Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer, also called prayer of the heart or perpetual prayer, is a particularly in the Orthodox Churches common prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ of continuously being called. This is the call to "pray without ceasing " (1 Thess 5,17 EU) of the Apostle Paul is enough to be done. In Hesychasm and other forms of meditation of the Eastern Churches this prayer occupies a central position, just as in the spirituality of the Carthusians. A theological foundation of the practice of the Jesus prayer can be found in the Orthodox Imjaslavie movement ( Adoration of the Name of God) in the early 20th century. As noetic prayer, the Jesus Prayer is a central element of Orthodox spirituality.

The Jesus prayer is done often referred to with the help of a prayer chain, Greek Komboskini, Russian and Serbian Tschotki Brojanica, consisting of 30, 33, 50, 100 or more nodes. The closed string is a symbol for the never-ending monastic prayer. It is used less to count the prayers, but as an aid to concentration and a steady rhythm. In the Orthodox Church, the monks and nuns receive such a prayer chain for the profession. The Old Believers pray the Jesus Prayer, however, usually with a Lestowka.

A specific German variant of the heart prayer was " The little secret." This founded by Capuchin Father Cassian Karg contemplative practice for everyday life was widespread in the 20th century, especially before the Second Vatican Council. Berta Hummel was through this prayer way to a deeper life of faith, so that she was a nun. In the 20th century the prayer was also common in the Roman Catholic Church by clergy and monks such as Franz Jalics, Emmanuel Jungclaussen and Thomas Merton on; the Catechism of the Catholic Church mentions the Jesus prayer also ( cf. CCC 430-435 and 2666-2668; 2688 et seq.)

History

The history of the Jesus prayer can be divided into three phases:

Its beginnings date back to the time of the early Eastern monasticism. There were short bible quotes, often Psalm verses, repeated again and again, sometimes out loud, sometimes recited inwardly. With time came into use, instead of the Bible quotes to recite the name of Jesus. The form of Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me is already occupied for the 6th century. This goes back to the pericope about the blind beggar Bartimaeus: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me ( handed down in the Synoptics, eg Mark 10.47 ).

The second major phase in the history of the Jesus prayer is the Hesychasm, which was practiced in the 12th century on Mount Athos. The most important representative of Hesychasm was Gregory Palamas (1296-1359), a monk on Mount Athos and later Archbishop of Thessaloniki. In Hesychasm, the Jesus prayer in the silence is recited to the rhythm of breathing and heartbeat. 1782 was from there the monk Nicodemus the Philokalia, a collection of quotations spiritual writer over the Jesus prayer out.

The third phase in the history of the Jesus prayer begins in the 16th century in Russia, where it experienced a golden age to the 18th century. In particular, the Elders Nile Sorsky (1433-1508) and Païssi Velichkovsky (1722-1794) ensured its spread. In Russia at the end of the 19th century resulted in a book with the title Righteous Tales of a pilgrim, his spiritual father informed, which was translated into many languages ​​and so the tradition of the Jesus prayer spread worldwide, even in the German-speaking countries, where it under the title of Righteous stories a Russian pilgrim appeared. In particular, through this book, found the Jesus Prayer Pendant in all Christian denominations, so that can already speak of an " ecumenism of prayer Jesus " today.

Prayer text

There is no single prayer text. Always the name of Jesus will be called. Possible formulations are:

After the invocation of the name of Jesus a Erbarmungsbitte can be connected. Possible formulations are:

Instead of Erbarmungsbitte also a request can be expressed for help. Possible formulations are:

The hermit spoke on Mount Athos, the so-called small Jesus Prayer:

Practice

The practice of the Jesus prayer can be done in the baseline, which have already given the Church Fathers: The aim is to make an effort, pure and uninterrupted prayer to introduce the breath through the nose into the heart and thereby only to focus on the words of the prayer, to meditate and to circle in thinking.

Traditional ( modeled after the Russian Pilgrim ), the exercise in three steps that will last in most people several years each:

Oral recitation

To practice should sit upright, be taken on a meditation bench or chair. To avoid biases and distortions of the exercise idea, it is useful to take a teacher or spiritual guide, who already has experience with it; this requirement must be a priest or a monk is not necessarily.

In the first step of the prayer text is very often spoken out loud or at least molded by the lips. Prayer is here spoken first three thousand times a day - counted on a rosary or even better, since no annoying clickers arises on a knotted cord - then six thousand times, then twelve thousand, and finally as often as possible. This conscious frequent speaking of prayer in the first phase is the internalization. One can also start with a smaller number should initially not increase too fast, otherwise the practitioner can adjust easily to extreme weariness and spiritual emptiness and the exercise is then aborted.

