The Philokalia

[ProCommunioneFacior]

Wow! Thanks everybody. I guess that I will stick to the lives of the Saints. Thank you for the recommendations, I will check them out.

 

[Rising_Suns]

"The books of the Fathers, especially those which teach true obedience, vigilance of mind and silence, attention and mental prayer ( that is, prayer performed by the mind in the heart) are intended only for the monastic order and not for all Orthodox Christians in general. The God-fearing Fathers, in expounding the teachings on this prayer affirm that its beginning and unshakable foundation is true obedience, from which is born true humility; and humility guards him who who labours in prayer from all the delusions which dog the self-directed. But it is quite impossible for laypeople aqcuire true monastic obedience and perfect denial of the will and reason in everything. So how can laypeople, without obedience, by self-direction which is accompanied by delusion, force themselves to such terrifying work, that is, to prayer, without any kind of guidance? How will they be able to escape the diverse and varied illusions of the enemy most cunningly directed against this prayer and all who practise it?"

I understand this heather, thank you. But I was also under the impression that the wisdom of the Fathers in the Philokalia can be applied to the life of laypeople as well. Atleast, that is what I read in The Way of the Pilgrim. Maybe not to the same level of devotion that a monastic would, but certainly a layperson can appreciate and benefit from saying the Jesus prayer in their every day lives. But I do understand the concern to be fully prepared before hand, considering great wisdom in this book.

Thank you all for the information. It is much appreciated.

 

[Photini]

but certainly a layperson can appreciate and benefit from saying the Jesus prayer in their every day lives.

most definitely

 

[MariaRegina]

Dear Davide:

Have you ever read the book The Mountain of Silence by Kyriakos Markides (available through Amazon.com)? It talks about the difficulty some lay people have when they say the Jesus Prayer which can interfere with their work. In fact, a college professor was instructed not to pray the Jesus Prayer while he was lecturing.

I had the same experience with the Hail Mary when I was in the fourth grade. I was praying that my team would win the religion tournament - we were divided into two teams and it was an oral exam. I was petrified. So I prayed the Rosary. When it came my time to answer a question, all I could do was pray the Hail Mary. So I was disqualified to my team's great dismay.

Hope this helps.
Elizabeth

 

[Rising_Suns]

Elizabeth,
yes thank you. I do see the problem that can arise when one tries to do a lecture and pray at the same time. Or atleast, when you pray with your mouth. But I would be carefull not to use that as a reason to not try to apply interior prayer to our lives. Yes, it may begin as saying words with our mouth, and it may seem cumbersome and difficult when doing other things at the same time, but with some devotion and discipline, the words from our mouth will be transposed to our heart, and we will not need to verbally speak the words anymore. As our heart beats, the words; "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me" will naturally flow and conform to the continual and ceaseless beat of our hearts. And it's at this point, when you are always in a state of prayer, that you can do everything for the glory of God, including giving a lecture.

(atleast, this is what I have read from my research thus far. I have not yet completely devoted myself to the Jesus prayer yet, but I plan to give it all that I have in due time).