The Practice of the Presence of God
Brother Lawrence
Fr. Gregory Pine
Rebecca Dougherty
Dr. Matthew K. Minerd (Editor)
Ascension Catholic Classics
ISBN 9798892761185
ISBN 9798892761192
eISBN 9798892761208
This volume is indeed a Catholic Classic and also a Christian Classic as It is popular with a number of other denominations and non-denominational ministries especially on University campuses. I read different editions of this book with The Navigators, Campus Crusade for Christ and Inter Varsity. On Goodreads there are over 1800 editions and over 800 in English. So one might ask why a new translation, and why another edition. In part each of the volumes in the Ascension Press Catholic Classics has been based on a new translation and with notes from those who translated or hosted the podcast for that specific volume. This is the 6th volume in the series in print, and 5 of the 6 have been done as seasons on the podcast. And in part many of the other editions are abridged. So this is a complete edition with a new translation and notes for each section of the book. When this season of the podcast was announced they highlighted that Pope Leo wrote an introduction to the volume. So there are 4 editions of this book from Ascension
Hard Cover no Introduction
eBook no Introduction
Hard Back with Introduction
Paper Back with Introduction
The editions with the introduction sold out rapidly. And the eBook has yet to be updated to include it. But if you do some quick searching you can find it online, as it was originally written for a Vatican edition of the book. The description of this volume states:
““As I have had occasion to say, together with the writings of Saint Augustine and other books, this is one of the texts that have most shaped my spiritual life and have formed me in what the path can be for knowing and loving the Lord.”
–Pope Leo XIV
Step into a life of continual conversation with God.
We hear the call to “pray without ceasing,” but it can seem impossible in the middle of our modern life with daily tasks, interactions, and responsibilities.
However, what if this feat is not unattainable?
In The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence offers a simple, profound way forward: God is present to you at every moment, and you can learn to be present to him.
Brother Lawrence didn’t live a hidden life removed from the world. He worked in a monastery kitchen, carried out ordinary responsibilities, and experienced many of the same distractions and demands we all do. And yet, in the midst of it all, he discovered a way to live in constant friendship with God, where even the smallest tasks became an encounter with him.
At the heart of his teaching is this: God is always near, and holiness is found not in extraordinary practices, but in a steady, loving awareness of His presence in the ordinary.
The Ascension edition brings this beloved spiritual work to life with a clear, accessible, and Ascension exclusive translation by Matthew K. Minerd, as well as an insightful introduction and commentary by Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. and Rebecca Dougherty.
This edition also includes a foreword written by Pope Leo XIV, introducing readers to a book that has been personally impactful in his own relationship with God.
Inside this book, you’ll discover:
• Simple ways to “pray without ceasing” through the day
• How ordinary tasks can become real prayer
• Why holiness is found in fidelity to small, everyday moments
• How to develop an ongoing, interior conversation with God
• Why childlike trust in God matters more than complex or time consuming practices
• How peace grows when you learn to surrender and trust God in all things
• What it means to abide in God not just in prayer, but in every moment of life
This book is part of Ascension’s Catholic Classics series, created to make the Church’s most powerful spiritual works readable and approachable for modern Catholics. The Practice of the Presence of God will be read on Ascension’s Catholic Classics podcast with commentary from Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. and Rebecca Dougherty.”
The chapters and sections in the book are:
About the Catholic Classics
Translator’s Remarks
Introduction to the Catholic Classics Edition by Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P.
PART I: CONVERSATIONS
Commentary on Part I: Conversations by Rebecca Dougherty
First Conversation
Second Conversation
Third Conversation
Fourth Conversation
PART II: Letters
Commentary on Part II: Letters by Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P.
First Letter
Second Letter
Third Letter
Fourth Letter
Fifth Letter
Sixth Letter
Seventh Letter
Eighth Letter
Ninth Letter
Tenth Letter
Eleventh Letter
Twelfth Letter
Thirteenth Letter
Fourteenth Letter
Fifteenth Letter
Sixteenth Letter
PART III: SPIRITUAL MAXIMS
Commentary on Part III: Spiritual Maxims by Rebecca Dougherty
Introduction to Spiritual Maxims
Necessary Practices for Acquiring the Spiritual Life
How We Must Adore God in Spirit and in Truth
On the Union of the Soul with God
On the Presence of God
Means to Acquire the Presence of God
The Benefits of the Presence of God
PART IV: THE LIFE OF BROTHER LAWRENCE
Commentary on Part IV: The Life of Brother Lawrence by Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P.
In Praise of Brother Lawrence (Eulogy) by Fr. Joseph de Beaufort
The Ways of Brother Lawrence by Fr. Joseph de Beaufort
I highlighted numerous passages while reading this edition, some of them are:
“A few remarks are in order concerning the text itself. As with other volumes in the Classic Catholics series, this translation aims above all at readability for a broad Catholic audience.”
