Guidance with the Jesus Prayer

[ajecphotos]

Made an 11 bead one today!

 

[JayNektarios]

I spoke with the local Catholic priest, and I will be making a profession of faith at weekday Mass in a week or two, and officially joining the Catholic Church.

Bless you, Steven, and congrats!

One of the practices that I bring with me from Orthodoxy is the recital (often silent) of the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” … Do Eastern Catholics commonly use this prayer? And if so, is it possible to get guidance from an elder or monk in the use of the Jesus Prayer within the Eastern Catholic Church?

I do not know how common it is for Eastern Catholics to recite the Jesus Prayer, though I would imagine that most Eastern Catholics whose origins are Eastern Orthodox would likely recite it. I have discovered a mix of devotions in Eastern Catholic parishes. For example, in the EC parish I frequent, there is a group that meets before divine liturgy on Sundays to recite the rosary (I discovered that this is due to a good number of members in the parish who were formerly Latin Rite Catholics). Of course, rosary devotions are done both privately and in group settings, whereas the Jesus Prayer is typically only a private devotion (though personally I would very much like to see group devotions using this ancient prayer).

I recite the Jesus Prayer daily, using a 33-bead komboskini. I also have a 26-bead komboskini where I recite the Jesus Prayer on the first twelve beads and the last twelve beads. On the two beads that separate the two twelves, I say one Hail Mary on the first bead, and then one Lamb of God on the second (“Lord Jesus, Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, through the prayers of your most-pure mother Mary the Theotokos, forgive us, save us, and grant us your peace.”). So on that particular komboskini I recite a mixture of East and West. (I occasionally will recite the rosary, but not with any great frequency.)

While I am sure there are Eastern Catholics who advise on use of the Jesus Prayer, I don’t know of any. Having said that, there is video of Metropolitan Kallistos Ware (Greek Orthodox, from the U.K.) giving a marvelously rich (and occasionally humorous) discourse in 2012 on the Jesus Prayer and how to pray it. I highly recommend it. Here is the link:

youtube.com/watch?v=d1-lBqTodZ0

Best wishes, and God bless.

 

[wynd]

One can certainly make a 10 knot/bead chotki. From what I’ve found, chotkis have traditionally had 10, 12, 33, 50, 100, 109, 150, or 300 knots. Since the chotki is not really a “chaplet” - in the Roman sense where there are a set number of prayers and sometimes even specific prayers for specific beads - but is simply a tool meant to aid concentration and to count the number of repetitions of a prayer, there is a great deal more freedom in regards to numbering.

Hopefully I don’t make myself look like an idiot by asking this, but why 109?

 

[ajecphotos]

Hopefully I don’t make myself look like an idiot by asking this, but why 109?

Good question

 

[Phillip_Rolfes]

Hopefully I don’t make myself look like an idiot by asking this, but why 109?

109 is the traditional division of the Lestovka - a leather prayer rope that is most frequently associated with the Russian Old Believers, although its use is not limited to them. The counting includes larger steps/knots, and an additional six large steps at the beginning/end. I think I have a description of the Lestovka on my blog, along with pictures of some knotted Lestovki that I’ve made.

 

[ajecphotos]

It does feel odd repeating the Jesus prayer over and over!

Does anyone else think the same? I do try to say it with meaning. Do you think that Jesus would be annoyed at the repetitiveness of it?

 

[Phillip_Rolfes]

It does feel odd repeating the Jesus prayer over and over!

Does anyone else think the same? I do try to say it with meaning. Do you think that Jesus would be annoyed at the repetitiveness of it?

So long as you are making a strong effort to say the prayer with the appropriate attentiveness and feeling, then Our Lord would not be “annoyed,” any more than the Theotokos is “annoyed” when we pray the rosary.

Remember, prayer is a dialogue. So just as you are saying the Jesus Prayer to Christ, He is also using the prayer to speak to you. Our psychological makeup needs repetition. Repetition is the only way we can learn a new language, a new skill, a new concept, etc. So long as we are attentive to the prayer, then the repetition of the Jesus Prayer forms us as we converse with Christ.

This being said, use discernment. Not everyone is called to the Jesus Prayer as a central devotion in their spiritual life, just as not everyone is called to the rosary-centered devotion. Perhaps the Jesus Prayer is not meant for you on a daily basis, but only as often as it wells up within you. Again, use discernment. Pray the Prayer for awhile, and if it still doesn’t suit you, then perhaps setting it aside for a time and focusing on another form of prayer is what God has in mind for you.

 

[ajecphotos]

So long as you are making a strong effort to say the prayer with the appropriate attentiveness and feeling, then Our Lord would not be “annoyed,” any more than the Theotokos is “annoyed” when we pray the rosary.

Remember, prayer is a dialogue. So just as you are saying the Jesus Prayer to Christ, He is also using the prayer to speak to you. Our psychological makeup needs repetition. Repetition is the only way we can learn a new language, a new skill, a new concept, etc. So long as we are attentive to the prayer, then the repetition of the Jesus Prayer forms us as we converse with Christ.

This being said, use discernment. Not everyone is called to the Jesus Prayer as a central devotion in their spiritual life, just as not everyone is called to the rosary-centered devotion. Perhaps the Jesus Prayer is not meant for you on a daily basis, but only as often as it wells up within you. Again, use discernment. Pray the Prayer for awhile, and if it still doesn’t suit you, then perhaps setting it aside for a time and focusing on another form of prayer is what God has in mind for you.

Superb advice

 

[old_believer]

One of the practices that I bring with me from Orthodoxy is the recital (often silent) of the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.”

The correct Old Orthodox text of the Jesus prayer, preserved by the Russian Old Believers (Iсусова молитва): Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner, in Russian: Господи Iсусе Христе Сыне Божiи, помилуй мя грешнаго.

 

[Phillip_Rolfes]

The correct Old Orthodox text of the Jesus prayer, preserved by the Russian Old Believers (Iсусова молитва): Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner, in Russian: Господи Iсусе Христе Сыне Божiи, помилуй мя грешнаго.

Indeed, this is often referred to as the “canonical form” of the Jesus Prayer. In fact, however, it is a relatively recent form. If one reads through the texts of the Philokalia, one finds various forms of the Jesus Prayer peppered throughout the collection. Some forms omit “a sinner” from the end. Other forms omit that and “Son of God.” Sts. Kallistos and Ignatios Xanthopoulos make reference to simply saying “My Jesus.” I believe it was either St. Theophan or St. Ignatius Brianchaninov who mentioned that the Jesus Prayer is any prayer which contains the Holy Name as its central theme. If such is the case, one could consider the “Hail Mary” as a form of the Jesus Prayer.