www.byzcath.org Forums Jesus Prayer Starter Kits - Part 2

I mentioned some time back that a group within my parish known as the "Byzantine Companions of the Holy Cross" have started making what we call "Jesus Prayer Starter Kits". These kits are designed as an evangelization tool to help introduce people to the practice of the "Prayer of the Heart". The kits consist of:

1. A simple prayer rope (33 beads) made of the typical plastic rosary beads you see in RC parishes made by the Holy Rosary Society.

2. A holy icon card of the Theotkos or of Christ.

3. An insert that explains the prayer and how to get more information on the Byzantine Catholic Church.

Our group has an emerging ministry to prisoners, and we want to use these kits their, as well as to encourage our parishoners to give them away as an evangelization tool.

I just finished a VERY basic explanation of the Jesus Prayer, and would love to get the input of others on this forum. Keep in mind, I'm targetting an audience that is presumably new to this form of prayer. I'm also a little bit fatigued at this point, as I am preparing for some travel, and could use another set of eyes on this to make sure it makes sense.

Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

In Christ Jesus,

Gordo
_________________

Pray Without Ceasing

For many centuries, Christians have asked themselves �How is it possible to pray without ceasing?� Such a question is an important since the Bible exhorts all Christians to be in constant communion with God through prayer.

But in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, with its challenges and almost endless activity and distractions, how does one build an oasis of prayer in the heart - the place where God dwells within us and invites us to enter into a realtionship with Him?

The Eastern Christian fathers and mothers of the earliest centuries of the Church, devised a method of constant prayer which has been near to the hearts of many, since it is Biblical, practical and accessible at any time and in any circumstance by priests, monks, nuns and lay people. This prayer is known as �the Jesus Prayer�.

The Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer consists of a very simple prayer, invoking and meditating on the Name of Jesus Christ:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.

This prayer, known as both the �prayer of the heart� and the �sinner�s prayer� has two parts to it. The first part is the invocation of the Name of Jesus:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God

This simple prayer is also a deep profession of faith in Jesus of Nazareth as both King (Lord), Messiah (Christ) and the eternal Son of God made man. The Christian tradition is that when the Holy Name of the Lord Jesus is spoken, He is spiritually present to all who hear and speak His Name. In the Old Testament, God�s Names were regarded as holy, and never to be spoken lightly � rather, only in and through prayer. God�s presence and power accompanied His Name, and to know the Name of God was to be blessed by Him. The Name "Jesus" means �God is my salvation�. This simple prayer is a profession of faith � a belief in Jesus who is both fully God and fully man. As they say this prayer, some breathe in quietly the Name of Jesus, as if they were receiving Him through the Holy Spirit.

The second part of the prayer is the response to �the Name� of Jesus, that is, a prayer for mercy:

Have mercy on me, a sinner.

The purpose of this prayer is to both offer god praise, and also to ask Him for mercy and forgiveness. Jesus teaches us that He was sent into the world not to condemn it, but that the world might be saved through Him. By receiving Jesus and the light of His saving Presence in His Name, we become aware of our own need for holiness, to be recreated into the likeness of Him who made us. The petition for mercy is not the cry of a slave, though. It is the earnest and hopeful prayer of a son or daughter of God who trusts in the power and compassion of God to heal and restore us in His Name. We cry out to Jesus for mercy, because we believe and hope in His saving love. This prayer, therefore, is more than just a humble request for help - it is a proclamation of the Holy Gospel.

How to Say the Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer can be said once, but the prayer may lose momentum in our day-to-day life, and we may forget about God�s Presence as we work, eat, study, or play. To be most effective, the Jesus Prayer should be said over and over again, both out loud and silently in the heart. Many use a prayer rope and say the prayer each time as they move from bead to bead.

Beginners with the Jesus Prayer, may want to dedicate certain times of the day to praying the prayer. At first, the prayer should be said out loud, in stillness and prayer gazing before an icon of Jesus or His Holy Mother holding Him in her arms. The goal is to move from the lips to the mind, where God shares His holy light as we think about the Person of Jesus and desire to be in relationship with Him. Eventually, the prayer moves from the lips to the mind and then finally to the heart, where we desire to be like God, which is our calling. Over weeks and months of saying the prayer, eventually the prayer begins to take on a life of its own, and the Holy Spirit will inspire us to pray at quiet or routine moments in our day. During times when we are not alone, the prayer can be said inwardly. Eventually the goal will be to pray constantly to Jesus Christ, even changing the prayer to �have mercy on us� as a form of intercession and blessing in charity over those that we meet throughout our day.

The goal or purpose of the prayer is not vain repetition so that God will hear us. Rather, one must desire a deeper relationship with God and a growing awareness of His Presence through this holy and ancient prayer form.

Sounds good and a great idea/tool.

This is propably a typo....
Such a question is an important since the Bible

either drop 'an' before or add 'one' after the word 'important'

Would it be too much to use....
instead of Son of God

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner?

Living separates God, from being like the Hindu wedding I watched on tv, I think on TLC. This girl had her coconut saying prayers to it all day, the day before the wedding. I AM SERIOUS! She explained why she chose a coconut as her god, but I don't remember why, it was so sad.

Pani Rose

Would it be of any use to state that the prayer begins to pray in us when we can not pray, or in times of great stress the prayer will pray for us. Maybe that is a bit to much though.

I think it sounds really good.
Pani Rose

Wow. What a GREAT idea! Kudos to your church group!
Sounds good. How about a reference to The Way Of A Pilgrim for followup info?

Sam

Gordo,
Have you thought about distributing the prayer kits to prisons?

Dear Friends,

This is a great initiative!

There was a time when one could find similar "starter" kits at Barnes and Noble bookstores - on Zen Buddhism.

