What is prayer? Give a definitive definition of the word prayer is very difficult, it is already difficult to define material things and spiritual figure. For example, if you ask me to describe the Malva say that is a typical plant family of Malvaceae, from the broad green leaves, the purple flower with five petals, with a strong trunk and branching ... but for those who have not ever seen it is difficult imagine, if instead harbor a specimen or a photograph immediately recognize. This is also the spiritual dimension, I can speak of God, explain who or what is best, that speaks of him in a way not so: God is immortal, that is not mortal, God is infinite, that is not done, we can talk about God in the affirmative, saying that God is omnipotent, omniscient, because these categories exceed human reason. But most of all in Christ Jesus we can live the Divine Life, we understand it by living in an incredibly simple and clear that is beyond our limited human reason. The co-eternal Son of the Father, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, became incarnate, became man in the spotless womb of the Virgin Mary that the man might become god, so that man could once again live the Divine Life, the life that was intended from the creation of the world and that with original sin had become difficult to achieve. God is infinite, ontologically speaking, unattainable in his nature, but reminds us that the Holy Scriptures and the Tradition of the Fathers, you can share his life through its Energie Divine tarpaulins. How to live in the divine life? Looking for fellowship with God, having a personal relationship with him, this relationship is called prayer.
When I was little and I went to catechism taught me that prayer is "the elevation of the mind to God", true, prayer is still a need, an inner need I do not believe there is or has ever existed in human history religion as the prayer did not have a main place, so it is in Christianity. I dare say that prayer is a reminder, a memory archaic, a requirement of our soul that makes us go beyond this material nature made up of opposites and that we restore our true nature in the Godhead, from which our forefathers broke away with original sin.
In the modern world, prayer is been shelved for a while 'time, almost despised by the "high" culture that is called in Russian "visoko kulturnij", the culture of the scholars of the world and I must say that this crisis has been passed in those strata of the population for centuries were the "hard core" of the spiritual life. But prayer is also the food, drink, breath, soul, and this requirement is irrepressible in the human heart. You see we can stand a few minutes without breathing and then we die, we can stay a few days without water, we can be a few weeks without food but then we die, ditto if you do not pray we can live the material life but our intimate our soul, our spirit slowly dying of starvation, often feel a malaise is our inner spirit that warns us have come to fruit and calls spiritual food.
this discomfort, this inner hunger leads modern man to seek spiritual life in every area, more and more often outside of religions and churches "historic" and "institutional" to search for new routes in that of fast food sacred traditional culture of "new age" and "next age" which is normally called "karma cola" a kind of supermarket of the sacrum where the individual can seek and find the way that most he wishes, by the way that tells you all the benefits without the dangerous drawbacks, sometimes for some "spiritual experiences" should put out a statement like cigarettes, "is seriously detrimental to spiritual health." The prayer of the heart that even the name is entered, despite himself, this spiritual vortex of consumerism.
What is it and where does the prayer of the heart? In ancient religions we have great examples of prayer, if I were asked to give an example I would immediately think of the hymn to Aton of Pharaoh Akhenaton who inspired the biblical Psalter, or I remember the hymn to Isis written by Apuleius and contained in his book "The Metamorphoses or the Golden Ass." If I were asked examples of prayer in the Old Testament, my thoughts turn to Moses and his famous song that is sung during the vigil of the Great Saturday when we remember the exit from the Red Sea, I am reminded of the prayer of the mother of the prophet Samuel or the mother of the Maccabees, the Psalms of the Prophet and King David, the examples are many. Closer to Christ, temporally speaking, we have these two wonderful songs sprung from the heart of the prophet Zechariah the father of St. John the Baptist and the Magnificat of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we still have the prayer of the holy old man Simeon and the example the prophetess Anna: "since she was widowed did not depart from the temple to serve God with fasting and prayer" as he says in the Gospel of Luke. Want to know what is prayer? Go read those prayers, see the examples of the lives of these great saints and it is as if you show a picture of mauve. Want to know even more, what is prayer? Follow their example and strive to live a life that is spiritual.
And in the history of the Church? Here we must consider that in the first three centuries there have been many persecutions against Christians, this forced her to have a strong and intense spiritual life, because every moment there was the danger of violent death, to become martyrs (witnesses to the blood) of Christ. I see the same thing for the Orthodox who live here in the West, my parishioners tell me that here the "Credinza - Faith is strong," he must be strong if no risk no longer Orthodox, but diluted in a vast sea of \u200b\u200breligious without any specificity. Mind absurd for countries with an Orthodox majority this danger is not there and maybe you live a spiritual life the child. With the advent to the throne of Emperor Constantine edict of Milan in 313, the Christian religion is lawful. The ranks of believers in Christ thickens even people who become Christian for political or social, especially with the successive emperors: Faith is likely to flatten out, and the Christian religion to become a religion in the world "as the ancient paganism. So the Lord sends a new martyrdom in the Church, a new example of martyrdom, monasticism. That monasticism is not new, it is also outside the boundaries of Christianity, and biblically speaking is connected with the ancient prophetic priesthood, that of Elijah, Elisha, John the Baptist, the prophetess Anna, who lived in fasting and prayer in his life, but from the 4th century onwards, it becomes strong in Church's life and I would say is essential in times of persecution and in those of peace: it is the monasticism that supports the Church! We see in all periods of history that the Church's enemies, who want to destroy it, starting with a close the monasteries with the excuse that the monks do not do anything for the world and live in idleness. They know that by closing the monasteries, the Church loses its lifeblood, its backbone to expire in a "world religion".
