Day 1: Pure Abandonment to God

Catholic Classics

Ascension

Spiritual Writings, Father Jacob Bertrand, Faith, Father Gregory Pine, Intro To The Devout Life, Catholic Spirituality, Fr. Bertrand, Meditation, Catholic Faith, Education, Christianity, Dominicans, Catholic, Spiritual Life, Religion & Spirituality, Fr Gregory, Francis Desales, Catholic Classics, Self-improvement, Devout Life, Classic Text, Introduction To The Devout Life, Catholic Church, Intro To Devout Life, Fr Gregory Pine, Classic Texts, Fr Jacob Bertrand, Mystics, St Francis De Sales, Fr Jacob, Spirituality, Prayer, Ascension, Saints, Fr. Pine, Spiritual Reading, Catholicism, Catholic Spiritual Reading

4.9 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 8 June 2026

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Do you actually trust God with your life? In this first conversation, Brother Lawrence invites us to begin the spiritual life by trusting in God’s providence rather than relying on techniques or various devotions. Through a simple reflection on a winter tree, he shows us how God is already at work, patiently bringing about growth in our lives. Today, we are reading Part 1: First Conversation.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Rebecca Dockertie.
0:01.6	And I'm Father Gregory Pine.
0:02.9	And you're listening to The Catholic Classics Podcast, where we seek to grow our interior
0:06.9	lives by learning from the church's greatest saints and teachers.
0:10.5	Each season will read through a great work, explain its spiritual principles, and help you
0:14.5	apply its timeless wisdom to your life.
0:16.5	The Catholic Classics podcast is brought to you by Ascension.
0:19.7	This season, we are reading
0:20.9	Ascension's exclusive translation of practice of the presence of God by Brother Lawrence. This is
0:26.1	day one. Today we will be reading Part 1 First Conversation. A few reminders before we get
0:32.0	started. To get your own copy of Ascension's edition of Practice of the Presence of God, go to
0:37.1	ascensionpress.com
0:38.4	slash presence. Before we get into the reading, a quick look at what we're covering today.
0:43.8	Here we are in the first conversation, which is the beginning of part one of the practice of the
0:48.0	presence of God, and we're reading about this conversation between Brother Lawrence and Joseph
0:53.4	De Beaufort. Here he talks about, Brother Lawrence and Joseph de Beaufort.
0:58.8	Here he talks about, Brother Lawrence talks about God's providence and power.
1:03.9	He also talks about how we might have the tendency to flip from one devotion to another.
1:10.8	And really, we should just put that aside and enter into the practice of the presence of God.
1:16.1	He also talks about how at the end of this conversation, we need to decide.
1:18.2	So are you going to do this or not?
1:20.2	If you're not, don't waste my time.
	...

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