Jesus Prayer Archives - Page 4 of 5

THE PULL OF THE MOON

07/29/2016

The creative momentum of returning to our practice whenever we become aware that our attention has been stolen is now completely well established. This itself implies that there has been an expansion of awareness. We spend less time battling with the fact that there are thoughts stealing our attention. We have more or less stopped commenting to ourselves on the fact that we are forever commenting on the incessant commentaries in our heads. We let

THE ALLURE OF THE MOON

03/10/2016

After we have been long dedicated to silent prayer and experience it largely as restful and peaceful, it is easy enough to feel quite happy simply to stretch out in this hammock of contemplative practice and enjoy a martini of quietude. In this case we have managed to avoid the pull of the moon on our awareness and instead have become besotted by the moon’s allure. This is not to deny the real progress we

ON THE JESUS PRAYER

02/08/2016

The saint Abbot Isaiah, the Egyptian hermit, says of the Jesus Prayer (1) that it is a mirror for the mind and a lantern for the conscience. Someone has also likened it to a constantly sounding, quiet voice in a house: all thieves that sneak in take hasty flight when they hear that someone is awake there. The house is the heart, the thieves, the evil impulses. Prayer is the voice of the one who

ON AN INTERPRETATION OF ZACCHAEUS (Part II)

01/29/2016

But the less you possess, the simpler is your mode of life. All excess has been thrown away, and the heart gathers itself together at its core. Little by little it tries to get into the kernel, where the stairs to heaven are to be found. Then prayer, too, becomes simpler. Prayers gather around the centre and enter it. There in the depths is seen the only prayer that is needful: the prayer for mercy.

Hesychasm, Sweet Repose

10/23/2015

Hesychasm, a contemplative prayer of rest, has its roots in the desert fathers and mothers as well as the Eastern Orthodox tradition. Bishop Kallistos Ware, drawing from John Climacus (AD 525-606) writes: “The hesychast, in the true sense of the word, is not someone who has journeyed outwardly into the desert, but someone who has embarked upon the journey inwards into his own heart; not someone who cuts himself off physically from others, shutting the

Treasures from our Subsequent Conversations (Part V)

08/25/2015

I read a lot “I read a lot. I was very studious. I read mystically. I took the time to do this whenever I could. I learned the Gospels of Matthew and Luke by heart and I learned half the Gospel of John. I also learned the Psalms. I studied the Fathers. I studied for many hours. I did spiritual work. And you should know that I did not know how to read. I had

Saint Silouan the Athonite and His Relevance Today, Part VI

06/15/2015

By Harry Boosalis One of the more crucial components of our spiritual life is proper training in the development of good spiritual habits. Habit is a second nature. This is why it is imperative that we train ourselves in the ways of spiritual warfare. Saint Silouan writes, “Train yourself to cut off an intrusive thought immediately … Be at pains over this, so that you acquire the habit. The soul is a creature of habit:

The Fifth Friday after Pascha, Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! How Do We Pray the Psalms?

05/15/2015

By Jim Wellington How do we pray the Psalms? We should surely take our lead from the Holy Fathers of the Early Church and learn from their wisdom. Whilst researching the origins of the Jesus Prayer, I came across some fascinating insights in psalm-commentaries accredited to Fathers of the third, fourth and fifth centuries. These insights and the understanding of the Psalms which they promote, would have been available to the earliest monks and nuns

The Fifth Thursday after Pascha, Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! On India and Buddhism—Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (Part II)

05/14/2015

Conversations with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew by Olivier Clement Everything, the patriarch adds, centers on the concept of the “person.” According to Buddhism, the person does not exist. The Christian, however, affirms the existence of the person. But Orthodoxy does not identify the person with the individual, with the “individual substance of a rational nature,” as Boethius awkwardly stated in the Latin world. This would mean that the person is nothing more than a mask, which

Rowan Williams Promoting the Jesus Prayer as Answer to Modern Angst

02/03/2015

By Dr. Rowan Williams Dr. Rowan Williams, who recently retired as Archbishop of Canterbury, was one of a group asked by the New Statesman to respond to the topic, “After God: How do we fill the faith-shaped hole in modern life?” Here is his response. The Physicality of Prayer The Christianity I was originally formed in was not very ritual-minded: it was both intellectually alert and emotionally intense – the best of a style of

Archive

THE PULL OF THE MOON

THE ALLURE OF THE MOON

ON THE JESUS PRAYER

ON AN INTERPRETATION OF ZACCHAEUS (Part II)

Hesychasm, Sweet Repose

Treasures from our Subsequent Conversations (Part V)

Saint Silouan the Athonite and His Relevance Today, Part VI

The Fifth Friday after Pascha, Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! How Do We Pray the Psalms?

The Fifth Thursday after Pascha, Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! On India and Buddhism—Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (Part II)

Rowan Williams Promoting the Jesus Prayer as Answer to Modern Angst

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