THE WAY OF THE PILGRIM: Entering Into the Jesus Prayer

Do you struggle to follow the Apostle Paul’s exhortation to “pray always”? For most of us living and working in the world, it can be difficult to let our prayer and participation in the liturgy permeate our entire lives and transform our hearts.

God invites us to persevere, and He has blessed the Church with many holy teachers and spiritual traditions to help us draw closer to Him.

In this Tuesday’s live webinar, discover the meaning and power of a centuries-old traditional prayer that has helped many devout Christians throughout the ages broaden their view of prayer and incorporate it more deeply into their lives.

THE WAY OF THE PILGRIM: Entering Into the Jesus Prayer
Tuesday, August 23
8:00 pm ET / Pre-class discussion 30 minutes prior

Register at: https://instituteofcatholicculture.org

Praying the Jesus prayer

The sun is setting in Kyiv. They have started praying the Jesus prayer in the Patriarchal Sobor (Church). His Beatitude Sviatoslav is gathered with some clergy.

As the bombs fall, maybe you’ll pray with them?

The Jesus Prayer is the following sentence repeated: Lord Jesus. Have mercy on us, sinners.

#prayforpeace

 

Metropolitan Kallistos Ware on the Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer

Of all the lectures either in person or recorded offered by Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, this interview is gold. Sharing it here with our parish and friends because I believe what Ware says is important for the spiritual life.

Spotlight Quote: “What do we mean by ‘silence’? It can be thought of negatively: just a pause between words, an absence of noise. And in that case, it is something negative and empty. But silence can also be understood in a positive way: not just as ceasing to speak, but beginning to listen.”

The interview begins around 7min.

Kallistos Ware – The Jesus Prayer (N173)

The Jesus Prayer

The Sunday of the Pharisee and Publican is a fitting day for us to familiarize us with the Jesus Prayer. Father Iura spoke of the Jesus Prayer in today’s homily.

The Jesus Prayer
Alice Herro

Prayer, essential to Christian life, is one way we may communicate with God. It is the means by which we experience Jesus. Liturgical prayers conclude with the phrase, “through Jesus Christ, our Lord.” he name, Jesus, is at the heart of faith and prayer. It is through Jesus that heaven’s gates are open. It is in Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, that we ultimately return to the Father.

To early Christians, Jesus was not only a belief, but an experienced reality. Early Christians understood the healing, comforting power of the name, Jesus. From this understanding arose one of the earliest Christian prayers, the Jesus Prayer. It is simple, concise and direct, but rooted in the name of our Lord. It is an insistent prayer that can be said anywhere and anytime.

Jesus emptied Himself as His gift to us. Likewise, we return the gifts and empty ourselves as our gift to Him. How do we empty ourselves? How do we achieve this exchange of gifts?

Repeating the Jesus Prayer continuously is one way. With the Jesus Prayer, heart addresses Heart. Thus, the Jesus Prayer establishes communion between your heart and the Heart of Jesus. With practice, the Jesus Prayer will lead you into the Presence of Christ.

How does one pray continuously? A simple breathing technique will help sustain continuous repetition of the prayer:

~Inhale
~Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, (invocation)
~Exhale
~be merciful to me, a sinner. (petition)

Many people recite the Our Father on the crucifix, the Jesus Prayer on all the beads, and the Glory Be on the crucifix. Although the Jesus Prayer is traditionally recited, you may say any prayer, word or group of words. Whatever leads you into the Presence of Christ is correct. Examples beside the Jesus Prayer: + Glory be to the Father, etc.; + Jesus; + My Lord and my God; + Lover of mankind; + Blessed be God (or any of the Divine Praises).

The Jesus Prayer

Today is a great day to learn more about The Jesus Prayer (“Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.”), THE prayer for good Christians. Orthodox Metropolitan Kallistos Ware gives a fine presentation.

Listen to the presentation by clicking here.

What better way to spend some time on the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee than to learn about this prayer!!!