misericordie:
One example is that today during the whole day, I was feeling down and out, all a weird day, and tonight when I knelt and prayed the Rosary, while meditating on the mysteries, I LITERALLY FELT A WEIGHT LIFTED OFF MY SHOULDERS, I FELT SO LIGHT. AS IF THE WHOLE DAY THIS WEIGHT WAS ON ME, AND SUDDENDLY LET GO. DEAR GOD, DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT WAS THIS??? IF SO, PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU HONESTLY THINK?
Hi Misericordie:
If I’ve understood you correctly, it sounds to me as if praying the Rosary led to a wonderful influx of grace, and in what I posted earlier I didn’t intend to demean the Rosary in any way. It’s a wonderful devotion, and I pray it myself, but the great beauty of the Jesus Prayer is that it can be said almost anywhere, and at almost any time; you can say it, for example, while walking down the street, while waiting for a bus or train, while in the elevator, while cooking, washing up, taking a bath, etc. In other words, it’s intensely practical, while the Rosary can at times be impractical.
I first learned about The Jesus Prayer in Peter Kreeft’s chapter
"“Jesus”: The Shortest, Simplest, and Most Powerful Prayer in the World," in his very useful
Prayer for Beginners (San Francisco:Ignatius Press, 2000. pp.53-74). ISBN 0-89870-775-7
Since then I’ve read three very good books on it:
Irma Zaleski
Living the Jesus Prayer(Novalis, 2003). ISBN 0-8264-1090-2.
Frederica Mathewes-Green,
The Illumined Heart - The Ancient Christian Path of Transformation. (Brewster, Mass; Paraclete Press, 2001. ISBN 1-55725-286-6
and the wonderful
The Way of a Pilgrim which exists in several editions.
There are many other good books on it but these are a good place to start finding out more about The Jesus Prayer.