The book came with a box containing a Buddha image and Buddhist beads . . .

But I, ommm, don't remember the author's name . . .

Alex

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! These kits will be given away to prisoners and other interested parties.

Please keep our small apostolate in your prayers!

Gordo

PS: Alex, I saw the same product in Barnes and Noble the other day!

Gordo,

To me what you are doing with this represents the heart of what evangelization is all about, and I surely will remember to pray for your apostolate.

Porter.

I need some in Spanish. May I translate?

This is wonderful! It is evangelization at its finest.

Dear Friends,

This thread will help me better crystallize what my school is now doing.

We distribute a knotted cord for prayer and teach the children about the Jesus Prayer while enclosing a hand-out on it.

When I distributed the chotki, many immediately put it around their necks and wore it that way. Others walked around with it in their hands etc.

They were all thrilled!

Alex

LaFamilia,

That is a wonderful idea! Here is a copy of the updated version. There is also a cover that goes with it. Do you want me to send it to you for translation?

Let me know...

The only think that I ask is that you give attribution somewhere to the Byzantine Companions of the Holy Cross and our e-mail address (byzantinecompanions@frontiernet.net). Thanks!

God bless!

Gordo

Pray Without Ceasing

For many centuries, Christians have asked themselves �How is it possible to pray without ceasing?� Such a question is important since the bible exhorts all Christians to be in constant communion with God through prayer.

But in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, with its challenges and almost endless activity and distractions, how does one build an oasis of prayer in the heart - the place where God dwells within us and invites us to enter into a relationship with Him?

The Eastern Christian fathers and mothers of the earliest centuries of the Church, devised a method of constant prayer which has been near to the hearts of many, since it is biblical, practical and accessible at any time and in any circumstance by priests, monks, nuns and lay people. This prayer is known as �the Jesus Prayer�.

The Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer consists of a very simple prayer, invoking and meditating on the Name of Jesus Christ: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

This prayer, known as both the �prayer of the heart� and the �sinner�s prayer� has two parts to it. The first part is the invocation of the Name of Jesus: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God

This simple prayer is also a deep profession of faith in Jesus of Nazareth as both King (Lord), Messiah (Christ) and the eternal Son of God made man. The Christian tradition is that when the Holy Name of the Lord Jesus is spoken, He is spiritually present to all who hear and speak His Name. In the Old Testament, God�s Names were regarded as holy, and never to be spoken in vain � rather, only in and through prayer. God�s presence and power accompanied His Name, and to know the Name of God was to be blessed by Him. The Name "Jesus" means �God is my salvation�. This simple prayer is a profession of faith � a belief in Jesus who is both fully God and fully man. As they say this prayer, some breathe in quietly the Name of Jesus, as if they were receiving Him through the Holy Spirit.

The second part of the prayer is the response to �the Name� of Jesus, that is, a prayer for mercy: Have mercy on me, a sinner.

The purpose of this prayer is to both offer God praise and also to ask Him for mercy and forgiveness. Jesus teaches us that He was sent into the world not to condemn it, but that the world might be saved through Him. By receiving Jesus and the light of His saving Presence in His Name, we become aware of our own need for holiness, to be recreated into the likeness of Him who made us. The petition for mercy is not the cry of a slave, though. It is the earnest and hopeful prayer of a son or daughter of God who trusts in the power and compassion of God to heal and restore us in His Name. We cry out to Jesus for mercy because we believe and hope in His saving love. Therefore this prayer is more than just a humble request for help - it is a proclamation of the Holy Gospel.

How to Say The Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer can be said once, but the prayer may lose momentum in our day-to-day life, and we may forget about God�s Presence as we work, eat, study, or play. To be most effective the Jesus Prayer should be said over and over again, both out loud and silently in the heart. Many use a prayer rope and say the prayer each time as they move from bead to bead.

Beginners with the Jesus Prayer, may want to dedicate certain times of the day to praying the prayer. At first, the prayer should be said out loud, in stillness and prayer gazing before an icon of Jesus or His Holy Mother holding Him in her arms. The goal is to move from the lips to the mind, where God shares His holy light as we think about the Person of Jesus and desire to be in relationship with Him. Eventually, the prayer moves from the lips to the mind and then finally to the heart, where we desire to be like God, which is our calling. Over weeks and months of saying the prayer, eventually the prayer begins to take on a life of its own, and the Holy Spirit will inspire us to pray at quiet or routine moments in our day. During times when we are not alone, the prayer can be said inwardly. Eventually the goal will be to pray constantly to Jesus Christ, even changing the prayer to �have mercy on us� as a form of intercession and blessing in charity over those that we meet throughout our day.

The goal or purpose of the prayer is not vain repetition so that God will hear us. Rather, one must desire a deeper relationship with God and a growing awareness of His Presence through this holy and ancient prayer form.

I will PM you with the finished translation for your review.

How wonderful! I would be thrilled too to participate in that kind of activity. It makes it come alive.

Thanks,Alex, for this and your excellent posts in the unity between East and West discussions lately.

Mary Jo

Dear Mary Jo,

As long as people leave the Rosary alone, for me, God truly IS in His Heaven and all is, well, united!

Have a great weekend!!


Alex

Dear Mary Jo,

I remember what happened when I was distributing those cord rosaries.

One of the teachers came up beside me and started to help unravel the rosaries and gave them to me one by one.

It seemed that a number of people came to assist with this and the focus of the class was on what was going on - you could hear a pin drop.

The teacher and I have gotten to be very good friends - she is very pious and has had us over to her home for Friday dinner to meet her visiting sister, mother and a friend who had just lost her husband.

We spent the evening, several hours, talking about nothing else but religion.

We're going to have her and the other teachers over to our place, as I'd like to get to know them better, before September comes around.

Alex