Venerable Brother Lawrence

Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, OCD (born Nicolas Herman; c. 1614 – 12 February 1691) was a French Catholic religious brother who served at a Discalced Carmelite monastery, what is now Saint-Joseph-des-Carmes in Paris. He is best remembered for a posthumous book of his writing, the classic Christian text The Practice of the Presence of God. Brother Lawrence was born Nicolas Herman in Hériménil, near Lunéville in the region of Lorraine, located in modern-day eastern France. His parents were peasants, so his schooling was limited at best. Young Nicholas Herman grew up during the Thirty Years' War, which devastated central Europe between 1618 and 1648. As a young man, Herman's poverty forced him into joining the army, which guaranteed him meals and a small stipend. During this period, Herman claimed an experience which set him on a unique spiritual journey. At the age of 16, he saw a leafless tree in the middle of a battlefield. Realizing that the tree would be in full leaf and flower in a few months, he saw the tree as a symbol of God's ability to transform the human heart. He fought in the Thirty Years' War and, following an injury, left the army and served as a valet. In 1635, he fought against Swedish infantry and French cavalry at Rambervillers, not far from his home village. He was taken prisoner by German troops on the march and was threatened with hanging under suspicion of being a spy. He fearlessly answered that he was not what they suspected. When the soldiers saw his courage they released him. The Swedes entered Lorraine, and while passing through the area attacked the little town of Rambervillers where he became wounded, leaving him permanently lame. Rambervillers had 2660 inhabitants at the time; eight years later there were only 400 survivors. He never spoke of the horrors he had experienced, but the effects remained with him for the rest of his life.