18.05.2024 15:12

 On the Prayer of Jesus: The Classic Guide to the Practice of Unceasing Prayer Found in The Way of a Pilgrim

 

 

https://www.amazon.de/Prayer-Jesus-Classic-Practice-Unceasing/dp/1590302788

A summary of the instruction on the Jesus prayer according to Saint Ignatij Brjantschaninow

 

1. The beginner should above all practice to pay attention to the prayer. This means, on should keep bringing back his thoughts on the content of the Words:

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me sinner.

2. The main feeling to which one should come to is regret. The repentance keeps one away from many mistakes and dangers.
3. Especial strong warning gives the Saint Ignatij to two dangers. First is the imagination(this one goes often with imagination of different pictures). The second is the self-deception (the feeling one has achieved a certain grade). It is recommended to get beck to repentance.
4. Metanies can help (one crosses one self, makes a deep bow with getting on the knees and bending down his head to the floor, getting up and repeating this procedure). Saint Ignatij recommends for the beginners not to do more than 12 Metanies.
5. A further help can be to speak the prayer, not only in one’s mind but with the lips. It helps to keep the attention on the prayer. Later on, one can switch to the mind prayer.
6. There is an explicit warning to do for a search of the heartplace: it means to put ones spirit into the heart or to put the attention on the heart. This special heart place is not to be opened from the human side but is only to be opened by Lord Himself.
7. The Obedience helps to avoid the dispersal, it is the source of the humbleness. It helps to get to the feeling of the meekness, the goodness and the willingness to emotion what leads to the commitment of the Soul in front of the God and at the same time to the appearance of God in one’s soul.
8. It is recommended to live a life according to the Gospel and to fight against upcoming bad thoughts and the passions with the prayer of Jesus.
9. The fruits of the Jesus prayer are the attention to the spoken words of the Jesus prayer and emotion, as well as the true prayer.
10. A later fruit is the awareness of one’s sins, out of which a holy sadness arises. This sadness arises from the contrition and humble heart.
11. Later on there appears the feeling of the presence of God, remembering the death, the fear of the final court and fear of God.  This feelings are often accompanied by tears.
12. The passions begin to decline and melt.
13. The feelings of peace, of humbleness and of Love towards God and towards all the people appear.

 

 

This summery does not replace the reading of this book, which I explicitly recommend. It is the summery of only the first part of the book: the talk of the oldfather with his student. The book of Saint Ignatij contains important further warning and further instructions that are important for a serious practicing of the Jesus prayer.

 

Written by Aleksandra Franke