Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation to a group of priests in Toronto, on January 16, 2024.

Like brother Lawrence's experience in the 17th century, he saw a tree in the winter, and it was just branches, without leaves or flowers. But upon looking at it, he received the grace to realize that within just a few months that tree would be totally in bloom. This gave him a deep view of the providence of God which would never be faced from his soul.

Formation is “self-cultivation”.  This is like irrigating and cultivating a piece of arable land so that it will produce good crops.