Jesus Prayer

[Seraphion]

Dear brothers & sisters,

I’d like to ask something about Jesus Prayer. It might be asked previously somewhere else.

When we pray the Jesus Prayer. According to Eastern Tradition and praxis until present day; do we have to say the formula in complete form “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners”; or we are permitted to use the shorter variations some kind like “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us”; either simply mention the name of Jesus “Jesus… Jesus… Jesus…”; either use other formula some kind like “Glory to Jesus”; etc etc?

What do Eastern Churches say about the praxis?

Thank you,

Seraphion

 

[Milliardo]

It is more the intention of the heart that is important here. The shortest form of The Prayer is, of course, Lord have mercy. If said with repentance and sincerity, then whether one says it completely–Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner–or Lord, have mercy wouldn’t matter much. Do it with contrition, reverence, and deep devotion.

 

[Phillip_Rolfes]

As the above Milliardo has already mentioned, there are other forms of the Jesus Prayer that are perfectly acceptable. The oldest form is simply, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.” The Russians, I have been told, are the ones that added the words “a sinner” to the end. I’ve also heard that many Serbian Orthodox Christians will use the formula, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” St. Seraphim of Sarov recommended simply praying, “Lord, have mercy,” when situations wouldn’t permit us to focus on the full prayer itself.

As Sts. Theophan the Recluse and Ignatius Brianchaninov both point out, the power of the Jesus Prayer is not in the exact formula, but in the invocation and repetition of the Holy Name. I believe Sts. Maximos and Ignatios Xanthopolos recommended simply repeating “Jesus” or “Lord Jesus,” particularly in times of great temptation. Fr. Lev Gillet (aka “A Monk of the Eastern Church”) and an anonymous monk from Mt. Athos have both pointed out that the more one prays the Jesus Prayer and allows the words to penetrate the heart, the shorter the formula one uses will become. Eventually all that will be left is, “My Jesus, mercy.”

The point, as the above poster mentioned, is not merely to repeat the Holy Name for repetition’s sake, but to call on Christ “with the mind in the heart,” or, as St. Theophan says, to “stand before Christ with the mind in the heart and there to call upon Him.” So, the formula of the prayer doesn’t matter so much, what matters is the invocation of the Holy Name made from the depths of one’s heart.