Paths to Contemplation - 22

Chapter 6 - Additional Forms of Active Contemplation


The Jesus Prayer


      One of the most revered and used prayer techniques in Eastern Orthodoxy is the so-called “Jesus Prayer.”   The use of the Jesus Prayer is an integral part of the spirituality known as Hesychasm, a which comes from the Greek word for silence, or an inner stillness.  The prayer itself usually takes the form of constant repetition of the sentence, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”  Variations do exist, such as “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me a sinner,” or shorter forms such as “Jesus, have mercy on me,” or, even more simply, “Jesus,” but the most authentic form of hesychastic prayer uses the complete sentence that asks the Lord Jesus for mercy on the sinner pray-er.  Generally, it is advised to say the prayer slowly and loud enough as to be barely audible to the pray-er.
The prayer is based in the main on the story related by Jesus in Luke 18 in which a Pharisee enters the Temple to brag to God about the righteous life he leads, while a tax collector stands at the back of the Temple, his head bowed, repeatedly saying, “God, have mercy on me a sinner.”  Jesus taught it was the latter who was made right with God by his prayer, not the former, who placed his trust in what he did to make him right with God.


It might seem at first glance that the Jesus Prayer is but a special form of Dom Freeman’s Centering Prayer with “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner,” serving as the mantra.  But though someone using Centering Prayer could choose this sentence as her mantra, viewing the two forms of prayer as equivalent would be radically mistaken.

I note here that our overview of various forms of active contemplation is necessarily incomplete.  For example, both Fr. Keating and Dom Freeman have written and taught extensively on their respective forms of Centering Prayer.  If you are attracted to one of these forms of prayer, you would benefit from further study in the works referenced for that form.

The Jesus Prayer embodies an ethos that has had an immeasurable impact on Eastern Orthodox spirituality in general and its monastic expression in particular.   The Jesus Prayer is but one facet of a multi-faceted life in Christ.  To complicate matters further, the Jesus Prayer has been given certain New Age elements in some of its Western interpretations, with particular attention to energy centers in the body called “chakras.”   I will not discuss these latter variations on Hesychasm, but will, as best I as a Westerner can, discuss the Jesus Prayer in the context of traditional Hesychast spirituality.