Brother Lawrence - Practice of the Presence: A Revolutionary Translation by Carmen Acevedo Butcher

Praise for Practice of the Presence: A Revolutionary Translation by Carmen Acevedo Butcher

In this radiant new translation, Carmen Acevedo Butcher puts her acclaimed skills as a translator fully in the service of her listening heart to deliver Brother Lawrences timeless teaching on simplicity and presence to a world desperately in need of it. More than a translation, this is a transmission, conveying not only Lawrences words but the spirit of inclusivity and kindness from which he wrote them. It is her faithfulness to the fragrance of his presence that makes her translation so inviting, even as we watch her take a few risks to reach a whole new world of seekers. It was a joy to watch Carmen and Brother Lawrence making such sweet music together.

Cynthia Bourgeault, author of The Heart of Centering Prayer, The Meaning of Mary Magdalene

How to live in the presence of God is of the essence of the Christian mystical tradition. Few mystical texts have presented a practical method for attaining Gods presence as effectively as the collection of letters, conversations, and biographical materials known as The Practice of the Presence of God, stemming from the Carmelite brother, Lawrence of the Resurrection (d. 1691). This gem of the Christian mystical tradition has now been made available in a striking new translation and study by Carmen Acevedo Butcher. It is a book to be treasured by all who are devoted to the inner life.

Bernard McGinn, Naomi Shenstone Donnelley Professor emeritus, Divinity School, University of Chicago

What a bold, vibrant, and potent translation of this mystical masterpiece! As she did with the perennial wisdom jewel Cloud of Unknowing, Carmen Acevedo Butcher once again breaks open the stilted and patriarchal language that encrusts our most life-giving spiritual treasures and makes the practice of the Presence easy to grasp and impossible to resist. Its author, the humble seventeenth-century sage Brother Lawrence, reminds us that every task, no matter how ordinary, is a fresh opportunity for drawing near to the Friend. And that the more we take refuge in this intimacy, frequently repeating such phrases as My God, I am all yours, or God of love, I love you with all my heart, or Love, create in me a new heart, the more often we find ourselves simply resting in the presence of Love Itself.

Mirabai Starr, translator of John of the Cross, Teresa of vila, and Julian of Norwich; author of God of Love and Wild Mercy

The greatest mystics, like Kabir and Rumi, have a simplicity and electric directness that both take our breath away and point us to the true north of our essential divine identity and the radiance of the divine presence in and as everything. Brother Lawrence is one of these universal visionaries, and reminds us relentlessly, in his soberly ecstatic and humble way, that what we search for with such anxiety and longing is always alive in us, and that the divine presence soaks and invigorates all things at all times. In a time of such devastation and rabid confusion, Brother Lawrences testimony is of sublime help, and a source of radical encouragement to all seekers on all paths. In these wonderful, naked, luminous translations he lives afresh, inviting us with every word into the reality he knows and embodies so simply and fully. Do not miss this book, and give it to everyone you know.

Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope and Turn Me to Gold: 108 Translations of Kabir

Carmen Acevedo Butchers powerful translation of Brother Lawrences Spiritual Maxims, letters, and conversations opens our hearts to experience God through the lens of a humble seventeenth-century friar, one who had very little to say about institutional religion and very much to say about the presence of God in the everyday lives of ordinary people. At a time when institutionalized religion often fails us, this translation reminds us that we are constantly surrounded by the divine presence and that God is accessible to us at any moment of life and far beyond the confines of churches, temples, and synagogues. It is a timely translation that holds enormous possibility for the reformation of a religious faith that desperately needs it.

Rob Nash, associate dean for doctoral programs and professor of comparative religion and mission, McAfee School of Theology of Mercer University, Atlanta, Georgia

Carmen Acevedo Butcher brings scholarly expertise and abundant love to this fresh rendering of a classic work of Christian literature. Brother Lawrences spiritual insights are as timely now as they were when first written centuries ago, making this beautiful translation a much-needed gift to the world today. With its inclusion of helpful historical and biographical context, this edition deserves a place in every personal and public library.

Karen Swallow Prior, research professor of English and Christianity & Culture, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; author of On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books

Brother Lawrence, a seventeenth-century French monk, persists as a powerful force and resource in Christian tradition. His testimony, in letters and conversations, is marked by humility, vulnerability, simplicity, and a focus on love. In this welcome new edition Carmen Acevedo Butcher has made the work of Brother Lawrence freshly available in a most accessible and compelling way. In our world marked by speed, convenience, and hostility, no doubt Brother Lawrence is a persuasive antidote and alternative to a culture of alienation. We may be grateful to Acevedo Butcher for her careful, attentive work in this contemporary offer of ancient trustful wisdom.

Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary, author of Money and Possessions

Presence, not often or easily practiced, is made, once more, available to us. Each of us can practice presence by embodying all that we inhabit. May we come closer to ourselves and to God by a newly found practice of presence. This book is one such tool to inhabit a profound presence.

Robyn Henderson-Espinoza, PhD, author of Body Becoming: A Path to Our Liberation

Acevedo Butchers careful translation recreates the volatile, war-filled, plague-ridden world of seventeenth-century France. She invites us into the monastery kitchen with Brother Lawrence as he cleans the pots and pans amidst literal turmoil outside the monastery doorsa similar situation to what I imagine many of us find ourselves in today! This comprehensive translation of letters, maxims, and last words revolves around the simple practice of the presence, which is simply, and at its most essential, an awareness of the presence of God. Acevedo Butcher beautifully captures what Brother Lawrence continually reminds us: There are no special words, devotions, or actions needed, just simplicity of thought and deed.

Father Richard Rohr, OFM, Center for Action and Contemplation

Brother Lawrence is not only a great Christian mystic; hes also charming and accessiblea sage whose wisdom is thoroughly down-to-earth and relevant to today. Carmen Acevedo Butchers fresh, richly embodied, and at times surprising translation makes the words of this Carmelite contemplative truly come alive.

Carl McColman, author of Eternal Heart and The Big Book of Christian Mysticism

Carmen Acevedo Butcher listens across the centuries and finds a companion for all of us in a disabled, veteran of war, shoe-mending, soup-making monk. Brother Lawrences sacred, ordinary, and necessary way of prayer can help all of us to pause, and more importantly, to bring our minds back to love. This translation is a joyful conversation with Brother Lawrence, one in which we can all participate.