“A very holy and wise Benedictine I once knew, Fr. Sebastian Samay, repeatedly told his spiritual sons: God is simple, and so too is the spiritual life. He was a highly educated man, fluent in seven languages, yet his spirituality was rooted in the simple “bread and butter” of monastic life: lectio divina, the Liturgy of the Hours, and the sacraments. In his daily labors, I am convinced he lived the presence of God spoken of by Brother Lawrence.”
“As human beings, each of us is made for communion. We are made to be with God and with others. Typically, we cultivate this communion through conversation. Within our various communities, we inquire together and desire together as we work toward our common aspirations. If we want to mature into a fuller share of human happiness, we have to talk it through—and not just once or twice, but our whole life long.”
“In the more than three hundred years since their appearance, the works collected in this volume have gone through many editions. Most of the historical and critical notes from these introductions are taken from the definitive English text, that of the Institute of Carmelite Studies published in 1991. The present volume from Ascension represents an effort to make this beautiful book more widely known for those who might not otherwise encounter it.”
“For the past three hundred years, we have been reading about his faith and prayerfully reflecting on how we may approach the Lord (or, rather, allow the Lord to approach us) as Brother Lawrence did.”
“How freeing and how empowering to know that, no matter our state in life and no matter our circumstances, we can carry out the work before us. Whatever that work is, we can do it with love and, in the process, be sanctified and saved. The great work of becoming a saint is at hand for every single one of us.”
“Each of us must set ourselves in the presence of God and converse with Him continually. Indeed, how shameful it is to depart from this conversation with the Almighty to then think about trifling affairs.”
“If we are to abandon ourselves to God as fully as He desires us to, we must keep attentive watch over all that stirs within our soul, where spiritual things are very often mixed and mingled with the coarsest of affairs. However, God gives the light needed for this to those who truly desire to belong to Him. If you truly intend to abandon yourself to Him, you call on me when you wish.”
“A little bit of effort is necessary when we seek to begin the habit of conversing continually with God and of referring all of our deeds to Him. But, it is not long before we feel ourselves stirred by His love without any difficulty.”
“I had a similar experience in my kitchen duties. This kind of work was my greatest natural aversion. But, having grown accustomed to doing everything there for the love of God, and in every circumstance asking Him for grace to carry out my work, I found my fifteen years of work in the kitchen to be very easy.”
“We must draw a great distinction between the actions of our understanding and those of our will. The former are of little value, and the latter are everything. The only thing that we need to do is love and take joy in God.”
“This same experience taught me that, when I have some outward business to attend to, I need not think about it in advance. Instead, at the moment when I need to act, I find in God, as though looking into a clear mirror, what I must do in the present moment. For some time, this has been my way of acting, free from cares before the deeds that face me. But, before I had experienced God’s prompt help in my affairs, I had relied on my own foresight.”
“When you begin, you must be faithful in your deeds and self-renunciations. But, as time passes, you will experience nothing but unspeakable consolations. In difficulties, you need only to have recourse to Jesus Christ and ask Him for His grace. With it, all things will become easy.”
“In each deed, God never fails to present us with His grace—I have sensibly perceived this. I have only failed when I allow myself to be distracted from God’s presence or forget to ask Him for His aid.”
“My prayer is nothing but the presence of God, and my soul is asleep to everything but love. However, even outside the time of prayer, I experience scarcely any difference, for I am always near to God, praising and blessing Him with all my strength.”
“We should always set before our mind this end: to be, even in this life, the most perfect adorers of God that we can possibly be, just as we hope to be for all eternity.”
“Certainly, we are called to get beyond our selfishness and offer ourselves for the love of God. We may even be called upon to make big sacrifices for his name’s sake. But God himself wants us to enjoy him both now and in eternity.”
“Certainly, faith and hope may be called imperfect in that they appeal to God for something. Faith looks for revelation, and hope looks for beatitude. But neither faith nor hope appeals for selfish reasons. Rather, God has designed us to inquire and has prompted us to ask.”
“Let us return to ourselves. Let us break down this barrier. Let us make way for grace. Let us make up for lost time. Perhaps we have only a few days to live, and death is close on our heels. Let us beware, for we die but once.”
“I know that to practice this presence, the heart must be emptied of all other things, for God desires to possess it alone. And if it is not emptied of all that is not Himself, He cannot possess it alone, nor act within it, nor do in it what He wills.”
“I were a preacher, I would preach nothing but the practice of the presence of God. And if I were a spiritual director, I would recommend it to everyone. This is how necessary—and even how easy—I believe it to be.”