The Monaco is in fact dead to the world and the world dies, meaning the world all the visible and invisible powers that separate us from God, but precisely because of his martyrdom - witness the Monaco joined God in every living being, strengthening, intercedes, enlightens believers living in the world. The ESIC is the foundation of monasticism, which is peace, peace that is sought after by monks and externally, living in deserts and solitary places, both within and devoting himself to asceticism every day stronger and deeper each day a prayer.
experience comes the monastic prayer of the heart, it is repeated, combined with the breath, focusing first on the item, then when the voice on the mind gets tired and even when the mind stops the heart from which it flows at a certain point, of course, as a fountain of fresh and pure water. It is made of few words:
"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner."
In it we find several aspects condensates:
1) The invocation of the name of Jesus, in which St. Paul reminds us that there is salvation and prostrate themselves in front of which all the powers and heavenly, terrestrial and infernal. That name, in which Jesus told us to pray to the Father because "Whatever you ask in my name of the Father will give it .. "
2)" No "- the Apostle Paul always says" can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit "This prayer brings us mostly in its action.
3) "Son of God" is the profession of faith of the apostle Peter, every time we recite this prayer we place ourselves on the rock of confession of St. Peter, who is the rock on which the Church is built.
4) "Have mercy on me a sinner" is the prayer of the publican who rises to the temple back home justified, forgiven, sanctified, unlike the Pharisee who praises himself. It is also the prayer of the two blind men are healed by Christ for their faith.
5) Repetition is continuous, almost insistent, like the widow of the Gospel that calls for justice in the courts that does not fear God, the widow's request is answered (although the court is unfairly) because of its constancy.
6) Repetition is simple, with no waste of words in the Gospel as Christ taught us to teach just before the Our Father and corresponds to the words of the Apostle Paul teaches us to pray always without ceasing ".
7) The prayer of the heart teaches us to unite in prayer to the breath as the psalm tells us: "Every breath praise the Lord"
8) ; The prayer of the heart makes us bring attention to the words, thoughts and finally to the heart, the center of our being, where is the Kingdom of God
Who can practice this prayer?
The life of prayer, teaches us how our father John Climacus, is a scale. You see it is like in quantum mechanics, we know that the atom is made of a nucleus of protons and neutrons swirling around this core electrons, if we give energy electrons can jump from one energy level to another. Let's say we want to 1j. power if we give it 0.5 j. twice in the electron will jump to the next level, you must give at least 1j. at once. Such is the spiritual life does not climb a ladder, at some point feel inside us the strength to do a step, maybe we tried a lot but we have never had the strength at that time then one day we discover to be improved. The prayer of the heart is one of the highest prayer of the Church, you can not practice if you are not familiar with prayer normal, in this case we have to do a sort of examination of conscience, you know what you did when we were children and we went to the first Communion? Just one species, let us ask:
- I have a regular prayer life? I pray regularly morning and night? There is distracted at times, but we must continue because the words of prayer are imprinted in our subconscious and our soul to cleanse us from the passions, the nature of sin, it enlightens us and we deified, by men who are of us.
- In addition to personal prayer regularly take part in community prayer with my brothers in faith? I confess regularly. I receive Holy Communion regularly and particularly in the grace of God?
- I familiar with the Psalter which is the basis of monastic prayer?
- I read regularly and meditate the Word of God, the Holy Gospel and allow it to become the guide for me, the pole star that guides me to God ? I read books of spiritual interest? You see in today's world we do not have many "starez" - older people who are driving the believers, but we have books.
- I have a spiritual father to guide me, which rely my successes and my problems? It is essential to find a spiritual father to be "expert" of prayer and help us in times of "desert" when God does not hear us because the world will make war.
- I add fasting to prayer? Without fasting, prayer is not strong enough to repel the attacks of spiritual enemies, seen and unseen, the Lord Jesus reminds us of when the devil drives dumb and deaf: "This race of demons cast out only by prayer and fasting"
- I remember God during the day with those beautiful little prayer, which are the aspirations? We also need to cheat the devil. He does not want to pray, but the aspirations are so short that he could not see that we have prayed.
- participate in some community prayer outside the simple Sunday liturgy?
Here if you do all these things then with the blessing of their spiritual father, you can start the prayer of the heart. Maybe some of you will think: "Impossible! Do not ever begin to practice the prayer of the heart "-" Well first of all nothing is impossible with God, as well! It is a fair reflection of my desire tonight is to make you understand that you do not mess with the prayer of the heart and can not be practicing lightly and that practice must have climbed several rungs of the spiritual ladder, I'd like leaving you said - take more seriously my spiritual life. "
