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Dear Friends,

Does anyone wish to share their trade secrets on how best to pray the Jesus Prayer? Methods?

I think I've come to the end of my traditional way of praying it and my soul is jumping for something, but I know not what.

Why is this happening? Should I regard this as a temptation from the evil one? How can we grow from these kinds of experiences in our prayer life?

Alex

Well, I pray the Jesus Prayer with my 100-knot chotki. I start out by making the sign of the cross and saying "Слава Отцу...", then I say "Отче наш..." and go into the prayer itself "Господи Іисусе Христе, сыне Божій...". After I pray the first 25, I say the Our Father again and then say 25 more of Jesus prayer. At 50, I say "Rejoice Mary" and "Our Father", then 25 more, to make 75. There I say "Our Father" and then count the final 25 to make 100 Jesus Prayers. I say "Rejoice Mary" and "Our Father" again, then the Trisagion prayer and the sign of the cross again. Of course, I say everything in Slavonic .

In Christ,

+Тимофей, рабъ Божій

Alex,

Perhaps this will be helpful. Then, again...

I was net surfing the other day, seeing what I could find out about the Byzantine Franciscans, as I learned that Metropolitan-elect Basil was one.

The website www.byzantinefranciscans.org [byzantinefranciscans.org] has an extensive section and links on the Jesus Prayer.

But, am I correct in saying that I seem to remember that you had expressed some reservations about the Byzantine Franciscans (and maybe the Redemptorists, too)? I could be wrong; if so, I apologize.

Martin

...or maybe it was the Basilians....

Jesus Prayer is the crown jewel of Orthodoxy.

Axios

Dear Psalm 51,

I love all the religious Orders, Monks and Nuns!

A Nun once confided in me that when we met when she was a Novice, she had secretly hoped I would enter the seminary so she could be my Presbytera!

She was cute in more ways than one . . .

I almost became a Basilian myself.

The fact that they tend to be of the Latinist party, and against married priests when they become bishops,well, no one is perfect .

But I think your Franciscans have a much better and integrated relationship with the Rusin people.

St Francis must be very proud!!

Alex

Kristos Voskrese,

My Dear Alex,

Beware of the Enemy! Discontentment in prayer is a powerfull tool for him to distract us. I feel that when we become bored with the Hesychist prayer, that is when we must be even more disciplined in our practice. Pray for guidance and be careful.

Mir s Toboy,
Dmitri

Dear Dmitry,

Yes, the devil you say . . .

I had a dream last night that I was being pursued by something and when I turned it had the label "Death Star" on it.

We need to be faithful to prayer throughout.

Alex

The new "Star Wars" episode opens at midnight tonight (perhaps in Toronto?).

The Force is strong with you, Alex. Beware the Dark Side.

A Jedi you will someday be....

Dear Psalm 51,

Actually, I never liked the "Star Wars" and other movies like that - for the reason you just described.

The Jesus Prayer is definitely "the weapon." One can treat everything from depression and self-doubt to despair and what-not by using it immediately and effectively.

What a great gift we are enabled to possess in the invocation of our Lord's sacred Name!

Alex

Alex,

I first learned the Jesus Prayer in a college course on prayer in the early 80s.

Since then, whenever I have found it difficult to pray in other ways, I inevitably find myself turning to the Jesus Prayer. (I have a problem with perseverance.)

The priest who taught the course (a holy man) told us the words were: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of THE LIVING God, have mercy on me, a sinner." I have not seen the words "the living" in any other instruction on the Jesus Prayer. (Then again, he is an RC priest.)

He also used the Jesus Prayer to teach "centering" prayer, a techique which some have said is problematic(?). I don't know enough about the subject....

Martin

Dear Martin,

Yes, centering prayer is something that Fr. Maloney and also Fr. Basil Pennington have likewise written extensively on.

Fr. Venard Poslusney of the Carmelites is also interested in this.

"Living God" doesn't really appear in any Slavic versions of the Jesus Prayer, I think it does in some Greek recensions.

One Polish priest I knew practiced "Centering Prayer" an hour each day, focusing on the Jesus Prayer, slowly and turning it over and over in his mind and heart.

He soon developed a reputation as a miracle-worker. He put his hand on a woman who was healed of a back disease on the spot, like the woman in the New Testament!

When asked about it, Father said he wasn't aware of the woman's ailment. He only felt a strong admonition to put his hand on her.

The "mind in the heart" teachings of the Philokalia are interesting, but I feel that one needs the advice of a spiritual father before venturing off in that direction.

Alex

I use a one hundred bead chotki.

I begin praying in silence the words of the Jesus prayer. When I reach the first bead at 25, I pray for the intentions of any friends and family, or anyone who has asked me to pray for them.

