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From the Prayer of Jesus to Prayer of the Heart (Part I)

Archimandrite Placide Deseille is Higoumen of the Monastery of Saint Anthony the Great, St.-Laurent-en-Royans, France, and professor at the St. Sergius Theological Institute in Paris. The following thoughts are adapted from a talk he gave at a local parish on 6 March 2008, originally published by the Service Orthodoxe de Presse (SOP), supplement no. 327, April 2008. The expressions “Prayer of the Heart” and “Prayer of Jesus” or “Jesus Prayer” are often used as equivalents.

On Silence and Stillness (I)

On Silence and Stillness (I) Although they are often used interchangeably, the terms “silence” and “stillness” are not synonymous. Silence implies in part an absence of ambient noise, together with an inner state or attitude that enables us to focus, to “center” on the presence of God and to hear His “still, small voice.” To silence, the virtue of stillness adds both tranquility and concentration. Stillness implies a state of bodily rest coupled with the

The Gift of Silence

The Gift of Silence (I) The second-century Latin theologian Tertullian declared that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. This remains true to our day, as witnessed most poignantly by the martyrdom of bishops, priests and lay people during the Communist era, in Russia, Romania and elsewhere, and in the ongoing persecution of Christians at the hands of Muslim extremists in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Toward the end of

Mary the Contemplative (Part V)

THE PRAYER OF THE HEART St. Luke must have known Mary and her prayerfulness either by direct communication with Mary herself or from information given him by those who knew Mary intimately, especially St. John the beloved disciple to whom Mary was entrusted by Christ on the cross. Twice St. Luke indicates Mary’s contemplative spirit. At Bethlehem she reflects on the words of the shepherds. “As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered