BROTHER LAWRENCE of the Resurrection (Nicolas Herman) (c.1614–91), Carmelite lay brother and mystic. After serving as a soldier and later a hermit, he entered the Discalced Carmelite monastery at Paris in 1649, where he was given charge of the kitchen and led a life of almost constant recollection.

His writings were edited by the Abbé de Beaufort after his death in two volumes entitled Maximes spirituelles (1692) and Mœurs et entretiens du F. Laurent (1694). They recommend a very elevated form of prayer consisting in the simple practice of the presence of God, whether by the imagination or by the intellect.

“God is good, God controls all things, seek to love him at every moment, detach yourself from concerns and anxieties over daily life, and resign yourself to his providence: This was Lawrence’s basic attitude.

“Practically, this meant a constant “conversation” with God, expressing need, love, and trust in the midst of the day’s demands. This could be done in simple phrases or with “practice,” through a deliberate offering of every task to God.” 

E. Raidner, First Things, Dec. 5, 2025

His maxims, which were highly appreciated by his contemporaries, were frequently quoted by Fénelon in his Défenses.

Good modern edits. of selections of his prayers and letters under the title La Pratique de la présence de Dieu, with introd. and notes, by L. Van Den Bossche (Bruges, 1934), S. M. Bouchereaux (Paris, 1948), and C. De Meester, O. Carm. (Paris, 1991). Convenient Eng. trs. by D. Attwater (Orchard Books, Extra Series, 3; 1926, frequently repr.) and, with introd., by J. J. Delaney (Garden City, NY, 1977). S. P. Michel in Dict. Sp. 9 (1976), cols. 415–17, s.v. ‘Laurent (11) de la Résurrection’.

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We lack the documents necessary to sketch a true biography of Laurent de la Résurrection. Abbé de Beaufort, vicar general to Cardinal de Noailles, a frequent visitor to our good brother and his publisher, provides us with some information about him, but it is scattered and incomplete. His collection of Maxims and Letters of Brother Laurent appeared in 1692, preceded by an Eulogy in which he broadly sketches the character of the humble lay brother. In the second work, Customs and Conversations (1694), the Eulogy is replaced by another sketch, less rich in biographical details, but perhaps more complete.

From these accounts, we will attempt to extract a portrait of the author of these two small books.