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A warning to those who read the spiritual books of the Fathers and those who wish to go through the mental Jesus prayer. Holy Fathers on the Jesus Prayer

Prayer work is a spiritual ladder, which step by step will lead its doer to the goal - to Communion with God. Only having achieved this, a person can see himself completely satisfied ...

1. When a person begins to feel in himself an unceasing concern for the salvation of his soul, then the first thing he does is look for means to cleanse his conscience of everything that worries her, by confessing to a confessor.

2. His love for reading and singing church services is sometimes excessively great in him, and he does not know fatigue, loves and listens like a really hungry and thirsty one.

3. He loves to pray, not sparing his labors. Prayer creates with numerous earthly and waist bows.

4. He forces himself to remember the omnipresence of God, to have the fear of God, and to say the Jesus Prayer orally.

5. Beware of jokes, laughter, idle talk, overeating, excessive drinking of wine, voluptuousness, omission of church and cell rules.

6. He tries to be obedient, humble, gentle, not to upset anyone. Carried away by judging others. He obeys his superiors implicitly.

7. For an impeccable life, the brethren will love him, address him with special respect. And he, out of his inexperience, begins to love and attract others to himself, especially those who are distinguished by a quiet disposition and pleasantness of face. Gradually, such indiscriminate friendship becomes a great obstacle in the work of salvation, and especially in prayer. So if this secret is not revealed to an elder or spiritual father, then such a person becomes wholly a servant of Satan, as an idolater.

8. Therefore, the holy fathers command not to make friends with anyone, but with the blessing of the elder, to have an interlocutor in God, and not out of passion.

9. Anger and fornication, especially through thoughts, will revolt him with greater force. But do not despair, confess to your confessor and humble yourself like a great sinner.

10. If you see in yourself the thought of self-conceit and shameless insolence that you are already among the righteous, then try to quickly condemn yourself and become a thought with goats.

11. Thoughts of every kind will be so chilling that many times from enjoying them, due to your impotence, you will see yourself fallen.

12. Having brought repentance to God, and having confessed to the confessor, and asking for his holy prayers, the next time be strong in the fight against them, calling on Jesus for help.

13. God is not touchy, He will not leave you without help, in due time, after your hard struggle, He will give you some victory over thoughts, but not yet final. You, too, will begin to work more attentively in prayer and psalmody, and to enclose your mind in the words of the prayer.

14. If you yourself need to read or listen to something, then you will insatiably try to catch every word with your mind and feeling, standing before God.

15. Although the heart is not yet open for your mind, it already manifests its action in our spirit and in the inner word, in feeling.

16. Having spent quite a bit of time on oral and reading rational prayer, you will approach the middle of it and begin to pray either verbally or mentally. But for the time being, oral or reading prayer is more necessary for you. Continue it until the need for it passes, and mental prayer will take over.

17. Practicing in the noetic Jesus Prayer, keep your mind from thoughts. Constriction of one's breath is very helpful to this preservation.

18. Sticking your mind to your breath and making a prayer with your mind, focus your attention in the upper part of the chest, below the Adam's apple, and carefully watch the mind so that it stays there, where the prayer is being done.

19. When pronouncing the words of prayer, see the presence of God in yourself, by no means allowing any imagination of the Lord, and do not clothe the words in letters.

20. Believe that the Lord is in you, and you are in God, simply, formless, incomprehensible, and your words from His hearing do not have the slightest distance and time.

21. When you are tired of mental prayer, switch to oral, non-vowel, pronouncing it quietly and calmly, while keeping your attention either in the words of the prayer, or in the same place inside.

22. It is necessary to pronounce the words of prayer, especially the name of God, as clearly as possible, not hastily, with reverence. God is equally present, both in verbal and mental prayer.

23. God does not look at words, but at the heart. If you make a prayer without consciousness and without feelings, any kind of prayer, then it is no longer a prayer, but empty words. This only offends God.

24. In order for the prayer to be heard by God, do it with all your heart. And subordinate your body to this cathedral of feelings, so that you have one thing to do, and not two or three.

25. When you find time to dedicate it to prayer, then think ahead that you now have nothing to worry about and think about, everything has already been done, and thoughts from outside are not needed at all. Go inside with your mind, as it was said above, and keep it there, not allowing it to return to the head, for “in the head there is a crowded market” (Theophan the Recluse).

26. Do not forget that the mind at all times unite with your breath, and pray with a painful feeling, in the spirit of contrition.

27. You have often seen weeping and mourning, and perhaps you yourself have experienced both. Position yourself like this when praying before God. By acting in this way, you will become accustomed to unceasing prayer. After that, an inner prayer will be given to you.

28. Oral and reading prayer, there is some rest for the mind from inner fatigue, and then, without slowing down on it, one must again create the Jesus Prayer with one mind, inwardly, and not outwardly. Do not accept anything extraneous that will distract your mind and your thought from prayer.

29. The seeker of prayer does not need to be alienated from any church service prayer rules. It’s hard to read everything completely on your own, but it’s useful to listen to what’s ready, for obedience to the holy Church.

30. The one who has acquired inner self-propelled prayer does not need any external rules. Such a person obeys the action of prayer, and not the rule. Wherever this action finds him and at whatever time it happens, he should not leave it under any pretext.

31. Do not rest on the mere knowledge of prayer actions, but be an unceasing worker of prayer. To know is not yet to possess what you know. Possess this when you do it and eat the fruits of your works. From inaction, even the smartest are poor.

32. When inner prayer begins to manifest, knowledge of certain passages of Holy Scripture will begin to open, as well as knowledge of oneself and an extraordinary concept of God.

33. The omnipresence of God and, in general, the memory of God is replaced by the sight of God. That is, the eyes of the mind seem to be occupied with nothing but seeing the Invisible. And you cleverly, but precisely and definitely, extend your words to Him not guessingly, but vividly and truly, with an inexplicable feeling of spirit and heart, you are affirmed in this truth.

34. It happens at times that the words of the prayer stop, and then you pray without any words. My mind and heart and my whole inner being are imbued with an inexplicable action: God alone is seen, and in Him you only see being, but you forget yourself, no matter how you feel. When such an action departs, then everything here on earth appears as carrion, decay and rubbish ... Life is only in God, and you try to contemplate Him.

35. When you are strengthened by faith to truly and undoubtedly see the Lord with intelligent eyes always before you, then it will be clear to you what the name of God is, and what God Himself is, and what it means to worship God in spirit and in truth.

36. Absent-mindedness leads a person to doubt: as if it is impossible to keep him at his place during prayer. But have faith that with God's help you will not pray distractedly. This sickness of the mind is cured.

37. For others, the action of heartfelt prayer suddenly begins: either from worthy communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, or from fervent prayer, or from other occasions. But the holy fathers outlined the general path to its acquisition in order with great many years of labor, like the bodily age of a person.

38. It is difficult to express the action of inner prayer in writing, and even in a personal word, not everything can be conveyed to the listener. This action is expressed in the spirit of man. In it, it is done with the participation of the heart.

39. Beginning prayer seekers need to keep their attention at the top of the chest where the breath passes. So is the constraint of the breath, in order to accustom the mind to be established within abiding. And when it becomes his essential business, then there will always be unity. In the spirit there will be its place in the words of prayer. When the Lord opens the heart, then the mind will descend into the heart and there it will abide and see the one who opens the heart - the Sweetest Jesus in his heart, then the prayer will be God acting (Gregory of Sinai).

40. It is reasonable to know the action of one's spirit is an important and necessary matter for a prayer book. Without this, his mental prayer is not real. Prayer must be combined with the spirit: not only the words of prayer, but the action of its power - as a need.

41. I can’t correctly say anything about its warmth, but I conclude that it also manifests itself in our spirit. If we understand bodily warmth, then it will not give us any success in prayer, whether it exists or not, and deception is dangerous.

42. When warmth appears in the body during prayer, then consider where it began, and what is the effect of prayer at that time. If the mind has gone into extraneous thoughts, then this is either natural warmth or hostility. It needs to be cut off. Real warmth begins from the heart and ends in the heart, and the mind is pure in prayer.

43. An undoubted sign of effective inner prayer is confirmed by the fact that the doer of it does not have such a disposition of the heart for anything as for prayer, so that even in a dream it does not leave him, as it is said: “I sleep, but my heart watches.” When he wakes up, he feels busy with the same thing that, when he went to sleep, he was busy. That is, an inexplicable desire to pray - to talk with God.

44. A prayer book should always have one main occupation: to be before God with prayer and to keep the mind from thoughts. You need to accustom yourself in such a way that your breath is occupied or dissolved by unceasing prayer, or, one might say, would breathe prayer, for prayer is more necessary for the soul than breathing for life.

45. It was invented to pray while sitting for the convenience of keeping the mind, but in reality it is more decent to pray standing on your feet or on your knees.

46. Little by little you need to read the Gospel every day. From reading it there is a great influence on our soul - it is impossible to express everything, into what kind of mind of truth one comes from this.

47. Keep in mind and feeling that you are a goat, and therefore know that in order to be a sheep, you need great repentance with faith in God's mercy.

48. Be considerate, as if master of thoughts. Do you need them at this time? It is known from experience that during prayer, for the most part, the mind is occupied with trifles, and therefore be deaf and dumb, and blind in relation to them.

49. Icons remind us of the Being that always looks at us. Be careful.

50. Fussy affairs are inappropriate for the doer of prayer. The idler is always busy with them, and prayer is boring for him.

51. Prayer is not any of the deeds or an occupation equal to them, but in its essence it is the life of our soul. As the body needs breathing, so the soul needs prayer.

52. Not all things interfere with prayer, but those that distract the mind from God. One cannot live without deeds, but prayer is the most important of them all. Do it and pray. Forgetfulness is carelessness.

53. A spiritual home is built from the virtues: love, humility, patience, obedience, abstinence, and so on, and you cannot build a temple out of prayer alone without them.

54. Cherish the time. Arrange all your affairs prudently, so that salvation is built up by them, and not destroyed.

55. Do not keep your gaze on any object for a long time, keep your hearing from hearing, do not slow down in it, keep your thoughts from both. Then the prayer will be concentrated.

56. For some reason, never read or sing, and do not say the Jesus Prayer, but with attention, with the fear of God and a spiritual feeling, no matter what is your sin. When you are attentive to everything, then prayer will appear.

57. Another prayer is verbal, another mental-verbal. Both, although they are constantly being created, are not the essence of prayer, but only its belonging, expression. Real prayer comes from the heart. She is both silent and speechless. The inner voice of the soul produces it. It is not limited by words or time.

58. We are obliged to go to church-cathedral prayers for obedience to the holy Church. Listening to church services and prayers, we fully satisfy the need for external verbal prayer. And whoever has the effect of inner prayer will draw from the service the hearing of the inexpressible words of the Holy Spirit. For the hearing of hearing is opened to him by the Spirit.

59. Standing in the Church, be content with church singing and reading. Reasonable hearing with the participation of your heart constitutes a real prayer, and when something is read and sung incomprehensibly, then be content with the Jesus Prayer alone. It can replace all the omissions of the incomprehensible.

60. Without inner prayer, if you have not yet acquired it, do not think that the Jesus Prayer is higher than the Church-Cathedral Prayer. And if, under such a pretext, neglecting the church service, you begin to pray the Jesus Prayer in the Church, then I will tell you that you do neither one nor the other, but walk according to your own will. Do better less, but for obedience. If not, then why go to church?

61. Outside the church, the Jesus Prayer can replace all rules. It also fills up any gaps in the church. It alone should be practiced in the church only by those who have felt the effect of prayer in themselves. For such, not words, but God acting. He no longer borrows prayer from words from outside, but pours it out from within.

62. Every verbal prayer has the same price, including that of Jesus. Cassian the Roman says that in his time, the monks prayed: “God, help me, get out…”

63. Prayer doing some kind of endless. No matter how much you gain knowledge of it, you will see only the beginnings of prayer. Just as God is infinite and incomprehensible, so prayer is infinite. Prayer is the knowledge of God, and there is no way for us to fully know Him.

64. A mortal being, man, has a limit to life on earth. The uncertainty of its end worries everyone. Therefore, the memory of death should concern us every hour, and it is necessary to have it inseparably with prayer.

65. It happens that things intersperse, but there should be no gap for prayer.

66. Be always on the prayer rule. Pray in the church, pray in the cell, pray at work, pray at the meal. Walking, sitting, lying down, pray and always pray.

67. Do not be conceited before people with anything external, be before everyone the same as you are before God: "I am the worst of all."

68. If God gives you crying and tears, then keep them from everyone, more than the apple of your eye.

69. When there is compunction, then by no means ruin it, neither by the rule of prayer, nor by any deed, until it departs. Take care of your knowledge too. Often there are such revelations that you only need to stay on them for some time, without running your mind to anything else. This is about prayer, not about anything else.

70. If you are not concerned with prayer, then you are not yet a real seeker of it. If you do not feel your trouble, then how can you find the need for prayer? Who is guilty, he confesses. What about you? Isn't it a Pharisee?

71. Do not think yourself to succeed in any virtue, and especially in prayer. Ask God for help, and He will give prayer to the one who prays. For it is said, "Without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

72. We say prayer with the mind or orally, verbosely and with many names, that is, we often repeat the names of God and saints, but the essence of the Named and Prayed by us is seen before the name, and during the naming, and after; always before us and we before him.

