Laurentius of the Resurrection (1614–1691)
My good Mother! (1)
God knows well what we need, and everything He does is for our good. If we could see how much He loves us, we would always be willing to accept from His hand both what is good and what is bitter; even the most unpleasant and hardest things would be dear and pleasant to us.
The heaviest sufferings seem unbearable to us usually only from the perspective we observe them; and when we are convinced that it is God's hand that works upon us, that it is a kind and loving Father who has brought us into this state of humiliation, pain, and suffering, this state will cease to be bitter for us, and everything will seem sweet to us.
Let us focus entirely on knowing God. The better one knows Him, the more one wishes to know Him. And since love is generally measured by knowledge, the greater the love, the deeper and more complex our knowledge of God becomes. And if we have great love, we will love Him equally in suffering as in consolation.
Let us not remain at the point of seeking or loving God for the graces He has shown us, however noble they may be, or for some grace He might grant us. These expressions of favor, no matter how great, will not bring us as close to God as a simple act of faith; let us seek Him often through this virtue. He is in the midst of us, let us not seek him elsewhere. Is it not impolite on our part, or do we not even commit a sin, when we leave Him alone and engage in thousands of trivialities that do not please Him and may even offend Him? And yet He tolerates it! But we must fear that one day it may cost us dearly.
Let us begin to belong entirely to Him, drive out of our hearts and spirits everything that is not Him: He wants to be the Only One, let us ask Him for this grace. When we do everything we can on our part, we will soon notice a change in ourselves, which we hope for. I cannot thank Him enough for the little relief He has given you.
I hope that His mercy will grant me the grace to see Him in a few days. Let us pray for one another. In our Lord
Your etc.
(1) Letter from February 6, 1691, that is 6 days before the death of Brother Laurentius (†February 12); it is addressed to the same gravely ill nun to whom the previous three letters were addressed.
Taken from the book: Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, Collected Works
Editor: Sr. Ancilla Karl OCD and P. Antonio Sagardoy OCD
Publisher: CERF Paris, 1991
Translated by: Norbert Žuška, O.Carm.