Then I continue to fifty saying the Jesus prayer. At the second bead, I pray for the intentions of our church, our hierarchs, vocations, etc.

continuing with the Jesus prayer to the third bead (75) I pray for our nation, it's government, and our society, culture, etc.

When I finish the first hundred cycle, on the fourth bead I pray for myself, victory of my passions, an increase in faith, wisdom, prudence, the virtues.

After I finish this, I will continue with the Jesus prayer without stopping at any beads. I use them as a counter while saying the jesus prayer silently in my heart.

Glory to Jesus Christ!
ALity

Please allow me to share with you some thoughts regarding the Jesus Prayer. This perpective is from a psychological and physiological one. The Jesus payere is a wonderful way of fulfilling our Lord's admonition to "pray without ceasing"

This in and of itself gives it great spiritual value, as does calling on the Holy Name. What I find very interestig is the tradition of combining it with breathing patterns. In the ancient monastic traditions it was common to synchrinize the inhaltions and exhalations dividing the prayer into to parts. Frequent practicioners of this method often reported great feelings of peace warmth and entered deeply contemplative states.

So why does this happen? I surly am not discounting the power of the Holy Spirit. Not at all. But its very interesting that such breathing methods are practiced throughout the world as a form of meditation and stress control. Slow, diaghramic breathing is popular in chinese Tai-chi, and most asian martial arts. Indian Yogas have perfected such breathing methods. And in Russia, a whole health system has developed which includes shallow rapid breathing and also slow calming respirations.

This link shows unique russian concepts as it applies to sports and general health:
http://www.zdorovye.com/zdorovye/dykhaniye.html

Only recently has slow diaghramic breathing been recognized as a great stress reducer.
Perhaps the best refernce is Dr. Herbert Benson's book, The Relaxation Response. He provides scientific explanations on how when people are under stress or anxiety they develop shallow breathing and fast respiration rates. Visit a competent energency room and the technician will take your pulse, blood pressure and also record your respiration rate. Interesting. By intentionally slowing down our breathing we can activate that part of our brain called the parasympathetic nervous system. This lowers heart rate, blood pressure and induces calmness.

Dr. Andy Weil, suggests a breathing exercise to replace anxiety and sleeping meds. He uses a 4/7/8 count. That is a 4 second inhalation, 7 second hold and 8 second slow release. This method is a bit hard for beginners. He suggests starting with 3 cycles and then resume normal breathing. Gradually add cycles as this breathing becomes easier. Its important to note that it is the Exhalation that is what activates the paraympathetic system. Doubling your exhale to inhale ratio is ideal. Where an anxious and excited person breaths in very fast-almost a pant.

Please remember I am not attempting to "secularize" the Jesus Prayer. I find it fascinating that Eastern Christianity has known these physical as well as spiritual secrets for centuries-while western aetheistic medicine is considering it a new discovery! Ha!

Its truly a gift of the Holy Spirit to give us such a powerful spiritual AND physically healthy tool. I'd suggest one start with learning how to breath diaghramically at first. Then while seated, slowly inhale while mentally reciting: Lord Jesus Christ" and then slowly exhaling and reciting: "Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner."

This should give you a long exhalation. It will take practice to get used to this-but it also shows you how incorrect our "normal" breathing is.

I don't want to emphasize the physical over the spiritual. But once you develop the habit without consciously timing your breaths, then you can truly devote your thoughts to the Holy Person
whom you call upon. You can, in the deepest calm imitate the sinner in the back of the temple not daring to raise his eyes-but humbly asking God for his mercy.

Very Powerful payer. Very powerful meditation. Very powerful medicine.
Praise and Thank God for revealing this to us!

Mike

Dear Mike,
Niech bedzie pochwalony Jezus Christus!

Thanks loads (do you see how contemporary I can be? ) for these insights.

There are, as I understand, secular classes in the U.S. that offer training in the use of the Jesus Prayer for both calming and spiritual benefits.

This raises the issue of the spiritual context in which the Jesus Prayer should be practiced.

The Orthodox tradition always maintains that it should be done within a strong ecclesial relationship with people who regularly attend the Divine Liturgy and services, the Sacraments et al.

And I believe that is excellent advice to prevent the Prayer from becoming an end in itself which it certainly was never intended to be.

(For example, there was a cult on Mt. Athos among certain Russian monks who worshipped the Name itself - condemned as heresy).

And the way the Jesus Prayer was and is practiced by Orthodox and Eastern Catholic monks and nuns can give the impression that there is very little "self-satisfaction" involved.

They do prostrations and thousands of prayers until their bodies are bathed in perspiration.

Enlightenment and Grace to live in Christ - this is ultimately the aim of the Jesus Prayer, the Prayer of the Heart/Mind.

Certainly, to achieve that or to work toward achieving that is calming, to be sure!

Alex