73. The sweetest Name of Jesus is fearful and victorious to our enemies, just like the sign of the cross, depicted in the name of God, is victorious against enemies, but saving for us. The Holy Spirit Himself moves us to use these weapons.

74. It is possible to come into such oblivion that you will pronounce the words of a prayer, but not remember God. So, you are building an idol in your mind or you are talking in vain.

75. We are ashamed and sinful to pray and not remember God. Do we pray to the air, or to an icon, or to words, or to names? We pray to a living being, which we see by faith, undoubtedly, which sees and hears the cry of our soul.

76. If for a long time you do not see success in yourself in prayer, especially in mental prayer, then the enemies of our salvation will begin to shake your soul and whisper: ". Do not listen to your enemies and do not embarrass yourself that thoughts will greatly chill you.

77. It also happens that unceasing prayer does not even let you sleep, but at least take some time to sleep. If you don't have to sleep at night, then sleep during the day.

78. Prayer is the wisdom and fear of God. This case itself confirms. If by prayer a person achieves communion with God, then what could be wiser than this?

80. The Holy Fathers praise prayer above all deeds, they call it the queen, the deed of Angels, and, to say a lot, prayer is God, acting all in all. She is the resurrection of the soul, the resolver of all sorrows, the giver of freedom of the spirit and intercessor of eternal blessings.

81. If the mind diligently and purely engages in prayer, then the heart becomes worthy of inalienable joy and inexpressible peace. When you are alone in your cell, keep your mental prayer in a sober mind and with contrition of heart.

82. An attentive monk soon develops an inner gravitation and desire for prayer - for the sake of nourishing himself with the spirit of prayer and the most resolute self-sacrifice and renunciation of everything. Therefore, he soon ascends to the silence of the mind and solitude and retires to rest - to the wilderness or seclusion.

83. Prayer is a conversation with God. Therefore, our mind needs to be in proper order, so that there is nothing intermediary between God and the mind.

84. Fasting and prayer are burning lamps in the hands of a monk.

85. Whoever loves God keeps His commandments: he prays without ceasing, because praying without ceasing is also a commandment. Those who pray absentmindedly sin, and those who neglect prayer are counted among fornicators and adulterers.

86. The seeker and doer of prayer has no time to be idle, he made a vow to God to pray unceasingly and repent of his sins.

87. Smart prayer is a prayer performed by the mind, from words uttered by the mind. Smart-hearted prayer is also called prayer from words, but with the participation of the feelings of the heart. Prayer of the heart is that which flows from the heart, with or without words. The inner word flows from the soul, and not what we have learned to pronounce from habit, although the same word: “God, Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God,” but from within, and not from outside, not in form, like external but according to the needs of the spirit and heart. Sometimes all the words of the prayer, and sometimes only the words: "Lord, have mercy!", "Lord" or "Jesus" - and the like.

88. Beautiful is quantity in psalmody when patience and attention are with it. It revives the soul and causes the fruit of prayer - quality. The quality of psalmody and prayer is to pray in the spirit with the mind. The fruit of prayer is a source of tears. Where the fruit of psalmody and prayer is not manifested, the quality is dry; if it is dry, all the more so is the quantity, which, although it gives labor to the body, is in every possible way useless for many. (Nikita Stefat)

89. Unceasing prayer does not depart from the soul day or night, it does not consist in the prayerful position of the body and not in the pronouncement of prayers with the tongue so that it can be seen with bodily eyes, but consists in smart doing, with remembrance of God, with constant tenderness, and understood only by those who know how to understand it. (Nikita Stefat)

90. From external prayers and prayers, the Lord leads His companions even further - to a certain sublime, as we mentioned above, state - to that fiery, very little known or tested, even, I will say, unspeakable prayer, which, surpassing any human concept, is not a sound voice, not by the movement of the tongue, and by the pronunciation of any words, is indicated, and which the mind, illumined by an outpouring of heavenly light, does not express with weak human speech, but having gathered feelings, as if from some abundant source, it pours out of itself uncontrollably, and indescribably burps something directly to the Lord, then expressing in this shortest moment of time, which, having come to himself, he is not able to utter a word or follow mentally. (Cassian the Roman)

91. The most exalted state of prayer consists in the contemplation of the one God and in fiery love for Him, and where our mind, embraced and imbued with this love, converses with God in the closest way and with special sincerity. That we must carefully seek this state, this is suggested to us by the Lord's prayer: "Our Father." (Cassian the Roman)

92. The Gospel commandment commands us to pray inside our cage in a secret place, with one heart and an attentive mind, so that even the opposing authorities themselves could not know what we are praying about. Therefore, it is necessary to pray with deep silence, so that those who are present do not see your prayer and are not indignant at your whispers and exclamations.

93. In order to achieve perfection in prayer, it is necessary to establish oneself in an unfailing remembrance of God, for which a short prayer, incessantly repeated orally and mentally, serves as a means: “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me!” or “God, seek my help, Lord, seek my help” (Ps. 69:2). At the same time, you need to feel your need, what to ask for in prayer. (Cassian the Roman)

94. Whoever incessantly calls on God with these words, he intelligently sees and in his heart feels God inherent in himself, and addresses Him as a Father with a filial loving heart - and through this attracts God's protection, overshadowing and protection. Whatever you need, and so that you don’t get bored, cry heartily to God, and you will always be heard. Surrender yourself completely to the will of God. (Cassian the Roman)

95. Rising to the most lively communion with God, you will begin to be saturated with more and more sublime mysteries, plunging into God, abiding with Him alone, and being satisfied with Him alone. Finally, you will reach pure prayer, which no longer allows any image to be taken into account, and is not manifested by any sound of a voice, or by the pronunciation of any words, but with uncontrollable vivacity is torn out of the heart, inexpressibly rapturous with the fiery aspiration of the mind to God, and pours out before Him inexplicable sighs and lamentations. (Cassian the Roman)

96. Although you have no visible tears, nevertheless, let there be contrition of heart. Be sober and stay unremittingly in work. God is not unjust, and will not forget your work, but for the darkness that you endure while sitting in your cell, the light of truth will shine upon you. (Efrem Sirin)

97. The mind is clouded and becomes barren when a monk talks to someone about worldly things, or mentally talks about them in himself, or when he indulges in vanity through this, then he loses warmth and contrition and forgets God. (Hesychius of Jerusalem)

98. We should not indiscriminately enter into relations with other people, so as not to suffer damage from any seductive conversations, but we should rather despise all vain things for the sake of the beauty and beneficence of the most amiable and sweet virtue - sobriety.

99. The mind will rejoice with unspeakable joy when it stands before God without any thoughts. Having inflamed himself, he will go from the power of active wisdom into the wondrous power of contemplation and ineffable secrets and virtues, and when he finally perceives in his heart the immeasurable depth of the sublime Divine intentions, then the God of gods will appear to him, as far as this is possible for his heart. (Hesychius of Jerusalem)

100. It seems too strict and heavy for people to be mentally silent from every thought. And this is truly difficult and painful: for it is painfully difficult not only for the uninitiated into the mysteries of spiritual warfare to conclude and hold the incorporeal in a bodily home, but also for those who have been tempted in the internal immaterial warfare. But whoever, by unceasing prayer, keeps the Lord Jesus in his Persians, he, according to the Prophet, “will not bother to follow Him and will not desire the day of a man” (Jer. 17:16), for the sake of the beauty, pleasantness and sweetness of Jesus, and his enemies - unclean demons walking around him, will not be put to shame, but will “speak to them in the gates” of the heart (Ps. 126:5), and drive them back by Jesus.

Hesychius of Jerusalem

— Thank you very much, father, for these convincing explanations. Until now, I have tried to follow your thought. Tried to understand the stages of the Jesus Prayer, i.e. how this sacred work develops. But I would like to ask. Is it easy to give? Or do you need struggle and effort? If the Kingdom of God “is in need, and the needy take it away” (Matt. 11:12), then, probably, compulsion is also necessary in the Jesus Prayer, because with the help of it alone one can become a partaker of the Kingdom of God, for the contemplation of the Uncreated Light, as I read from the saint Gregory Palamas, is the Kingdom of Heaven. How is the struggle carried out?

“Of course, a struggle is needed,” answered the wise Athonite, “and the ascetic must shed much blood. The dictum of the fathers: "Give blood - receive the spirit" - wonderfully confirms this. Without a struggle, Adam lost paradise, although he contemplated God. Moreover, it is required from us for the acquisition of Divine grace. Those who preach that struggle is not needed are delusional. Saint Maximus says: "Knowledge without practice is demonic theology." Before the fall, prayer was easy, like the unceasing doxology of angels. However, after the fall, struggle and labor are required, through which the righteous in the Kingdom of God return to their former state.

— I would very much like you to describe this struggle.

- The first and intense struggle is to collect a person's mind. Refuse surrounding objects, circumstances, events, states, thoughts - not only bad, but also good. For the mind that moves away from God dies and decays, like a fish thrown out of the sea, out of the water. St. Isaac the Syrian also speaks of this: “As happens with a fish deprived of water, so it is with a mind deprived of the memory of God and soaring in the memory of the world.” The mind after the fall reminds a dog that wants to run all the time and is unusually agile in running. He resembles the prodigal son in the parable, who wanted to leave his father's house, took his property (desire - will) and squandered and squandered it, "living dissolutely." This is what the Fathers say, and above all Saint Gregory Palamas (which was mentioned earlier), who struggled in inner work.

— Great idea! I exclaimed. But how can you concentrate?

“Just like it happened to the prodigal son. What do we read in the corresponding passage? “When he came to his senses, he said: “How many hirelings from my father are abundant in bread, and I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father.” He got up and went to his father ... And the father said to his servants: “... Bring a fattened calf and stab: let's eat and be merry. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” And they began to rejoice” (Luke 15:17-24). And the prodigal mind needs to come “to itself” from its absent-mindedness. Feel the sweetness and happiness in the father's house and return to it, and there will be a great holiday there. And he will hear a voice: “My son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found”; and revive the dead mind. Only when the mind returns to the heart will joy come - such as that of the former in a foreign land and who has come to his home, as Nicephorus the Monk writes. “Just as a husband who was outside the house, when he returns, does not know what happens to him from joy at the sight of children and his wife, so the mind, united with the soul, is filled with inexpressible bliss and joy.” Concentration of the mind happens when the heart is warmed up. At sunset, my ever-memorable elder tested his inner state and contemplated the images of nature, and then, when his heart warmed up, he began the Jesus Prayer and continued it until dawn, when the Divine Liturgy was celebrated. Then...

“Father, forgive me for interrupting. I didn't quite understand you. What does it mean to “warm up the heart”?

“The example of the prodigal son will help you. “When he came to himself, he said: “How many hirelings from my father are abundant in bread, and I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father...” I.e. he remembered the bliss in his father's house and at the same time his own poverty and decided to return to his father. Considerable effort is required to compel the will and desire to return. This is why we pray the Jesus Prayer. We try to see our own sinfulness and poverty. We remember the day's falls. We experience various events and sins (however, barely touching them, that is, outwardly) and behave as if we are at a judgment seat and judgment is in progress. The Lord is on the throne, and we are in the dock. Feeling this, we begin to cry out: “Have mercy on me.” In this case, you need to cry, because in crying the right prayer is performed. The Fathers say that one who aspires to deep prayer and deep monastic life must learn to weep and live in incessant self-condemnation, self-reproaches, consider himself the worst of all the others, treat himself as a dirty animal, in the darkness of delusion and ignorance. He must be the first to condemn himself, for such a person is worthy of grace, as St. Basil the Great says: “He who condemns himself in his sins and does not expect reproof from others, that is, he who condemns himself before the verdict, will receive justification.” He who condemns himself first, says the parables of Solomon, is prepared in this way to prayer. St. Isaac writes somewhere: “Before we pray, let us fall on our knees, wring our hands, and consider ourselves condemned.” Then thoughts of self-reproach will come. Each time they can be new. Considering these thoughts, one cannot represent them in images. And a truly penitent mind will descend into the heart, and we will begin to weep and ceaseless prayer will begin. Let me explain with an example from worldly life. A young man who remembers an offensive thought thrown by someone in his direction, and ponders over it, feels pain in his heart and immediately begins to grieve. The same is observed with those who struggle in prayer; but their motives are certainly not worldly and selfish. The ascetic says within himself: “I have caused sorrow to Christ, I have moved away from Divine grace,” and so on. Thinking like this breaks the heart. A broken heart in a sense of repentance (not under external pressure) is stung and mourns more when the body suffers. This affliction keeps the mind continuously in the memory of God, and the "contrite" one is unable to sleep even at night, feeling as if he were among hot coals. Consequently, the fourth, intense, stage of the Jesus Prayer comes, when the contrite heart thinks about God day and night; this is called continuous prayer. It is achieved, I repeat, after several minutes of intense prayer with tears, and then its effect is felt inside for many days. It must be emphasized that a sense of unworthiness is absolutely necessary for the performance of the Jesus Prayer. The greatest success is determined by the greatest awareness of one's sinfulness. Without this realization, there is no true prayer. Therefore, prayer must be combined with grief. Indeed, the Fathers teach that the ascent to Heaven is closely connected with the descent into oneself. As far as we focus on the depths of the soul, so much will we open her secrets; together with repentance the kingdom of heaven comes to the heart, and it is transformed into paradise and heaven. Only with repentance do we gain the sight of the Kingdom.

– Are there cases when a person who understands his sinfulness becomes disappointed and refuses to fight?