“To be with God, we do not need to always be in church. We can make our heart an oratory and there withdraw from time to time to converse with Him gently, humbly, and lovingly. All are able to have these familiar conversations with God, some more, others less—He knows what we are able to do.”
“Saints do not spring up overnight.”
“My dear Mother, let us often recall that our only business in this life is to please God.”
“And how can we think of Him often, except by forming a holy habit of doing so? You will tell me that I always say the same thing. It is true, I know no method more fitting, nor easier, than this one. And, given that I practice no other, I recommend it to everyone.”
“Remember, I beseech you, what I have told you: think often upon God, by day, by night, amid all your occupations, during your [spiritual] exercises, and even during your recreation.”
“Here, in Part III, Brother Lawrence gives his readers concrete ways to come into union with God, to grow more established and comfortable in that union, and to remain in that union for all eternity.”
“The holiest, most common, and most necessary practice in the spiritual life is to practice being in the presence of God—that is, to take delight in His divine company, accustoming oneself to it, speaking humbly and conversing lovingly with Him at all times, at every moment, without rule or measure, especially in times of temptation, suffering, dryness, distaste, and even in moments of infidelity and sin.”
“However, prudence, which is the mother of virtues, should serve as your rule. Yet, I say that it is a common error among spiritual persons not to withdraw from external things from time to time, to adore God within themselves and to enjoy in peace, for a few brief moments, His divine presence.”
“The presence of God is the application of our mind to God, or a recollection of God as present. It can be performed either by the imagination or by the understanding.”
“The lives of the saints can be dangerous devotional material. Ideally, in learning about the spiritual heights to which they attained, we are inspired to follow in their footsteps.”
“In the pages that follow—a collection of two works by Joseph de Beaufort discussing different aspects of Brother Lawrence’s life—the focus is not at all on extraordinary phenomena. Rather, it is on the ordinary building blocks of the Christian conversion, namely, grace and virtue. Joseph de Beaufort and Brother Lawrence have decided to direct our attention to what matters most.”
“By meditating on the promises of his baptism, the disorders of his youth, the mysteries of our Christian faith, and above all upon the Passion of Jesus Christ—which always moved him profoundly when he thought upon it—he was transformed into a new man, and the humility of the Cross appeared to him more beautiful than all worldly glory.”
“At the end of the task, I examined how I had performed it. If I found good in it, I thanked God. If I noticed faults, I asked for His pardon. And without becoming discouraged, I corrected my mind and began again to dwell with God as though I had never left Him.”
“He was not one of those people who are completely inflexible and regard holiness as being incompatible with courteous manners. He put on no airs, was approachable with everyone, and behaved kindly with his brethren and friends, without seeking in any way to set himself apart from them.”
““I am doing what I shall do for all eternity. I bless God, I praise God, I adore God, and I love Him with all my heart. This is our whole task, my brothers—to adore God and to love Him, without concerning ourselves with anything else.””
“For the same reason, in the little reading that he did do, he preferred the holy Gospels above all other books, because he there found the nourishment for faith more simply and more purely in the very words of Jesus Christ.”
I hope those quotes give you a feel for this edition of this volume. I currently own 3 different eBook editions of this book, and have owned a few others on print. And I believe this will be the only one I read going forward. It is an excellent edition. And listening to the podcast takes it to a whole new level. There was a period in university about 30 years ago where I read an edition of this book every year. I could see starting that up again with this edition. Though I would love to see ascension release an eBook with the Pope Leo Introduction.
As stated at the beginning this volume is truly a classic. On good reads there are over 600 entries for it, and this one is linked to over 1000 editions. It has at the time of writing this review 61,123 ratings, and 3271 reviews and a 4.33 star average rating. The commentary by Father Gregory Pine and Rebecca Dougherty take this book to a new level. It was like experiencing it all over for the first time.
I am so thankful I picked up this volume and can easily recommend this specific edition. When I was younger I used to keep extra copies of this book as lending copies or to give away. Once it is available I will be picking up some for that purpose.
An excellent edition of a classic, the one I will be using and recommending going forward.
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2026 Catholic Reading Plan!
Books in the Ascension Christian Classics:
Saints of the First Monasteries
The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis
…
Books by and about Brother Lawrence:
Practising the Presence of God: with Brother Lawrence - Jennifer Moorcroft - CTS Books
The Practice of the Presence of God - Whitaker House Edition
…
Books by Father Gregory Pine O.P.:
Your Eucharistic Identity: A Sacramental Guide to the Fullness of Life
Training the Tongue and Growing Beyond Sins of Speech
Prudence: Choose Confidently, Live Boldly
Justice: Judge Rightly, Give Freely
Marian Consecration with Aquinas: A Nine Day Path for Growing Closer to the Mother of God
…
