everyone, so necessary and even easy do I believe it to be." He called it "the shortest and easiest way .to arrive at Christian perfection, the mold and life of virtue and the great preservative from sin." 189 AUGUSTINE KLAAS Reuieu~ fof oReligio~ , .,Brother La.v~ren~e’s last year, of" li.f~ was marked by repeated iHnesses

, all ,of ~hich he bore.bravely,~ even,,heroi-cally.-..: Succumbing finally to

in attack .of pleurisy, he died as quietly as he had li#ed, on MOnday, :February 12, 169.1, at nine_o’clock in’the morning. He was eighty .years old. While his religiousbrethren stood about hi~ bed waiting for the. end, Brother Lawrence was asked by one of them ~hat he was doing at the moment. Answering, the brother spoke his .last words, which may be taken~as the epitome of his whole life, ~, am doing," he said, "what I.will do for all eternity. I am blessing God, praising Him

adoring Himo.and.loving Him with all my heart. That is.our pro-fession, Brothers,~to adore God’and to love Him, without botherii~g about the~ rest." ......

: II, Brother Lawrence’s doctrine on,the practi& of the p~es-enceof~ God and all that it implies is but a reflection"of ’his own, remarkable spir,itual life, "since-he himself-lived first what he, so earnesdy recommended ~aind skilfully adapted to others. Hence, I shall~ try’ to iynthesize h~s’ ~mportant message frbm the’ monastery kitchen to the world by rep0*ting as often as possible his own words, .,just as°he spoke them or Wrote them, or as they were relayed to us by the Abb4 2oseph .de Beaufort, his close friend for many ~ears ..... 8ome Ne~es~artt Foundation Virtues Brother Lawrence .was eminently.a man of faith and so he is_ especially insistent" on the pra&ice of die virtue,,,bf ~aith. /i~!l the fine,,speeches-that I hear about God, what I can myself read about Hiin or feel about Him, would not,be ~enough to satisfy me: for, being-infinite in His perfe{tions, He is consequdntly in~ffable, and there ~ir~ no words eloquent ehough to give me a perle& con~el~- tion of His grandeur. ~ It is faith that discovers them to md and makes 190: Ma0 1946 ~ PRESENCE OF GOD me know Him as He is. By means of it I learn m0re~bbut Hi~ in a sh’ort time than~I would learn in many years in the schools .... O faith, faith, admirable, virtue! You enlighten~the mind of man and conduct hini to the kn~owledge of his Creator

- Eovable virtue, ho~w little yofl~ are known ahd still less practise~l, al~hough the knowledge of you is, .so giorious and so profitable. °. ~ ,~,~ ,~

The Abb~ de Beaufort describes the brother’s practice of the viitue of hope, From this lively faith were born the firmness of his hope in the go~odness of God, a filial confidence in His providen.ce, a totaltand universal abandonment of himself into His hands, withotit worrylng what would become of him after his death .... The more desperate things appeared to him, the more he h013ed, like a rock beaten by.the’ waves of the sea and settling itself moie firmly in the°midst of the tempest. ’ Of charily Brother Lawrence speaks in a v~ry familiar way. , , It is too much, O Lord!, It is too ~much for-me..Give if~itplease Thee, th~se kinds of favors and corisolations to si.nners and to the people who do not know Thee, in order to attract them to Thy~ serwce. As for me, who have the happiness of knowtng Thee by faith,I think that must be sufl~ctent: but because I ought not tO refuse anything from a hand so rich ahd generou.s as Thine, ’I hccept, O’my G6d,. the fav6rs Thou" givest me. Yet grant, if it please Thee, that after having received theml I may return them just as Thou didst give them to me

for Thou kno, west well that it is not Thy gifts that I seek and desire, but Thyself, and I can be content with nothing. less. - However, it w~s not ever thus, as he tells his younger brethren in religion. ,° O Goodness, so ancient and so new, too late have I loved Th~ei Do not act this way, my Brothers. You are young

profit by’the sincere confession.I make to you of the lit~e care I took to consecrate my first years to God. Consecrate all of yours to His .love

for, as for me, if I had known sooner and if anyone had told me, the things that I am telling you now, I would not have waited so long ~o love Him. Believe me, and count for lost all the t~me that is not spent in loving God. 191 A~/GUSTINE KLAAS ~ Review for Re.ligious To sum up: All thingsarc possible to l~im who believes

still more to him who hopes: still more to him who loves: and most of all. to him who practices these three virtues and perseveres in them. Besides faith: hope, and charity, Brother Lawrence counsels puritg of intention in the follqwing maxim: Always to regard God and His glory in what we are doing, saying and undertaking

let the end that we propose be to become the most perfect adorers of God in this life as we hope to be through all eternity. .And self-know.ledge: When we undertake the spiritual, life, we ought fundamentally to consider who we are: and we will find ourselves deserving of all contempt, unworthy of the name of Christian. subject to all sorts of. miseries and to an infinity of accidents which upset us and render us unstable in our health, in our moods, in our interior and exterior dis-position in short, people whom God wills to humble by a countless number of pains and labors, within us as well as without. Hence, there must be.submission to the trill of God, for "without this submission of he