— Of course, there are. If this happens, it means that the devil has thrown the idea of sinfulness in order to lead to despair. When, having felt sinfulness, we turn to God and ask His grace in prayer, this is a sign of the gift of God, the action of the grace of Christ.

“Besides the feeling of sinfulness,” the elder continued, “there are other ways to kindle the heart. The memory of death. “I think that these are the last hours that I live, and soon demons will appear and take my soul.” This thought, coming without images, causes fear and moves one to prayer. This is what Abba Theophilus advises; in the Fatherland it is written how roughly we can think: “What fear, and horror, and trembling will seize us when the soul is separated from the body! Then a great multitude of opposing forces will come to us - the rulers of darkness, the chiefs of evil, principles and powers, the spirits of sin. And they will take the soul that deserves punishment, and present to it all its sins, committed by knowledge and ignorance from youth until the present hour. And blame her for everything she did. What horror will seize the soul at the moment when the decision is made and it leaves the body! It will be an hour of violence against her when she sees what is in store for her. However, the divine forces will resist the demonic ones and show her good deeds. And judgment will come from the Righteous Judge, andthen the future soul will feel what fear and horror seize it. And if she proves worthy, the demons will be put to shame and taken from them. And she, comforted, will rejoice greatly in her life, according to the spoken word: “And sickness, sorrow and sighing” (Isaiah 35:10). And, saved, she will go to a place of inexpressible joy and glory and settle there. If they find that the soul has lived carelessly, it will hear the terrible words: “Let the ungodly depart, and let him not see the glory of the Lord.” Then suddenly comesThe day of wrath, the day of sorrow and violence, the day of gloom and darkness. She will be thrown into the underworld, condemned to eternal fire and will receive punishment for endless times. Where is her military glory? Where are the empty accolades? Where is contentment? Where is peace? Where is the brilliant life? Where are the pleasures?Where is the pride? Where is the wealth? Where is the secular success? Where is father? Where is the mother? Where is brother? Who can free the soul when the fire burns it and it suffers so bitterly?”

Contrasting thoughts are equally appropriate—about the sweetness of paradise, the glory of the saints, and the great love of God. Especially on the day when the Divine Liturgy was served and you partake of the Holy Mysteries.

“Father, the world, hearing such reasoning, expresses doubt and unbelief. There are many theologians and even clergy who disagree with them, claiming that they are not for the world and at the same time referring to the holy fathers. They divide the fathers into “fasters” and “social servants” and prefer the latter in worldly life, since their teaching is more “mundane”, while the teaching of the former (“fasters”) is suitable for monasteries. I do not know how true such reasoning is.

— You have touched on a huge topic that has many different sides and aspects and, therefore, requires a significant amount of time. However, I can't help but offer a few general answers. First of all, my father, it is impossible to divide the fathers into fasting (or mystics) and social servants, just as it is impossible to divide theology into mystical and non-mystical and spiritual life into monastic and secular (in other words, some teachings are given, they say, for the world, others are for monks). All theology of the Eastern Orthodox Church is mystical and all spiritual life is ascetic. Consequently, all the holy fathers have one thought, one life, one teaching. All have acquired the blessed state of the knowledge of God, all have “put on Christ,” and the Holy Spirit lives and acts in all of them. Therefore, fasting fathers are always social servants, and the so-called social servants are by all means fasting. The social activity of the fathers is undoubtedly the result of a feat. All those involved in public affairs are not just sociologists, or psychologists, or moralists, or educators, but theologians in the fullest sense of the word. They live first for God and then try to help man live for Him. So their social ministry is a kind of theology, life in Christ, life in the Holy Spirit, and life in the Church. Truly the Church is the place of Orthodox theology and theology is the voice of the Church. All fathers had the same traits. They were characterized by Orthodox theology, church consciousness and priestly and monastic service. Consequently, it is a big mistake to divide them necessarily into fasters and public figures, since such a division has enormous consequences in spiritual life and leads to blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

– Don’t you think that some fathers, such as Saints Basil the Great and John Chrysostom, who often delivered sermons on social topics, were much closer to the people?

“Of course so. However, as mentioned earlier, a few necessary clarifications should be made. First, this does not mean that they did not live in tears, prayer and fasting. Those. their social teaching is inseparable from their inner life. It is impossible to dismember the holy father because sometimes he can be considered as a sociologist, and sometimes as a moralist. There is a huge difference between a sociologist and a theologian. They are driven by various causes and motives. Their anthropology is very different. Secondly, if some of the fathers preached mainly on social topics, they did it because they received admonition from God to speak like this with a specific person who lived in a specific country. We must not forget that the word of a prophet, apostle and saint is pronounced according to the maturity and spirituality of the people to whom it is addressed. If the word has some imperfection, this is due not to the peculiarities of the approaches and way of thinking of the holy father, but to the inability of the world to contain anything more; not because the father does not know this, but because it cannot understand the herd. I emphasize that in many social affairs the spirit of hesychasm is clearly manifested.

To be more specific, I will dwell on the case of St. John Chrysostom, which you mentioned a little earlier. St. John Chrysostom is considered a public figure, his creations can be read by everyone. Many associate his teachings with various social and ethical problems, but they do not know that he led a silent ascetic life in fasting, tears, sorrow, continuous prayer, remembrance of death. etc. If one of the silent monks reads his works, he immediately recognizes the hesychast father. I will quote you a passage from his holy teaching and then make a few comments. He speaks about prayer (the general teaching about prayer), its dignity, that in order to acquire fruits, one must have a mind collected in the heart, contrite in a sense of repentance. “Prayer is a great weapon, an impeccable treasure, wealth never wasted, a haven undisturbed, the foundation of silence, the root, source and mother of innumerable blessings – this is what prayer is, stronger than the kingdom itself ... Prayer, I say, is not represents something sluggish and full of negligence; it is performed with arms upraised, a grieving soul, a collected mind. For, being such, it ascends to Heaven... So, let us stir up the conscience, grieve with the soul, remembering sins, mourn not in order to be upset, but in order to prepare and be heard, in order to fast and be vigilant and reach heaven itself. Nothing drives away negligence and absent-mindedness so much as grief and sadness, which compress the mind from all sides and return it within itself. He who strives like this and prays a lot with such a prayer will be able to acquire joy in his soul.” Further, he says that only then will a person receive boldness in prayer, when he is forced to consider himself the worst of all.

“This is what, my father, the greatest hesychast said,” continued the hermit. - Let's make a few points. Firstly, Chrysostom closely connects prayer with spiritual sorrow and a collected mind. For the perfection of prayer, the mind must be returned “into itself” from absent-mindedness. Secondly, in order for the action of inner prayer to be effective, warmth of the heart is necessary first, as was mentioned earlier. The heart is warmed up, the mind returns, and we indulge in prayer. Thirdly, this warmth of the heart comes along with the memory of sins, with self-reproach, with the feeling that we are worse than everyone else - “lower than any creature.” Only when we live in prayer do we acquire spiritual joy, the grace of Christ. Do you recognize the hesychast father?

- I am amazed at the reading and analysis of this passage from the work of Chrysostom. I was impressed by the thought of the holy father.

- Can I be clear?

— Of course.

- This is not the personal opinion of St. John Chrysostom, but the teaching of the Church through him. We cannot talk about the thoughts of the fathers in the same way as if we considered them philosophers, sociologists, moralists, but we are talking about the teaching of the fathers as members of the glorious body of Christ, enlightened by the Holy Spirit. Living in the Church, we destroy the impersonal and by the action of the Holy Trinity we become personalities. And the mind is enlightened and becomes the pulpit of the Holy Spirit. Every great work in the Church begins with obedience. The fathers submitted their freedom to God, changed and became instruments of God. And they lived and preached in order to help others.

Thanks for the correction. Show some love, explain something else to me. Earlier we said that if a hermit monk reads the work of, for example, St. John Chrysostom, he will recognize the ascetic father. Why can't we catch this, but consider such ascetics like Chrysostom as purely public figures, far from inner work?

This is because the Holy Spirit does not abound in us. Holy Scripture, the writings of the fathers, were written by the enlightened Holy Spirit and, therefore, are interpreted and become understandable only with His illumination. The one who has the mind of the fathers, in whom the Holy Spirit operates, reading any work of any father, by the Holy Spirit will determine the hesychast, fasting, friend of the Lord. Saints are recognized only by saints, for they lead a similar life, have a common experience, the same way of expression. In the words they use, and sometimes in the way of expression, grace is captured, which abounds in the holy father. Thus, if a person who has the experience of seeing God reads the prayers of St. Basil the Great contained in the Divine Liturgy named after him, he will understand that the saint saw the Uncreated Light, although he did not speak about it directly. If the various patristic works are studied by sociologists or moralists who do not have the Holy Spirit, they begin to separate and isolate them. It seems to me that such an isolated, fragmentary use of the works of the fathers outside the ascetic spirit, in order to confirm our impure and anthropocentric views, is the greatest heresy. When we consider the father beyond the ascetic, repentant, etc. spirit, we share it. Every division is a change. This is what all heretics do. They use quotations without understanding them, without having the conditions for a correct interpretation. Therefore, in order to implement today's slogan "back to the fathers!" what is needed is not only a simple study of patristic texts, but also an effort to imitate their life: to live in the Holy Church, in the Holy Mysteries and holy virtues, in order to cease being impersonal and become personal, worthy members of Christ.

At that moment, a blessed novice appeared near us and asked what to bring for me. The elder became extremely carried away and forgot to observe the necessary monastic duty of hospitality: to present something as a blessing, so that you would bless it and at the same time receive the blessing of his cell. However, the conversation was so spiritual that the elder completely lost sight of the custom.

Bring something to your father...

— What to bring, father? Delight, jam or something else?

Having given the appropriate instruction, the elder began to praise his novice. “I am not worthy to have such acolytes. The Lord, saddened by my sins, sent me angels. I have no novices, but angels who serve me. How can I thank the Most Holy God? This novice, who has just come, has the thoughts of a small child, which is absolutely necessary for those engaged in noetic prayer, which we are talking about. The Holy Fathers teach that whoever wants to be saved must become a fool (“We are fools for the sake of Christ”), that is, according to Christ, a holy fool or a child (“Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matt. 18, 3)). Although we have all fallen into great sins, nevertheless, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we can acquire spiritual adolescence and a childish mind in relation to evil. The law of spiritual life is opposite to the law of life according to the flesh. In carnal life, a person gradually grows old from youth, while in spiritual life, being cleansed from sin, which ages a person, becomes young, a child.

The novice brought a dish with the blessing of kaliva lukum and some water. I took the glass in my hands, asked the elder for blessings, saying:

"Pray that I become a child or a 'madman'!"

There are times when you can't pray at all, when you're dumb; then one feels the need only to ask for prayers and blessings. You experience this on the Mountain - you do not pray, but you ask for prayers.

- Bless.

“God bless you,” they answer you.

Not "good afternoon", "good evening", "good night". Almost the only other options of their kind are: “Good patience, wakefulness, good paradise, good end ...”

In those moments when I asked for blessings and ate the sweetest Turkish delight, I said to myself: “Long life to the old man! Live so that we, sinners, also live...”

There was a deep silence. It was clear that the elder was doing the Jesus Prayer. He seemed to be in divine captivity. It was very difficult for me to speak. However, it is necessary.

“No, no, don’t say that, for we accept you as our brothers, living in the world, striving for good deeds and having grace from the Lord.

How can you compare our grace with yours?

“Nevertheless, you have greater grace than we do, for “where lawlessness abounds, grace abounds” (Rom. 5:20). The Lord is pouring out great mercy on you to keep you in His love. The Lord loves you more.

“I take it as an expression of your humility,” I said, overcome by his love and humility. “However, I want to return to what we talked about earlier. You pointed to the warming of the heart. The fact that it happens at the thought of hell, heaven, one's sinfulness, and the like. Doesn't this create problems? After all, before that you said that we need to pray without images. The mind must be undistracted. Will such thoughts interfere with the purity of prayer?

- First of all, I want to emphasize that they are not thoughts ... just thoughts. This is not figurative, but smart activity. We don't just think. We are living. For example, once thinking about hell and that it is the most suitable place for me because of my countless sins, I found myself in that hopeless darkness. I experienced its unbearable heaviness and inexpressible suffering. When I came to my senses, my whole cell emitted a stench... You cannot understand the hellish stench and torment of condemnation...

I became more and more aware that I was near the holy old man who kept his mind in hell. I didn't want to interrupt him asking for an explanation...

- Warming up through such thoughts is done before prayer. For when prayer begins in the warmth of the heart, any thought on such topics is forbidden, and we try to reduce the mind and heart into the words of prayer. Thus the ugliness, about which the fathers spoke so much, is achieved. The mind is characterized by the absence of ghosts and dreams.

Inner prayer is a feat. It strengthens the believer in his struggle with the devil, at the same time being a mournful and bloody struggle. We try to concentrate the mind in the words of prayer in order to make it mute and voiceless at every thought (whether good or evil) that the evil one brings us, i.e. not to listen to thoughts coming from outside and not to answer them. It is necessary to completely disregard thoughts and not want to talk with them, by any means to achieve complete silence of the mind, because only in this way can the soul be kept calm, so that prayer will act effectively. It is known that from the mind thoughts are sent to the heart and disturb it. An anxious mind trembles and duits Just as the wind raises waves on sea, a whirlwind of thoughts raises a storm to the soul. Inner prayer requires attention. That is why the Fathers speak of combining fasting and prayer. Fasting keeps the mind in constant vigilance and readiness for every good deed, while prayer attracts Divine grace.

