“The heart must be empty of all other things; because God will possess the heart alone; and as He cannot possess it alone without emptying it of all besides, so neither can He act there, and do in it what He pleases, unless it be left vacant to Him.”
Brother Lawrence (1611-1691) was born as Nicholas Herman in Lorraine, France. He became known as Brother Lawrence when he joined a Carmelite Monastery in Paris, There he served as a cook and learned to make his daily routine an occasion for ceaseless prayer. See Practice the Presence of God, and the Spiritual Maxims (New York: Cosimo, 2006) 26.