Interior prayer

In the second step, the prayer is for mental prayer. Now you can consciously pay attention to breathing in prayer, ie by inhalation about Lord Jesus Christ, and have compassion on the exhale you are prayed my. Then the rhythm of the heartbeat can be included in the prayer. The first beat is Lord, and so prayed the second Jesus Christ on the third. The coordination with breathing and heartbeat should carefully and best guide ( and blessing ) of an experienced spiritual director happened.

The great teachers of the Jesus Prayer, such as Bishop Theophan the Recluse (1815-1894) warn, however, against, to connect the Jesus Prayer without spiritual guidance of an experienced spiritual father with heartbeat and respiration. Experience has shown that this had resulted in some practitioners to serious health disorders.

Praying in the rhythm of breathing and heartbeat

In the third phase, the prayer is so internalized that it is almost automatically prayed with every breath or heartbeat. After long practice, it comes from the subconscious mind, and at first it is surprising, since one listens to pray inwardly suddenly to have started voluntarily without prayer. The Jesus Prayer has become independent.

Current forms of practice

Decisive for the practice is not the number of prayers, but the regularity of prayer. Bishop Theophan the Recluse recommends the beginner, three times a day to speak 30 prayers and strictly comply with this rule. According to need, the number can also be increased. From a combination with breathing and heartbeat without the guidance of an experienced spiritual father, he strongly warns against. Bishop Theophan is Kallistos Ware, inter alia, of great importance for today's teacher of the Jesus Prayer as Emmanuel Jungclaussen or bishop.

Modern teachers of the Jesus prayer as Jalics, Jungclaussen or Maschwitz not recommend the above counting. Jalics recommends a gentle and very solid way. First, it leads to the perception of nature in order to bring attention to the Divine. He then leads to the perception of breath and hands to support the Jesus Prayer physically. As a word of prayer to him the name "Jesus Christ " is used where " Jesus " is connected to the exhalation and "Christ " with the inhalation.

Today's distribution

Due to its origin in the East, the Jesus Prayer in Orthodoxy and the Churches of the Byzantine Rite is the most common. It is probably even more deeply rooted among the people as the Rosary the faithful of the Latin Rite to which it corresponds as repetitive prayer form.

In Russia there is a population in the very popular form of prayer, since there the book Sincere Tales of a Russian pilgrim has been published. Although this book was read by more affluent population of normal believers that Jesus prayer was thus very much followers because the clergy has the believer gives this form of prayer. Then there is the fact that it corresponds to the orthodox doctrine that one can pray a certain number of prayers Jesus, if you are not able to participate in the liturgy.

In the German -speaking world the Jesus prayer was recently mainly through the publications and retreats of the Jesuit Franz Jalics and the Benedictine Emmanuel Jungclaussen the faithful appeal. Both written standard works on Jesus prayer. The same goes for Peter Dyckhoff, who teaches practiced with the Serenity Prayer by St. John Cassian, a preform of the Jesus Prayer and.

Health aspects

The British Medical Journal reported on a study by the University of Pavia, in which was found out that the practice of a mantra exerts a positive effect on the cardiovascular system. Due to the constant rhythm of prayer, the respiratory rate reduced to about six breaths per minute. Concentration and inner peace to be promoted.

The Preventive Medicine Gerd Schnack has developed together with the music teacher Hermann rough the so-called repetitive meditation training ( RMT) and in this case the concept of repetitive prayer formulas oriented, including the Jesus prayer counts. Schnack and Rough write: " Five minutes RMT a stronger recovery effect on the physical fitness than an hour recovery without RMT. " For relaxation for the body to get a completely new creativity for the mind.

By Emmanuel P. Jungclaussen the Jesus Prayer was also known as a supportive measure of psychotherapy, when he gave a lecture to physicians and psychotherapists in 46 weeks of psychotherapy 1996. Due to the great response to the professional public is young Claussens lecture then modified somewhat published as a book.

Typological classification

In religion a comparative perspective, the Jesus Prayer is one type of material for prayer and formal names to the repetitive forms of prayer. The question whether the Jesus prayer (as text ) is a mantra that can be answered differently; in practice the Jesus Prayer is but a " mantric prayer." In the application, just like they taught Franz Jalics, it can also be understood as mindfulness meditation.

In the Orthodox tradition, the Jesus Prayer is regarded not only as a Christ- centered, but also as a Trinitarian prayer: If Jesus is addressed as "Son of God ", would thus also pointed to the Father, and the Holy Spirit is also included in the prayer, because after 1 Cor 12:3 EU nobody "Jesus is Lord " could say, except by the Holy Spirit.