In order for prayer to be attentive, we use various means.

Before embarking on the sacred work of prayer, let us keep in mind that throughout its entire course, we are required to have an ardent desire and hope with faith, complete self-giving and boundless patience associated with hope in God's love. We start with “Blessed be God...” We read “O Heavenly King...”, the Trisagion. Then, with contrition and tenderness, we pronounce the 50th psalm (repentant) and immediately after it, “I believe.” At this time, we try to keep the mind in silence and silence. We kindle the heart with various thoughts without images, as mentioned earlier; when it warms up and we, perhaps, shed tears, we will begin the Jesus Prayer. Slowly pronounce the words, trying to ensure that the mind does not scatter and followed the flow of words. They need to follow each other and between

they were not wedged by thoughts and events. After “have mercy on me”, we immediately begin “Lord Jesus Christ ...”; a certain circle is formed and the intervention of the devil is eliminated. You need to know that the devil seeks in any way to break the coherence of words and penetrate into the mind and heart. Seeks to open a small gap, plant a bomb (thought) and discard all holy efforts. We cannot allow him to do this... Let us pronounce the Jesus Prayer loudly (with our lips) so that the ear also listens, thus the mind will receive help and become more attentive. Another way is to slowly say a prayer with your mind or heart and after “have mercy on me” wait a bit until your attention weakens, and then start again from the very beginning prayer. In those cases when, in order to warm up the heart, we resort to thoughts about our sinfulness, it would be good to add the word “sinner,” as the fathers advise. That is: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." Thanks to this, we emphasize what we feel. However, if the mind gets tired of pronouncing the entire prayer, it should be shortened: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me”; or: "Lord, have mercy on me"; or "Lord Jesus." Also, when a Christian succeeds in making a prayer, the words can be shortened. Sometimes they stop at the word “Jesus”, which is repeated continuously (“Jesus”, “Jesus”, “Jesus”, “My Jesus”), and then a wave of peace and grace will overwhelm you. You need to abide in this sweetness that will appear to you and not interrupt your prayer. Even for the fulfillment of the rule laid down for you. Hold on to this warmth of your heart and take advantage of the gift of God. For we are talking about a great gift that God sent from above. This warmth will finally help to chain the mind to the words of prayer, descend into the heart and stay there. If anyone wants to devote the whole day to prayer, let him listen to the advice of the Holy Fathers: pray for a while, read for a while, and then devote himself to prayer again. Also, when we do needlework, we will try to read a prayer.

By the way, the doer of prayer is assisted by the appropriate position of the body. When praying for many hours, the fathers recommend sitting on a bench, closing your eyes or directing them to a stable point, preferably on the chest - the place where the heart is located. St. Gregory Palamas gives the example of the prophet Elijah, who, as the Holy Scripture says, "went up on top of Carmel, and bowed down to the ground, and laid his face between his knees," and thus abolished the drought. “And he remained there, and the sky became dark from the clouds and from the wind, and it began to rain heavily” (I Sam. 18, 42-45). So, my father, by prayer in this position, the prophet opened the sky. Similarly, we open the Sky, and the streams of Divine grace descend into our dry heart.

Later, I read the quoted passage from the work of St. Gregory Palamas, which the elder pointed out to me. The philosopher Barlaam ironically called hesychasts having a soul in the navel”, and Saint Gregory the God-bearer, defending their position and activity, answered “And this perfect in God-seeing Elijah, bowing his head to his knees and thereby gathering his mind in himself and in God with great effort, allowed many years of drought." The contemplative Holy Father also recommends fixing the eyes as a good aid: the vision, the power of the mind, will return to the inside of the heart.”

“Besides,” the elder continued, “place plays an important role. It should give silence and provide outward calm. It also needs the right time. After a working day, the mind is usually distracted by many subjects, so the fathers recommend practicing mental prayer, mainly in the morning, for an hour or two before sunrise, when the mind is alert and undistracted and the body has received rest. Then we reap rich fruits.

- If, father, the mind is scattered and I see that this happens often, what method can be used to collect it?

—For many reasons, there are fruitless days and hours when it is difficult to pray. Doing it at these moments is tiring and painful. However, if we are firm, the grace of God will help us. rediscover prayer; thanks to it, we will invariably succeed in seeing God. I will show you several ways to help overcome these barren days and hours.

First of all, in no way should one lose courage. Then: at such a time one should pray, mainly with the lips. It is possible that strong people (gracious) have a gift, and they can easily concentrate their minds in the words of prayer and pray continuously. But we, weak and sinful, filled with passions, need to make every effort and truly shed blood. When we see that the mind is constantly scattered and wandering, we need to ask God for help. Just like the Apostle Peter,when he saw a strong wind and, beginning to sink, he cried out: “Lord, save me” (Matt. 14:30), so we will do when a storm of thoughts and negligence rises. What happened to the Apostle will also happen to us: “Jesus immediately, stretching out his hand, supported him.” Those.through fervent prayer, with the help of God, all these attachments, which are found to divert the mind, will be scattered, burned invisibly by the name of Christ. I repeat, one should not give in to panic in such cases, but one must continue to resist the devil. It should be the stronger, the stronger the attack of the evil one ...

During the hours of prayer, one cannot even listen to good thoughts. For they excite the mind, and it, excited, accepts evil thoughts. So, good thoughts during prayer open the way along which the devil triumphantly marches, breaking the sacred work of prayer; and we fall into spiritual adultery. That is why the Fathers say that the mind that moves away from the memory of God during the Jesus Prayer and wanders here and there commits spiritual adultery. He betrays God and renounces Him. Is not the greatest sin the betrayal and rejection of the Sweetest Jesus, who, to the joy of him, hates the good and is an envious enemy?

In addition, if we cannot concentrate the mind so that it does not wander, we will have to fight and more efforts will be required. A boat, my father, can sail on the sea or under sail (if there is a wind), or with the help of oars (if there is no wind). So it is in prayer. It proceeds successfully when the warmth of the grace of Christ acts in us. In the absence of it, labor is needed to advance on oars, i.e. greatest fight.

Then we turn to the fathers for help. Let's read their books to focus the mind. When, during the reading, we feel compunction, we will stop it and begin to engage in the Jesus Prayer. So, in other words, it should be borne in mind that books are read with an attentive heart, and not with a dry mind. We will study books that are written with the heart and are read with pleasure by the heart too. That is, it is recommended to read and at the same time the Jesus Prayer. Let's pronounce various psalms of the prophet David, or let us turn to psalmody. It’s also good to select in advance a few touching troparia, which deal with divine love, our sinfulness, the Second Coming, crying out to God for help, and the like, and continuously pronounce them, but do not sing. Or read various touching prayers composed by the holy fathers, for example, St. Isaac the Syrian. Earlier I already created that in such cases it is necessary to read aloud. And one more thing: if a prayer becomes a burden, it is said with a rosary. Of course, then we have few fruits, but one should never stop even for the slightest rest from it. I repeat again that great patience and endurance are required in these cases. Perhaps the thoughts that will come will be useful to us. We will use them for cleansing.

Do they help clean up? Like this?

When the devil sees that we are praying and are striving to concentrate the attention of the mind in prayer, he uses all means to disperse it, excels in every possible way, resorting mainly to those thoughts that especially torment us. It hits in a sensitive place, causing us a lot of suffering. He inspires the voluptuous man with voluptuous thoughts, the lover of money with money-loving thoughts, the ambitious man with ambitious thoughts... So, according to the thoughts that usually come during the hours of prayer, we can understand our vulnerable spots, the impurity that is in us, the existence of passions and we can direct our attention there and fight.

“Father, forgive me for interrupting. I admit that I have little experience in the matter of the Jesus Prayer. However, when I make an effort and do it, due to fatigue, I get a headache; often pain occurs in the heart. What is this? What should be done in such cases?

—Headache and heartache arise at the beginning of the ascetic labor of a believer who strives in spiritual deeds. Sometimes it seems to him that his head is splitting; likewise the heart. He has such a severe headache that it seems to him that he is dying. This pain (partly physical) is due to the unaccustomed mind to such activities and the special position of the body. At the same time, a person often becomes the object of an attack by the devil, who seeks to stop prayer. Headache requires persistence; regarding the heart, it must be said that perhaps,the believer has entered upon this work prematurely, using methods unsuitable for him. However, heartache can also help him, because there is an occasion to concentrate the mind in the place where it hurts and perform uninterrupted prayer.

- This thought of yours is very compressed; I would like you to explain in more detail, more specifically. Why is perseverance needed when the mind suffers?

“Because then his cleansing begins immediately. It is expressed in tears. They begin to flow like a river, the mind is purified and descends into the heart. Sorrow and anxiety cease - thanks to tears that cannot be stopped, that cannot be explained, that no effort has been made.

He fell silent. I saw a large tear glistening on his face and illuminating it. I involuntarily shed tears too. His voice, bright thoughts awakened my petrified heart. I remembered St. Arseny, about whom it is said in the Fatherland: “It was said about him that all his life, sitting at needlework, he had a piece of linen on his chest for the tears that fell from his eyes. When Abba Pimen heard about his death, he shed tears and said: “Blessed are you, Abba Arseny, because you have mourned yourself here in the world. For whoever does not weep for himself here will weep forever in the next life. Either here arbitrarily, or there in agony. It's impossible not to cry”.

He interrupted me.

“You don’t need to immediately,” he said, “stop, as if to emerge from a sea of inexhaustible tears, as soon as some kind of pain arises. Since these thoughts are inspired by the devil, who is extremely crafty, cunning and cruel and seeks to destroy us, to put us to eternal death. The doer of prayer knows the tricks of the evil one and his plans. He whispers, "Stop praying, for you will go mad, for your heart will ache." I am reading you an example from the Fatherland: “There was a certain monk who, every time he started to pray, was seized by chills and fever, accompanied by a headache. And he said to himself: “Behold, I am sick and will soon die. I will rise before death and offer prayer.” And as soon as it ended, the fever stopped. So, this is the thought that the brother opposed when he prayed and defeated the evil one. Therefore, the doer of prayer must overcome any sorrow...

“Father, I would like you to tell me more about the sorrow of the heart. I know that the fathers attach great importance to it and consider it as a convenient way to go through the Jesus Prayer. Feel free to let me know your thoughts on this topic if you like.

“What you just said is true. The Fathers who were engaged in the Jesus Prayer, or, better, who lived in it, passed through this stage and, therefore, attached great importance to it. This grief must come—this is certainly understandable to those who are constantly engaged in the Jesus Prayer. They attach great importance to it, because thanks to this sorrow we understand that the mind descends into the heart and, through the action of the Holy Spirit, unites with it; and peace reigns in the soul and body, the mental part of the soul is cleansed, and thoughts are clearly distinguished. They can only be clearly distinguished when we understand their development and the result to which they lead. The hesychast, outwardly not committing sin, is perfectly familiar with the state of the sinner. This is because, due to ascetic experience, he knows well the passage of thought in the mind - its path and completion. That is why the following fact is observed: an ascetic whose heart becomes extremely receptive under the influence of prayer can, at the time when he prays for someone, almost immediately understand what state he is in. He becomes transparent.

But I'll put everything in order.

Earlier we said that prayer has as its goal the unity of the whole person, that is, the three forces of the soul. Focus on the heart, then the mind and heart unite. For, according to the Fathers, first of all the heart feels the presence of God, the presence of grace, and only then does the mind perceive them. The Fathers at first knew God through their lives, and then they theologised, defending their life experience. So, the heart feels the warmth and sweetness of the presence of the Holy Spirit. On the contrary, the absence of grace is recognized by the indifference and coldness of the heart. I repeat: first love God with the heart and then with the mind. The Lord's commandment is clear: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind..." (Luke 10:27). Perhaps you know that the mind is not rejected by the Church, but after the fall it lacks the flexibility to comprehend God. However, when the inner spiritual feeling develops, then he too will be able to perceive God. The heart is capable of judging whether we are falling or keeping the commandments of God. Unity of mind and heart is achieved only through the action of the All-Holy Spirit. By repentance and keeping the commandments of Christ we acquire grace; and by its action the mind finds the heart and unites with it. This is an important step in the Jesus prayer and vision of God. That is why the heart of man must be broken. “A contrite and humble heart God will not despise” (Ps. 50, 19). Of course, in order to reduce the mind to the heart, many use various other methods, but it must be said that the safest is repentance. Therefore, it is very good, lamenting your sins, to have sorrow in the heart (sometimes also warmth) and in general to catch heart movements and feelings. But this must be done gradually. It may happen that the abrupt action of prayer in the hearts of the weak and uncleansed will cause a slight disturbance, which, although not having serious consequences, will stop prayer. In such grief, it is advised to say the Jesus Prayer with the lips. But, if the heart is in a state, it is recommended to listen to it even during grief. Of course, this is to be determined by our experienced and spirit-bearing father. This grief is healing, natural and saving. Many ascetics believe that they have a heart defect; they visit doctors, and they do not find any disease in them. This is grace. She says that prayer has descended into the heart and acts there. This is a very important point.

– I heard that many saints felt how prayer begins to act in the heart at a certain moment; they felt well that she was a gift from God

at the request of the Virgin. Is this true?