irt and mind to the will of God, devotion and perfection cannot exist." "I try in all things to do His will, and I am so submis-sive to it that I would not wish to lift a straw from the ground.against His order, nor for any other motive than ~he pure love, of God." ~ ,And this submission must be carried even to the point of abandonment, for Brbther Lawrence used to say that "bne must give oneself entirely to God in pure abandon-ment, for temporal and spiritual affairs, and seek one’s hap-piness in the doing.of His will, whether He should lead us by suffering or by consolation. It should be all the same to one who was truly abandoned." Mortit~ication and progressive detacbmer~t /Yore ccea-tures are indispensable. I know that fbr this (the practice of the presence of God) the heart must be emptied of everything else, God wishing to be the only one~" 192 PRESENCE OF GOD to possess it

and as He cannot be the only one to do so without e~nptying it of everything that is not-He, so neither can He act in it or do with it what He would like .... This exercise does not kill the body. Still, it’is proper to.deprive the latter from time to time, and even often, of many little consola-tions, although they are innocent and permissible: for God does not allo~r a soul that wishes to be entirely His to take its consolations elsewhere th~n with Him .... Do not be’discouraged by the repug-nance you may feel on the part of nature, for you must do violence to yourself .... It is impossible that a soul which still°takes some pleasure in crea, tures can wholly enjoy this divine presence: for to be with God, one must absolutely leave creatures. ¯ To achieve the proper dispositions for the practice of th~ presence of God reqtiires not only energetic will=action but above all a dependence on the grace of God/for "a S0hl is all the more dependent upon the grace of God, the more it aspires to high perfection, and the help of God is so much the more needed at each momerit, because without it the s0ul can do nothing:"~ Faith, hope

charity, purity of intention, self-knowl-edge, sub,mission to God’s holy will, detachment, mortitica’- tion, and reliance onthe grace of God’ the~e are the fot~n-dation stones on which Brother Lawrence would build his temple of the presence of God. The Presence: of God Let us now examine the all-important practice .that made~ of Brother Lawrence a saintly Carmelite, all the while he stoked his ~stoves, peeled his potatoes, wrestled ’with his pots, and strove successfully to please his hungry but discerning brethren. He. tells us about it simply and ¯ clearly. The most holy, common and necessary practice in the spiritual life is the presence, of God

that is, habitually to take pleasure in His divine company, sbeaking humbly and conversing with Him lovingly at all seasons, at every minute, without rule or measureu 193 ~AuGUSTINE KLAA$’ Review for Rdigiods abovd all, inotime of, temptations, sorrows, dry.ness, distaste, even of ihfidelities and° sins. ’ One must try continually so that all~’bis actions withoi~t distinc-tion may~be a sort oL little~converSation with God

.however, not in a studied way,obut.~just as they happen, with’ purity and simplicity of heart :2. ..... " ~ ,, ~, ~During ou~ wbrk and:or’her actions, even during dur reading ahd writing.on ~piritual.topi~s. more~during ouf~exterior devotions’and ,v~al,prayers~let us’stop a few minutes, as

often as ~we can. to adore God in the depths of our hearts, to enjoy Him, as it were,fin passing and4n secret:~’, Since you ~ar~ nov unaware~that God is present before you during your~actions, that H~ is in ~’the depth and center~ of your heart, why should you not cease your exterior occupationi~at least, trom~Mme ~to,~tim~and:[e~en, your ~yocat prayers, to ador~ Him interiorly~,i to praise ~petiti~Him, to, offer Him youF heart and, to ~hank Him~ . ..... , ~,~ ~, ," ’" -All t~i~’adb~iOd shbuld ’be mad~ by fa,th, behevmg th~ ~d ,n our hearts

~tha~)H~~ m~st be adored, ~loved ~d ~erved ~pirit and in ’truth ~.~ . . ? "~ ~, BrOthei’~Lawrence ~akes.a~great deal’of’adoring God in spirit and in truth. Here is how he explaias4t: ~ ’God is~,a¯ spiriL: then 2He must be’ adofed~ in spirit and in truth. ¯ hat~ is~tg.say.,~ ~e ~q~t)yog~hip Him with~a humbJe, sinc~e.adora-tion~ of spirit-in the.depth and center of our Souls .... To adore God in ~ruth is to recognize truly, actually T and what He ~s ~-t~at ]s to say, tnfimtely perfect

tnfinttdy" adgrable, infinitdy apart from ~vil, and so ~ith

al£ the diVih~ attributes- .... To adore God in truth is~to admit, moreover, that we are just the opposite, a~d that He ]s wdlmg to make us hke Him, tf we wish it. ~ D~ tD]8,8ort o[ ptayeE one attmns to un on ~t~ of whtch there are three.~tnds. :’Three ’: k’i .n..d..s of umon exist

t~e f"ir’s"t habitual, the second virtual ~fid’the th,rd actual. Nab~tual n on occurs" ~h on~ is unlteO to God onl~ b~ ~race: Vi~hai gni0n exist~"~hen, ’io~ending~i~h~ action by which one unites oneself to God, a person remains united.to Hi.by virtue~of,,this~action, as .long as it4asts. Actfial union ~s the mostperfect~ind. Whollyi spiritual~ as it- is it makes.its movement felt. b~cause~,th~ soul is not asleep as in the other unions, but powei: fully~excited.,- :Its operation is liveli&, than that. of fire and ’~or~ 194 Ma~l 1946 PREsENcE :(~F GOD luminous than!a0,sun, undarkened by a clou~l. Ho~.ver, on’~fican4b’~ mistaken in, this sentiment. It is not a simp!e %xp.ressi?~ of t:hg he~r,t: hk~, saying, M~gy God I love Thee with all my heart, or other similar words

i{,i.~ .an ineffable, state of ~be soul--gentle, peaceful, dex