— Of course. Many holy hesychasts are well aware of the moment when prayer begins to act in the heart. And then they continuously create it, no matter what work they do. It doesn't stop there at all. Indeed, they perceive it as a gift from the Most Holy Theotokos. Saint Gregory Palamas, who prayed before the icon of the Mother of God and repeated: “Enlighten my darkness,” acquired the gift of theology. It must be said that love for the Mother of God is closely connected with love for Christ. We love the Mother of God, because we love Christ, or we love Her, wanting to achieve love for Christ. The Fathers put it well. Saint Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople, says: “If You had not interceded, O Mother of God, no one would have appeared holy ... no one can be saved except by You, Mother of God.” And St. Gregory Palamas says: “She is the only boundary between created and uncreated nature; no one would come to God if it were not for She and the Mediator Born from Her; and neither angels nor men would have gifts from God except through her.” We receive many gifts thanks to the Mother of God. Having given us the greatest gift - Christ, will not She also give others? Therefore, when praying, we must say not simply: “Intercede for us,” but: “Most Holy Theotokos, save us.”

— I would like to return to the question that arose in my mind when you spoke about the unity of mind and heart. The mind descended into the heart remains there permanently. But, if this is so, how can a person work, perform his service, and so on?

- First of all, the mind is not mixed with the heart and is not abolished. He becomes perfect and comes to his natural state. It is unnatural when he is outside his essence (heart). By prayer he discards everything alien. After the mind descends into the heart, there remains, so to speak, a small excess. With such an excess you can do other things without taking your mind off your heart. For example, a hesychast priest during the Divine Liturgy prays aloud or says something appropriate to a deacon or another priest during the Sacrament, and at the same time does not drive the mind out of the heart. However, if the “excess” of the mind is turned to things that are inappropriate, it can be completely and completely cut off from its essence. That is why the ascetic, during the hours of prayer, sorts out the rosary - in order to take this excess and not cause harm to the mind. Probably, you well understand that due to this “excess” the devil fights cruelly against us.

Monday, Feb 25 2013

Many are trying to understand the stages of the Jesus Prayer, how this sacred work develops. Is it easy to give? Is struggle and effort necessary? Is coercion necessary?

Fragment from the book: Archimandrite Hierotheos (Vlachos) - One Night in the Desert of the Holy Mountain

I want to go back to what we talked about earlier. You pointed to the warming of the heart. The fact that it happens at the thought of hell, heaven, one's sinfulness, and the like. Doesn't this create problems? After all, before that you said that we need to pray without images. The mind must be undistracted. Will such thoughts interfere with the purity of prayer?

- First of all, I want to emphasize that they are not thoughts ... just thoughts. This is not figurative, but smart activity. We don't just think. We are living.

For example, once thinking about hell and that it is the most suitable place for me because of my countless sins, I found myself in that hopeless darkness. I experienced its unbearable heaviness and inexpressible suffering. When I came to my senses, my whole cell emitted a stench... You cannot understand the hellish stench and torment of condemnation...

I became more and more aware that I was near the holy old man who kept his mind in hell. I didn't want to interrupt him asking for an explanation...

One must completely disregard thoughts and not desire an interview with them, in any way to achieve complete silence of the mind, because this is the only way to keep the soul in serenity, so that prayer will work effectively.

It is known that from the mind thoughts go to the heart and disturb it. An anxious mind disturbs the soul. Just as the wind raises waves on the sea, the whirlwind of thoughts raises a storm to the soul.

Inner prayer requires attention.

That's why fathers talk about combining fasting and prayer. Fasting keeps the mind in constant vigilance and readiness for every good deed, while prayer attracts Divine grace.

For that, To make prayer attentive, we use various means.

We start with “Blessed be God...” We read “O Heavenly King...”, the Trisagion.
Then, with contrition and tenderness, we pronounce the 50th psalm (repentant) and immediately after it, “I believe.” At that time we try to keep the mind in stillness and silence.
We kindle the heart with various thoughts without images, as mentioned earlier; when it warms up and we, perhaps, shed tears, we will begin the Jesus Prayer.
We slowly pronounce the words, striving to ensure that the mind does not dissipate and follows the course of the words. It is necessary that they follow each other and that thoughts and events do not wedged between them.
After "have mercy on me" we start right away “Lord Jesus Christ...”; a certain circle is formed and the intervention of the devil is eliminated. You need to know that the devil seeks in any way to break the coherence of words and penetrate into the mind and heart. Seeks to open a small gap, plant a bomb (thought) and discard all holy efforts. We can't let him do this...
Let's say the Jesus Prayer loudly (by mouth) so that the ear also listens, thereby the mind will receive help and become more attentive.

Another way is to slowly say a prayer with your mind or heart and after “have mercy on me” wait a bit until your attention weakens, and then start the prayer again from the very beginning.

In cases where we resort to thoughts of our sinfulness to warm our hearts, it would be good to add the word "sinful" as the fathers advise. That is: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner” .

Thereby we emphasize what we feel.

However, if the mind gets tired of saying the whole prayer, it should be shortened: "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me" ; or: "Lord have mercy on me" ; or: "Jesus Christ".

Also, when a Christian succeeds in making a prayer, the words can be shortened. Sometimes stop at a word "Jesus" , which is repeated continuously ( “Jesus”, “Jesus”, “Jesus”, “My Jesus”), and then a wave of peace and grace will engulf you. You need to abide in this sweetness that will appear to you, and don't stop praying.

Even for the fulfillment of the rule laid down for you. Hold on to this warmth of your heart and take advantage of the gift of God. For we are talking about a great gift that God sent from above. This warmth will finally help to chain the mind to the words of prayer, descend into the heart and stay there. If anyone wants to devote the whole day to prayer, let him listen to the advice of the Holy Fathers: pray for a while, read for a while, and then devote himself to prayer again. Also, when we do needlework, we will try to read a prayer.

By the way, help to the doer of prayer is rendered by appropriate body position.

St. Gregory Palamas gives the example of the prophet Elijah, who, as the Holy Scripture says, "went up on top of Carmel, and bowed down to the ground, and laid his face between his knees," and thus abolished the drought. “And he remained there, and the sky became dark from the clouds and from the wind, and it began to rain heavily” (I Sam. 18, 42-45). So, my father, by prayer in this position, the prophet opened the sky. Similarly, we open the Sky, and the streams of Divine grace descend into our dry heart.

The contemplative Holy Father also recommends, as a good aid, eye fixation: “Do not look from place to place, but focus it on some reference point - on the chest or navel; due to this position of the body, the power of the mind, dissipating outwards through vision, will return to the inside of the heart.”

“Besides,” the old man continued, “ location plays an important role. It should give silence And provide external peace.

It is also necessary appropriate time. After a working day, the mind is usually distracted by many subjects, so the fathers recommend practicing mental prayer, mainly in the morning, for an hour or two before sunrise when the mind is alert and undistracted and the body has received rest. Then we reap rich fruits.

- If, father, the mind is scattered and I see that this happens often, what method can be used to collect it?

I will show you several ways that help overcome these barren days and hours.

First of all, no way you can't lose courage.

Then: at such a time one should pray mainly mouth. It is possible that strong people (gracious) have a gift, and they can easily concentrate their minds in the words of prayer and pray continuously. But we, weak and sinful, filled with passions, need to make every effort and truly shed blood. When we see that the mind is constantly scattered and wandering, we need to ask God for help. Just as the Apostle Peter, when he saw a strong wind and, starting to sink, cried out: “Lord, save me” (Matt. 14:30), so will we do when a storm of thoughts and negligence arises. What happened to the Apostle will also happen to us: “Jesus immediately, stretching out his hand, supported him.” Those. through fervent prayer, with the help of God, all these attachments, which are found to divert the mind, will be scattered, burned invisibly by the name of Christ. I repeat do not panic in such cases. but you must continue to resist the devil. It should be the stronger, the stronger the attack of the evil one ...

During the hours of prayer you can’t even listen to good thoughts. For they excite the mind, and it, excited, accepts evil thoughts. So, good thoughts during prayer open the way along which the devil triumphantly marches, breaking the sacred work of prayer; and we fall into spiritual adultery. That is why the Fathers say that the mind that moves away from the memory of God during the Jesus Prayer and wanders here and there commits spiritual adultery. He betrays God and renounces Him. Is not the greatest sin the betrayal and rejection of the Sweetest Jesus, who, to the joy of him, hates the good and is an envious enemy?

Then turn to the fathers for help. Let's read their books to focus the mind.

When, while reading, will we feel tenderness Let's stop it and start practicing the Jesus Prayer.

So, in other words, it should be borne in mind that books are read with an attentive heart, not a dry mind. We will study books that are written with the heart and are read with pleasure by the heart too. That is Reading and at the same time the Jesus Prayer is recommended.

Let's become recite various psalms of the prophet David or turn to psalmody. It’s also good to select in advance a few touching troparia, which deal with divine love, our sinfulness, the Second Coming, crying out to God for help, and the like, and continuously pronounce them, but do not sing. Or read various touching prayers composed by the holy fathers, for example, St. Isaac the Syrian. I have said before that in such cases must be read aloud.

And further: if prayer becomes a burden, it is said with a rosary. Of course, then we have few fruits, but one should never stop even for the slightest rest from it. I repeat again that in these cases it is required great patience and perseverance. Perhaps the thoughts that will come will be useful to us. We will use them for cleansing.

Do they help clean up? Like this?

So, according to the thoughts that usually come during the hours of prayer, we can understand our vulnerabilities, the impurity that is in us, the existence of passions, and we will be able to direct our attention and struggle there.

Headache requires persistence; with regard to the heart, it must be said that perhaps the believer has prematurely entered into this work, using methods unsuitable for him. However, heartache can also help him, because there is an occasion to concentrate the mind in the place where it hurts and perform uninterrupted prayer.

- This thought of yours is very compressed; I would like you to explain in more detail, more specifically. Why is perseverance needed when the mind suffers?

“Because then his cleansing begins immediately. It is expressed in tears.

They begin to flow like a river, the mind is purified and descends into the heart.

Sorrow and anxiety cease - thanks to tears that cannot be stopped, that cannot be explained, that no effort has been made.

He interrupted me.

I am reading you an example from the Fatherland: “There was a certain monk who, every time he started to pray, was seized by chills and fever, accompanied by a headache. And he said to himself: “Behold, I am sick and will soon die. I will rise before death and offer prayer.” And as soon as it ended, the fever stopped. So, this is the thought that the brother opposed when he prayed and defeated the evil one. Therefore, the doer of prayer must overcome any sorrow...

That is why the following fact is observed: an ascetic whose heart becomes extremely receptive under the influence of prayer can, at the time when he prays for someone, almost immediately understand what state he is in. He becomes transparent.

But I'll put everything in order.

Earlier we talked about the fact that prayer aims at the unity of the whole person, that is, the three powers of the soul.

Need to focus on the heart, then mind and heart unite. For, according to the Fathers, first of all the heart feels the presence of God, the presence of grace, and only then does the mind perceive them. The Fathers at first knew God through their lives, and then they theologised, defending their life experience. So, the heart feels the warmth and sweetness of the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Against, lack of grace is recognized by indifference and coldness of heart.

I repeat: love God first with the heart and then with the mind. The Lord's commandment is clear: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind..." (Luke 10:27).

Perhaps you know that the mind is not rejected by the Church, but after the fall it lacks the flexibility to comprehend God. However, when it develops inner spiritual sense then he will be able to perceive God.

The heart is capable of judging whether we are falling or keeping the commandments of God. Unity of mind and heart is achieved only through the action of the All-Holy Spirit.

By repentance and keeping the commandments of Christ we acquire grace; And by its action the mind finds the heart and unites with it.

This is an important step in the Jesus prayer and vision of God. That is why the heart of man must be broken. “A contrite and humble heart God will not despise” (Ps. 50, 19).

Of course, in order to reduce the mind to the heart, many use various other methods, but I must say that the safest is repentance.

Therefore, it is very good, while mourning over one's sins, to have sorrow in one's heart (sometimes even warmth) and in general to catch heart movements and feelings. But this must be done gradually.

It may happen that the abrupt action of prayer in the hearts of the weak and uncleansed will cause a slight disturbance, which, although not having serious consequences, will stop prayer. In such grief, it is advised to say the Jesus Prayer mouth.

But, if the heart is in a state, it is recommended to listen to it even during grief. Of course, this is to be determined by our experienced and spirit-bearing father. This grief is healing, natural and saving. Many ascetics believe that they have a heart defect; they visit doctors, and they do not find any disease in them. This blessed grief. She says that prayer has descended into the heart and acts there. This is a very important point.

– I heard that many saints felt how prayer begins to act in the heart at a certain moment; they well felt that she was a gift from God at the intercession of the Mother of God. Is this true?

Saint Gregory Palamas, who prayed before the icon of the Mother of God and repeated: “Enlighten my darkness,” acquired the gift of theology. It must be said that love for the Mother of God is closely connected with love for Christ. We love the Mother of God, because we love Christ, or we love Her, wanting to achieve love for Christ. The Fathers put it well. Saint Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople, says: “If You had not interceded, O Mother of God, no one would have appeared holy ... no one can be saved except by You, Mother of God.” And St. Gregory Palamas says: “She is the only boundary between created and uncreated nature; no one would come to God if it were not for She and the Mediator Born from Her; and neither angels nor men would have gifts from God except through her.” We receive many gifts thanks to the Mother of God. Having given us the greatest gift - Christ, will not She also give others? Therefore, when praying, we must say not simply: “Intercede for us,” but: “Most Holy Theotokos, save us.”

After the mind descends into the heart, there remains, so to speak, a small excess. With such an excess, you can do other things without taking your mind off your heart.

For example, a hesychast priest during the Divine Liturgy prays aloud or says something appropriate to a deacon or another priest during the Sacrament, and at the same time does not drive the mind out of the heart.

However, if the “excess” of the mind is turned to things that are inappropriate, it can be completely and completely cut off from its essence.

That is why the ascetic, during the hours of prayer, goes over beads— to occupy this excess and not harm the mind. Probably, you well understand that due to this “excess” the devil fights cruelly against us.

Download the book: Archimandrite Hierofey (Vlachos) - One Night in the Desert of the Holy Mountain

The Jesus Prayer is given to everyone - both monks and laity. A Christian is one who is always with Christ, and this is what the Jesus Prayer serves. Through the Jesus Prayer, we are everywhere with Christ - in the subway, and on snow-covered streets, in a store and at work, among friends and among enemies: the Jesus Prayer is a golden connection with the Savior. It saves us from despair, does not allow our thoughts to fall into the abyss of worldly emptiness, but, like the flame of a lamp, calls for spiritual wakefulness and standing before the Lord.

Usually our mind is occupied with the most disorderly thoughts, they jump, replace each other, give us no rest; in the heart - the same chaotic feelings. If the mind and heart are not occupied with prayer, then sinful thoughts and feelings will be born in them. The Jesus Prayer is a medicine for a soul sick with passions.

In the Ancient Patericon such a comparison is given. When the cauldron is heated by fire, not a single fly with its bacteria will sit on it. And when the boiler cools down, various insects run around it. So the soul, warmed by prayer to God, is inaccessible to the evil influence of demons. The soul is tempted when it cools down, when the flame of prayer is extinguished. And when he prays again, temptations dissipate. Everyone can check this from their own experience: in a moment of sorrow, when problems are oppressing or the heart is torn from unkind thoughts, it is worth starting to pray to the Lord, say the Jesus Prayer - and the intensity of thoughts will subside.

The Jesus Prayer is extremely necessary for the laity. It comes in handy in many everyday situations. If you feel that you are about to explode, lose your temper, if you want to utter some bad word or have impure wishes, stop and start slowly saying the Jesus Prayer in your mind. Say it with attention, reverence, repentance, and you will see how the intensity of passions goes away, everything inside calms down, falls into place.

To put it bluntly, a passionate person is a person who does not pray. Without prayer, you will never be with God. And if you are not with God, then what will you have in your soul? The Jesus Prayer is the most accessible, simple in words, but deep in content prayer that you can have anywhere and at any time.

Even the holy fathers called the Jesus Prayer the queen of virtues, because it attracts all other virtues. Patience and humility, temperance and chastity, mercy and all this is connected with the Jesus Prayer. Because she joins Christ, the one who prays takes on the image of Christ, receives virtues from the Lord.

In no case should you say the Jesus Prayer for the sake of some spiritual delights

There are, of course, a number of mistakes that happen to those who pray. In no case should one say the Jesus Prayer for the sake of some kind of spiritual delight or imagine something in the imagination. The Jesus Prayer should be without images, with attention to words, filled with reverence and a feeling of repentance. Such a prayer disciplines the mind and purifies the heart, the soul becomes easier, because extraneous thoughts and chaotic feelings go away.

The Jesus Prayer is salvation for any Christian, no matter what situation he finds himself in.

The Jesus Prayer - Steps of the Ladder to the Kingdom of God

A lot has been said about the Jesus Prayer for the layman both by the holy fathers and by modern experienced confessors: it is necessary. But the whole "secret" of it lies in the fact that there is no secret. And if we do not invent these “secrets” for ourselves, then a heartfelt and attentive appeal to the Lord in simplicity and contrition will undoubtedly contribute to our good passage of the path of Christian life. Here it is necessary to distinguish between “doing noetic prayer” by a monk under the guidance of an experienced confessor (this is a separate topic that we will not touch on now) and the repetition of a prayer by a layman at any time and at any hour: out loud, if there is such an opportunity, or silently, if a person located in a public place. Simplicity and sincerity, awareness of one's weakness and complete surrender into the hands of God are the main things here, as in any prayer.

But here's something else that seems to need to be said. Sometimes even this simple prayer is very difficult to pronounce, and St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov), for example, determines in this case the “small measure” of what is necessary, that is, attention to the spoken words in the feasible application of his heart to them, even if with compulsion. The Lord sees our hardship and struggle and good will. It cannot be that it is easy all the time - this applies both to life in general and to prayer. Sometimes you need to force yourself, to work hard, “breaking through” to the Lord through your own stoutness and despondency and confusion. And now this doing is already entirely within the sphere of our good will, because no one can take away this striving for God from us, if only it (even if weakening in us from time to time) does not stop. And the Jesus Prayer in this case is those simplest “knots” on a rope ladder, along which, although with difficulty, we can and must gradually climb mountains. e , V . And the Lord, who gave us this “ladder”, will not He help, support, strengthen? Of course, it will support, instruct, and strengthen, if only we would make our ascent with confidence and simplicity, “not dreaming of anything about ourselves,” but with diligence and constancy.

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THE TEACHING OF OLD PAISIOUS ABOUT JESUS PRAYER PERFORMED BY THE MIND IN THE HEART.

"Sweet is she who is in the heart pure and
constant remembrance of Jesus and what is happening
from her inexpressible enlightenment."

Elder Paisios's teaching on the Jesus Prayer, like his teaching on monasticism, is closely connected with the teaching on this subject of his teacher and friend Schemamonk Basil. Therefore, we will first briefly convey the teaching on the Jesus Prayer of Elder Basil, set forth by him in the prefaces to the books of St. Gregory of Sinai, Blessed Philotheus of Sinai and Blessed Hesychius of Jerusalem.

Elder Basil begins his preface to the book of St. Gregory by pointing out the incorrectness of the opinion of those who think that smart work is appropriate only for those who are perfect, who have achieved dispassion and holiness. Those who think so limit their prayer to the mere external performance of psalms, troparia, and canons, not understanding that such external prayer was assigned to us by the holy fathers only as temporary, in view of the infirmity and infancy of our mind, so that, gradually improving, we ascend to the level mental work and in no case remained with only one external prayer. According to St. Gregory, it is common for infants alone, while performing outward prayer with their lips, to think that they are doing something great, and being comforted by the amount of what they read, to grow up in themselves an inner Pharisee. According to St. Simeon the New Theologian, one who confines himself to the external doing of prayer cannot achieve inner peace and succeed in virtue, for he is like one who fights against his enemies in the darkness of the night; he hears the voices of enemies, receives wounds from them, but does not clearly see who they are, where they came from, how and why they fight him? According to St. Isaac the Syrian and St. Nil of Sora, if someone wanted, in addition to mental prayer, to repel the attack of enemies and resist any passion or crafty thought, in addition to mental prayer, by external prayer and external feelings, he would soon find himself defeated many times: for demons, overcoming him in the struggle and again voluntarily submitting to him, as if conquered by him, they mock him and dispose him to vanity and arrogance, proclaiming him a teacher and shepherd of the sheep. From what has been said, one can see the power and measure of both mental prayer and external prayer. One should not think that the holy fathers, by restraining us from immoderate outward prayer and turning us to noetic prayer, degrade external prayer in this way. Let it not! For all the sacraments of the Church are established in her by the Holy Spirit, and all of them reflect the mystery of the incarnation of God the Word. And there is nothing human in the rites of the Church, but everything is the work of God's grace, which does not increase from our merits and does not decrease from our sins. But now we are not talking about the statutes of the holy Church, but about the special rule and residence of each of the monks, i.e. about mental prayer as such a deed that, by zeal and rightness of heart, and not just by words uttered without attention by the mouth and tongue, usually attracts the grace of the Holy Spirit. And not only the perfect, but also every new beginning and passionate one, can intelligently engage in this smart work, guarding the heart. And therefore, Saint Gregory of Sinai, who more than all and to the subtlety examined and discussed the grace of the Holy Spirit living in him, the lives and writings, and the spiritual exploits of all the saints, commands to have all diligence in mental prayer.

Also, Saint Simeon of Thessalonica commands and advises both bishops, and priests, and monks, and laity, at all times and for every hour, to say this sacred prayer and how to breathe it, for there is no stronger weapon either on earth or in heaven, he says he, together with the holy apostle, as the name of Jesus Christ. Know also this, good worker of this sacred work, that not only in the desert or in a secluded hermitage there were teachers and numerous workers of this sacred action, but also in the greatest laurels and even in cities. For example, His Holiness Patriarch Photius, elevated to the patriarchate from the rank of senatorial and not being a monk, already in his high position learned to do smart work and succeeded in it to such an extent that, according to St. Simeon of Thessalonica, his face shone with the grace of the Holy Spirit like that of the second Moses. According to the same Saint Simeon, Patriarch Photius also wrote a wonderful book on mental work. He also says that both Saint John Chrysostom and Saints Ignatius and Kallistos, being patriarchs of the same Constantinople, wrote their books about this inner work.

So, if you, objecting to mental prayer, say that you are not a desert dweller, so that you can engage in this doing, then you will be denounced by Patriarch Kallistos, who learned mental doing while serving as a cook in the great Lavra of Athos, and Patriarch Photius, who, being already a patriarch learned the art of heartfelt attention. If you are too lazy to engage in intelligent sobriety, referring to obedience, then you are especially deserving of censure, for, according to St. Gregory of Sinai, neither wilderness nor solitude are so useful in this work as reasonable obedience. If you say that you do not have a teacher who would teach you this work, the Lord himself commands you to learn from the Holy Scriptures, saying: "test the scriptures, and in them you will find eternal life." If you are embarrassed, not finding a silent place, you are refuted by St. Peter of Damascus, who says: "This is the beginning of man's salvation, to leave his own desires and understandings and fulfill God's desires and understandings, and then in the whole world there will be no such thing or place that could hinder the rescue." If you are embarrassed by the words of St. Gregory of Sinai, who speaks a lot about the delusion that occurs during this work, then this holy father himself corrects you by saying: “We should neither be afraid nor doubt in calling on God. "Know that they suffered this from self-pleasing and arrogant wisdom. But if anyone, in obedience, with questioning and humility, seeks God, he will never be harmed by the grace of Christ. For he who lives righteously and without blemish and avoids self-pleasing and arrogant wisdom cannot do evil, according to the words of the holy fathers ", the entire demonic regiment, even if it raised countless temptations on it. Only those who act presumptuously, self-advisingly, fall into delusion. Those who, stumbling on the stone of Holy Scripture, out of fear of delusion, evade smart doing, turn white into black and black into white. For it is not for the prohibition of mental work that the holy fathers teach us about the causes of delusion, but to protect us from delusion.Like St. Gregory of Sinai, commanding those who learn to pray not to be afraid and not to doubt, he also indicates the reasons for delusion: self-confidence and arrogance. Wishing that we would not receive harm from them, the holy fathers command us to study the Holy Scripture and be guided by it, having brother to brother as a good adviser, according to the word of Peter of Damascus. If you are afraid to start smart work out of reverence and in simplicity of heart, I am ready to be afraid together with you. But one should not be afraid of empty fables according to the proverb: "to be afraid of a wolf - do not go into the forest." And God should be feared, but not run from Him and not deny Him.

For some, their bodily weakness is no small obstacle to doing mental prayer. Not being able to endure the labors and fasts carried out by the saints, they think that without this it is impossible for them to begin mental work. Correcting their mistake, Saint Basil the Great teaches: "abstinence is determined by each according to his bodily strength" and, I think, it is not safe, having destroyed the strength of the body by immeasurable abstinence, to make him inactive and incapable of good deeds. If it were good for us to be relaxed in body and lie as if dead, barely breathing, then God would have created us as such. If He did not create us like this, then those who do not preserve the beautiful creation of God as it was created sin. The ascetic should only care about one thing, whether the evil of debauchery is not hidden in his soul, whether sobriety and zealous turning of thought to God has not weakened, whether spiritual sanctification and the enlightenment of the soul that comes from it has not been darkened. For if all the good things mentioned increase in him, then there will be no time for bodily passions to arise in him, when his soul is occupied with heavenly things and leaves no time for the body to arouse the passions. With such a dispensation of the soul, the one who takes food does not differ in any way from the one who does not. And he fulfilled not only fasting, but also complete non-eating and is praised for his special care of the body: for moderate living does not inflame lust. Accordingly, Saint Isaac says: "If you force a weak body above its strength, you inflict double embarrassment on the soul." And St. John of the Ladder says: "I saw this hostile (womb) resting and giving courage to the mind." And in another place: "I saw her melt away with fasting and arouse lust, so that we would not hope in ourselves, but in the Living God." This is what the story that St. Nikon recalls teaches: already in our times, an old man was found in the desert who had not seen a single person for thirty years, had not eaten bread, eating only roots, and he admitted that all these years he had been a prodigal demon. And the fathers decided that it was not pride and not food that were the cause of this fornication, but that the elder had not been taught smart sobriety and confrontation with enemy pretexts. That is why St. Maximus the Confessor says: "Give the body according to its strength and turn all your feat into mental deeds." And St. Diadochus: "fasting has praise in itself, and not according to God: its goal is to bring those who wish to chastity." And therefore, it is not fitting for ascetics of godliness to philosophize about it, but to wait in the faith of God for the outcome of our dispensation. In no art do artists judge the result of the work by the tool, but wait for the end of the work and judge art by it. Having such an ordinance about food, not placing all your hope on one fast, but fasting to the extent and according to your strength, strive for smart work. Thus, you can avoid pride, and you will not abhor the good creations of God, giving God praise for everything.

Smart prayer is a powerful weapon with which the ascetic defeats his invisible enemies. Some of the holy fathers give rules to monastics, along with doing the commandments of Christ, to perform lengthy psalmody, canons and troparia. Other Fathers, having studied the most subtle work of the spiritual mind, find it insufficient for the newcomers to remain in bodily training alone, but, teaching them moderate singing and reading along with the fulfillment of the commandments of Christ, they establish instead of long psalmody and canons the work of noetic prayer, adding at the same time that, if the Holy Spirit visits by the action of prayer of the heart, then, without any hesitation, leave the external rule, for inner prayer fills it. Still others, having extensive experience and knowledge of the lives and writings of the saints, and being especially enlightened by the action and wisdom of the Holy Spirit, establish for beginners a general, and not partial, training in doing mental prayer, dividing it into two types - doing and visual. These fathers command that all care should be taken about mental work, devoting a little time to singing only in hours of despondency, for, according to them, church services and hymns are devoted to all Christians in general, and not to those who want to remain silent. However, by means of lengthy psalmody and the reading of canons and troparia, one can come to prosperity, although very slowly and with great difficulty; the second way is more convenient and easier, and the third way is faster, and, moreover, with joy and the frequent visitation of the Holy Spirit, which confirms and calms the heart, especially with diligent effort and good desire. Since holy mental prayer merges with the observance of the commandments of God and casts out demons and passions, so, on the contrary, he who neglects the commandments and does not care about mental prayer, but engages only in singing, is dragged out by passions.

The transgression of the commandments of the Lord is equally seen in everyone, but manifests itself in many different ways: for example, someone makes it a rule not to violate the commandment, not to give himself up to passion, but due to some circumstance or embarrassment or intrigues of the enemy, he will happen to offend someone, or condemn, or get angry, or be overcome by vanity, or argue and justify, or idle talk, or lie, or overeat, or get drunk, or think badly, or do something like that. Feeling guilty before God, he immediately begins to reproach himself and, with repentance, fall before God with an intelligent prayer from the heart, may God forgive him and give him help not to fall into such sins anymore. And thus, he initiates the observance of the commandments and the preservation of his heart from evil pretexts in prayer, fearing and trembling, so as not to lose the Kingdom of Heaven because of them. The other lives simply, not caring about whether he is falling or standing, and thinking that at the present time there are no people who keep the commandments and are afraid to transgress them, and that everyone, willy or not, sins before God and is guilty of one or another subtle sins and passions: and therefore he does not want to beware of them, considering this an impossible thing. Considering himself responsible only for adultery and fornication, murder and theft, poisoning and similar mortal sins and abstaining from them, he considers himself worthy. To this belong the words of the fathers: better is he who falls and rises, than he who stands and does not repent. It is necessary to wonder how both of these people, guilty of the same common sins, are different before God, yes, I think, before spiritual people. One does not know fall and rise at all, although passions possess him; the other falls and rises, is overcome and overcomes, strives and labors, does not want to return evil for evil, but does not hold back due to habit, tries not to say something evil, mourns when he receives offense, but reproaches himself for grieving, and repents of this, or, if he does not grieve for the offense he has received, then he does not rejoice. All those who are in such a dispensation are opposed to passion, do not want to submit to it, mourn and struggle. The Fathers said that every thing that the soul does not want is short-lived.

I want to say more about uprooting passions. There are those who rejoice when they are offended, but because they hope to have a reward. Such one belongs to those who uproot passions, but not with reason. The other rejoices in receiving an insult and believes that he should have received it, because he himself gave a reason for this. Such with reason eradicates passion. Finally, there is one who not only rejoices at being offended and considers himself guilty, but also mourns over the embarrassment of his offender. May God lead us into such a dispensation of the soul! For a clearer understanding of both residences, let us also say this: the first, subjecting himself to the law, performs only his singing, while the second forces himself to smart doing, always has the name of Jesus Christ with him to destroy the enemy and passions. He rejoices if he only finishes singing. This one thanks God if in silence, without being disturbed by evil thoughts, he prays. For this, quantity is desirable; for this, quality. He who hurries to fulfill the amount of singing soon develops a joyful conceit, relying on which he nourishes and grows in himself the inner Pharisee, if he does not heed himself. This one, who values the quality of prayer, has a knowledge of his weakness and God's help. Praying, or better to say, calling on the Lord Jesus to the pretexts of the enemy, to passions and to evil thoughts, he sees their destruction from the terrible name of Christ and understands God's power and help. On the other hand, he who is raped and embarrassed by evil thoughts will recognize his weakness, for he cannot resist them with his own strength alone. And this is his whole rule and his whole life. And although the enemy may inspire him with joyful self-conceit and hypocritical thoughts, he encounters in this ascetic a readiness to call on Christ to all evil thoughts and, thus, does not achieve success in his intrigues. But someone will say that it is also possible for the first to call on Christ to the enemy's prey. Yes, it is possible, but everyone knows from experience that at present it is not customary for workers of the outer rule to learn how to pray for evil thoughts. Such people especially do not want to accept words spoken or written about inner attention, in which lies the science of praying for evil thoughts. And they not only do not accept, but also resist, and exposing their teachers, they assert that the holy fathers are not supposed to do smart work for the new beginnings, but only one psalm, troparia and canons pronounced by mouth and tongue. And although they say and teach it incorrectly, yet everyone listens to them, for such prayer does not require training or renunciation of worldly lusts, but anyone, as soon as he wants to, can pray like that, whether a monk or a layman. Sacred mental work, being a glorious and charitable art of arts and requiring not only renunciation of the world with its lusts, but also a lot of instruction and training, does not find performers among the monks. For all that, one should be wary of right and left deviations, i.e., despair and arrogance. Noticing that those who learn to do smart work happen by chance, and not intentionally, involuntary falls, called everyday sins by the fathers, this should not come into doubt, because in the measure of everything there is both progress and fall from good to opposite. On the other hand, when we hear about the great mercy of God towards us sinners, we should not be presumptuous and fearlessly proceed without great humility and the best possible fulfillment of the commandments to this intelligent sacred ceremony. Realizing that both arrogance and despair are inspired by the enemy, run hard on both.

And thus, with much consideration of the Holy Scriptures and, using the advice of the skilful, in humility learn this work. The holy fathers, who teach by the commandments of Christ alone to overcome passions and purify the heart from evil thoughts, instruct ascetics to have two strongest weapons - the fear of God and the memory of the omnipresence of God, according to what is said: "by the fear of the Lord everyone turns away from evil", and: "foresee the Lord before me I will take it out, but I will not move,” they also offer to have the memory of death and Gehenna and also the reading of holy scriptures. All this is good for good and reverent men; but among those who are insensible and petrified, even if Gehenna itself or God himself is visibly revealed, no fear will appear from this. At the same time, the mind itself in novice monks soon becomes dull to the memory of such things and flees from them, like a bee from smoking smoke. But although the mentioned memory is good and useful in the hour of battle, the most spiritual and skillful fathers, in addition to this good, pointed out even greater and incomparable good, which can help even the very weak.

The first remedy can be compared to grinding in a millstone with one's own hands and one's own strength, and this is the last remedy, when grinding in a mill with water and various devices. Just as water moves wheels and stones by itself, so the sweet name of Jesus, together with the memory of God living wholly in Jesus, moves the mind into prayer, about which Hesychius, great in theology, says: “A soul blessed and delighted by Jesus with joy and love and confession sends up praise to the Benefactor, thanking and invoking Him with joy", and in another place: "just as it is impossible to spend this life without food and drink, so it is impossible for the soul to achieve anything spiritual and pleasing to God without intellectual preservation or to free one's mind from sin, although no one would force himself not to sin because of the fear of torment. And one more thing: "thoughts that have penetrated into our hearts, if we do not want them and stand strong and resist, the Jesus Prayer, pronounced from the depths of the heart, can be driven out." The first of the means indicated above, without clever work, although success is achieved, however, very slowly and with difficulty. By the second means, the worker quickly and easily approaches God. For there there is only external prayer and teaching, and doing the commandments, but here it is both, both external and internal preservation. When a novice monk, after renouncing the world and the action of great and mortal sins, makes a promise before God to abstain not only from minor sins, everyday and forgivable, but also from the action of the passions themselves and evil thoughts, and, having entered into the heart with his mind, will begin to call for every battle and every evil thought of the Lord Jesus, or if, due to his weakness, he yields to the enemy’s pretense and violates the commandments of the Lord, he falls to the Lord with heartfelt prayer, repenting, condemning himself, and in this dispensation he will remain until his death, falling and rising conquering and conquering, day and night asking for vengeance from his adversary, then will there not be a hope for salvation for him? For, as experience shows, it is impossible even for the greatest men to completely protect themselves from everyday sins that do not lead to death, the sources of which are: words, thought, ignorance, forgetfulness, bondage, will, chance, and which are forgiven by the daily grace of Christ, according to the words of St. Cassian. If anyone, faint-heartedly, says that Saint Cassian, under those who are cleansed by the grace of Christ from daily sins, means only saints, and not new beginnings and passionate ones, let there be room for such an opinion, but you, mainly, take into account the judgment and decision of the saints about such things. Scriptures, according to which every new and passionate person is condemned by these daily sins, and can again receive forgiveness by the grace of Christ, like all saints, by all-hour repentance and confession to God. For, as Saint Dorotheos says, there is a servant of passion and there is a resister of passion. A servant of passion, when he hears one word, loses his peace, or says five or ten words in response to one word, and is at enmity, and is embarrassed, and even then, when he has already calmed down from excitement, does not cease to be angry at the one who said that word to him, and mourns about that he did not tell him more than he said, and thinks out words even more evil to say to him, and constantly says: why did I not tell him so? I’ll tell him this and that and get angry all the time. This is one dispensation when an evil state is common. The other, when he hears a word, also loses his calmness and also speaks five and ten words in response and mourns that he did not say three more words more offensive, and is sad and remembers evil, but a few days pass and he is pacified; another week remains in a similar state, and another day after day it subsides, and another offends, enmity, is embarrassed, embarrassing, and immediately calms down. There are so many different dispensations, and all of them are subject to judgment while they remain in force. Therefore, one can judge about all other cases, why the passionate cannot be cleansed by the grace of Christ from everyday sins, which seem small.

Let us now consider when similar sins are pardonable for the novice and passionate. The same Saint Dorotheus says: it happens that someone, having heard a word, mourns in himself, but not because he received trouble, but because he did not endure. This one is in the disposition of the resisting passion. The other struggles and labors and is conquered by passion. Another does not want to return evil for evil, but is carried away by habit. Another tries not to say anything evil, but grieves that he has received grief, and reproaches himself for grieving, and repents of this. Another does not grieve that he has received grief, but he does not rejoice either. All of them are resisting passions: they do not want to serve the passion and mourn and struggle. Such, although passionate, but by the grace of Christ can receive the forgiveness of everyday sins, not intentionally, but involuntarily committed, about which the Lord commanded St. Peter to forgive seventy times a day up to seven times. Saint Anastasius of Sinai says the same thing: “We reason and think about those who receive the holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood of the Lord in such a way that if they have some minor and forgivable sins, such as: they sin with their tongue, hearing, eye, or vanity, or sorrow, or irritability, or something like that, but they condemn themselves and confess their sin to God, and thus receive the holy Mysteries, such acceptance happens to them for the cleansing of their sins. Let us now show more clearly the very course of the intelligent battle with the passions, whether the enemy’s prey is found on us by any passion or evil thought, the worker of prayer calls on Christ against them, and the devil perishes with his pretext. or a carnal desire, he prays to Christ, confessing to Him and repenting, whether he is embraced by despondency and sadness that constrains his mind and heart, grasps at the memory of death and hell and the omnipresence of God, and, having labored a little with their help, calls on Christ. Then, having found peace from the struggle, he again prays to Christ to be merciful to him for his sins, voluntary and involuntary. And, in a word, in the hour of battle and peace of mind, he resorts to Christ, and Christ appears to him all in all, both in good and in evil circumstances. And he is not carried away by such self-conceit, as if he is doing something, praying or pleasing God. For the meaning of external prayer is different, but this internal one: he, fulfilling the amount of singing, hopes to please God by this; leaving him, condemns himself. But this one, being reproached by his conscience for everyday sins and enduring the attack of the enemy’s attacks, always cries out to Christ, keeping in his mind the words: “If you climb the entire ladder of perfection, pray for the forgiveness of sins.” And again: “I would rather speak five words with my mind than ten thousand with my tongue,” and thus, without any doubt, he fulfills the resistance to passions indicated by Saint Dorotheus.

If anyone says that it is possible to be cleansed from sins by the grace of Christ through repentance even without intellectual deeds, we answer this way: put on the one hand the commandments of Christ, on the other, the constant prayer: and forgive us our debts. Give me true determination not to break a single commandment, i.e., not to lust, not to be angry, not to condemn, not to slander, not to lie, not to idle talk, to love enemies, to do good to those who hate, to pray for those who offend, to avoid voluptuousness, greed and fornication thoughts, sadness, vanity, contempt: in a word, all sins and evil thoughts. And with such determination, begin to learn how to do smart and notice carefully how many times a day, contrary to your determination, you violate the commandments and what sins, passions and evil thoughts you are wounded. Jealous of that widow who begged the judge day and night, and begin to cry out to Christ every hour for every commandment that you break, and for every passion, for every evil thought with which you are defeated. Add to this a good adviser - holy scripture, and after spending so much time, come and teach me what you see in your soul. You yourself will hardly admit that it is impossible to accommodate all this in outward prayer, but only in mental activity. For it teaches its zealot all these secrets and assures his soul that, leaving a lot of psalmody, canons and troparia, and turning all his care to mental prayer, he not only does not destroy his rule, but also multiplies it. Just as the Old Testament law had the power and desire to bring everyone to Christ, although this seemed to diminish the law itself, so much singing refers the doer to mental prayer, and does not extend to the entire monastic life. For experience itself teaches such a person when, while praying, he notices, as it were, some barrier between him and God, like a copper wall, according to the prophet, which does not allow the mind to clearly look to God in prayer, or to listen to the heart, in which all spiritual forces are contained. and the source of thoughts, both good and evil.

Smart work undoubtedly requires fear and trembling, contrition and humility, and much testing of the Holy Scriptures and counseling with unanimous brethren, but in any case not running away and denial, and also not insolence, and not self-commitment. Bold and arrogant, striving for what is higher than his dignity and dispensation, he hurries with pride to visual prayer. Seized by a vain dream of ascending to a high degree, imbued with a satanic, and not a true desire, such a one is easily caught by the devil's nets. And why should we aspire to high success in intelligent and sacred prayer, which, according to Saint Isaac, hardly one out of ten thousand is honored with? It is enough, quite enough for us, passionate and weak, to see at least a trace of mental silence, i.e., efficient mental prayer, which drives away from the heart attachments of the enemy and evil thoughts, which is the work of new beginning and passionate monks, through which you can achieve if God wills, and visual or spiritual prayer. And we should not be discouraged by the fact that few are worthy of visual prayer, for with God there is no unrighteousness. Just let us not be lazy to follow the path leading to this sacred prayer, i.e., with practical mental prayer we will resist pretexts and evil thoughts. Walking this path of the saints, we will also be worthy of their lot, although not here on earth, as Saint Isaac and many other saints say.

Smart prayer is accompanied by various bodily sensations, among which it is necessary to distinguish right from wrong, blessed from natural, and from those arising from delusion. It is worthy of horror and surprise, says Elder Vasily, how some, knowing the Holy Scriptures, do not delve into it. Others, even without knowing and without asking the experienced, dare, relying on their own reason, to proceed to mental attention and at the same time say that attention and prayer should be done in the desired area: this, they say, is the area of the womb and heart. Such is the first and spontaneous delusion: not only prayers and attention should not be performed in this area, but the very warmth that comes at the hour of prayer from the lustful area in the heart should not be received in any case.

According to the words of St. Gregory of Sinai, no small effort is needed to clearly comprehend and keep oneself pure from that which is contrary to grace, for the devil has a habit of showing newcomers his charms under the guise of truth, presenting evil to them as something spiritual, dreamily showing one instead of the other. according to its will, instead of warmth, arousing its own burning sensation, and instead of fun, delivering meaningless joy and sensual sweetness. However, it is useful for the doer of noetic prayer to know that burning or warmth sometimes rises from the loins to the heart and by itself, in a natural way, if not accompanied by fornication thoughts. And this, according to the words of His Holiness Patriarch Kallistos, comes not from delusion, but from nature. If someone considers this natural warmth to be blessed, then this will undoubtedly be a charm. Therefore, the ascetic should not stop his attention on her, but drive her away. Sometimes the devil, having united his burning sensation with our lust, draws the mind into lustful thoughts. And this is an undoubted charm. If, however, the body warms up, while the mind remains pure and impassive, as if attached and immersed in the depths of the heart, starting and ending prayer in the heart, this is undoubtedly from grace, and not from delusion.

In another place, Elder Basil says the following about bodily sensations during mental prayer: first of all, according to the words of His Holiness Patriarch Kallistos, warmth comes from the kidneys, as if encircling them, and it seems to be charm, but it is not: this warmth is not from charm, but from nature. , and there is a consequence of a prayerful feat. If someone considers this warmth to be from grace, and not from nature, then this is an undoubted charm. But whatever this warmth may be, the ascetic should not accept it, but reject it. Another warmth also comes - from the heart, and if at the same time the mind falls into fornication thoughts, this is an undoubted charm; if the body is all warmed up from the heart, but the mind remains pure and impassive, and, as it were, attached to the inner depths of the heart, then this is undoubtedly from grace, and not from delusion. Knowing all this, it is necessary from the very beginning to accustom your mind in the hour of prayer to stand on top of the heart and look into its depths, and not halfway to the side and not at the end below. This should be done because when the mind stands above the heart and prays inside it, then, like a king, sitting on a height, it freely observes evil thoughts splashing below and breaks them, like the second Babylonian babies on the stone of the name of Christ. At the same time, being significantly removed from the loins, he can easily avoid the lustful burning that became inherent in our nature through the transgression of Adam. If someone gathers attention to prayer on half of the heart, then either due to the impoverishment of the warmth of the heart, or due to weakening of the mind and dullness of attention from the frequent performance of prayer, or under the influence of warfare excited by the enemy, the mind itself falls to the loins and, against the will, mixes with lustfulness. warmth. Some, out of their extreme irrationality, or rather, out of ignorance, begin to pray from below at the end of the heart at the loins, and, thus, touching with their minds part of the heart, part of the loins, they themselves call the charm to themselves, like a snake charmer. Others, suffering from complete foolishness, do not even know the very place of the heart, and thinking that it is in the middle of the womb, they dare to pray there with their minds - woe to their deceit!

It is also necessary to distinguish warmth in prayer, which is a natural gift poured out in the heart, like a fragrant myrrh through holy baptism, and which comes to us from the ancestral crime, and which is aroused by the devil. The first begins with prayer in the heart alone and ends the prayer in the heart, giving peace to the soul and spiritual fruits. The second from the kidneys has a beginning and ends the prayer towards the kidneys, causing the soul to be stiff, cold and embarrassed. The third, arising from mixing with lustful burning, inflames the limbs and heart with prodigal voluptuousness, captivates the mind with bad thoughts and attracts bodily copulation. The attentive one will soon recognize and notice all this: time, experience and feeling will make everything clear to him. Holy Scripture says: "Lord, did you not sow good seed? Where did the tares grow from?" It is impossible not to let evil creep into the good: so also with the sacred clever doing, charm is intertwined like ivy with a tree. Delusion arises from conceit and self-imposedness, and humility, the study of the scriptures and spiritual advice serve as a cure for it, but not evasion from learning to do smart. For, according to St. Gregory of Sinai, we should not be afraid or doubt when calling on God: for if some have gone astray, having been damaged in mind, know that they suffered this from self-will and arrogance. The reason for arrogance, on the one hand, is reckless and immeasurable fasting, when the fasting person thinks that he is doing virtue, and not fasting for the sake of chastity; on the other hand, a solitary residence. Eliminating the first reason, Saint Dorotheos says: "He who is silent must always adhere to the royal path, for immoderation in everything is easily accompanied by conceit, followed by prelest." Destroying the second one, he says: "only the strong and perfect are fit to fight with demons and draw on them the sword, which is the word of God."

The very method and effect of delusion consists, firstly, in the hostile communion in the lust of the inner loins, and, secondly, in the phantoms and dreaming of the mind. Warning against the first, the holy father says: although the enemy transforms the natural movement of the loins, as if into a spiritual one, instead of spiritual warmth, arousing his own burning sensation, and instead of joy, bringing meaningless joy and forcing him to take his charm for the action of grace, but time, experience and feeling expose his deceit. Pointing to the second danger, the holy father teaches thus: when you are silent, in no case accept, if you see something sensually or intellectually, inside or outside yourself: whether the image of Christ or angels, or a saint, or light, or fire and so on. Here again the objector will come to life and accuse smart doing of delusion. For they think that charm is not mixed with outward singing. However, let it be known that in everything: whether in singing or in prayer, charm has the same place in the non-skill of the workers, as St. John of the Ladder says: from the grace and power that dwells in us." And in another place: "singing and praying, watch the coming sweetness, as if it were not dissolved by bitter poisons." So, you see that delusion can equally befall both those who sing and those who are praying: but since those who do not know smart work have only one fear of how they can fulfill the song rule, they do not seek out evil thoughts and lustful seething, they and they do not know when the lustful part of itself boils up, and when it is excited by the enemy's communion, and how to avoid all this. They hear battles and receive wounds, but who their enemies are, and for what they are fighting, they do not know. Having learned from what has been said that it is not smart doing that is the cause of delusion, but only our self-will and arrogance, we should not run away from smart prayer: for it not only does not lead us into delusion, but, on the contrary, opens intelligent eyes for us to its knowledge and understanding. which we could never achieve if we did not learn this sacred mental work, even if someone were both a great faster and a silent one.

Having familiarized ourselves with the teaching on mental prayer of Elder Vasily, let us now turn to the teaching on the same subject of Elder Paisius Velichkovsky. As has already been said, Elder Paisios was compelled to publish his essay in order to warn his brethren against the attacks on intellectual prayer that were spreading at that time, although he was aware that the task he had set for himself exceeded the power of his understanding.

“A rumor has reached me,” he writes, that some persons of the monastic rank, based only on the sand of their own superstitiousness, dare to blaspheme the divine Jesus Prayer, with the mind in the heart of the sacred. denigrate this divine work and darken this spiritual sun with the blindness of their mind. prayer, and being unable to listen indifferently to bold words against this most immaculate deed, and also convinced by the intensified requests of the zealots of this prayer, I thought, calling on my sweetest Lord Jesus for help, to write in refutation of the false speculation of empty talkers and in confirmation of the God-chosen flock gathered in our monastery, a few words about intelligent divine prayer on the basis of the teachings of the holy fathers for a firm, unshakable and undoubted confirmation of it. And so I, dust and ashes, bowing the mental knees of my heart before the impregnable majesty of Your Divine glory, I pray to You, the only begotten Son and Word of God, enlightening the blind born, enlighten my darkened mind, grant Your grace to my soul, may this my work be in the glory of Your name and for the benefit of those who want to cling to You through the mental practice of prayer with the spirit and always carry You in their hearts, as well as for the correction of those who, due to their extreme ignorance, dared to blaspheme this divine activity! prayer in six chapters.

In the first chapter, the elder writes that noetic prayer is the work of the ancient holy fathers and defends it against detractors of this sacred prayer. Let it be known that this divine work was the constant occupation of our ancient God-bearing fathers and shone like the sun in many places of the desert and in cenobitic monasteries: Mount Sinai, in the Egyptian skete, in Mount Nitria, in Jerusalem and the monasteries surrounding it - in a word, on everything in the east and in Tsargrad, and in the holy Mount Athos, and on the islands of the sea, in recent times in Great Russia. By this clever practice of sacred prayer, many of our God-bearing fathers, ignited by the Seraphim fire for God and neighbor, became the strictest keepers of the commandments of God and were worthy to become chosen vessels of the Holy Spirit. Many of them, prompted by sacred divine inspiration, wrote about this divine prayer, in accordance with the divine scripture of the old and new testament, the books of the saints of their teachings, filled with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. And they did it according to God's special providence, so that somehow in subsequent times this divine work would not fall into oblivion. But of the books they wrote, many, by God's allowance for our sins, were exterminated by the Saracens, who took possession of the Greek kingdom, while others, by the grace of God, have been preserved to our time. None of the true believers ever dared to blaspheme against this divine intellectual work and preservation of the paradise of the heart, but everyone always treated it with great reverence and extreme reverence, as a thing filled with great spiritual benefit.

The head of malice and the opponent of every good deed, the devil, seeing how, especially through this smart prayer, the monastic order, choosing the good part, sits at the feet of Jesus with inseparable love, succeeding perfectly in His divine commandments, began to use all efforts to defame and blaspheme this is a saving deed, and if it is only possible to completely destroy it from the face of the earth: he sought to achieve this either by destroying books, or by mixing soulful weeds with pure and heavenly wheat, thanks to which people who do not have reasoning, seeing those who arbitrarily touched this and according to his offering he reaped thorns instead of wheat, and instead of salvation he found death, they blaspheme this holy deed. Not satisfied with what has been said, the devil found in the Italian countries the Calabrian serpent, with his pride in everything similar to the devil, the heretic Barlaam, and dwelling in him with all his strength, prompted him to blaspheme both our Orthodox faith and this sacred intellectual prayer. Look, friends, who dare to blaspheme noetic prayer, do you also become accomplices of this heretic and his like-minded people? Do you really not tremble in your soul to fall, like them, to the anathema of the church and to be estranged from God? What, indeed, legitimate reason do you have for blaspheming this immaculate and blessed thing? I can't understand at all. Do you find it useless to call on the name of Jesus? But it is impossible to be saved in any other way than in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Is the human mind by which prayer is performed vicious? But even this is impossible: for God created man in His own image and likeness; the image of God and the likeness are in the human soul, which, as a creation of God, is pure and blameless: and therefore the mind, this main spiritual feeling, similar to vision in the body, is also blameless. But perhaps the heart deserves blasphemy, on which, as on an altar, the mind performs sacred sacrifices of prayer to God? Also no. For the heart is also a creation of God, and like the whole human body, it is very good. So, if the invocation of the name of Jesus is saving, and the mind and heart of a person are the creations of the hands of God, then what is the vice of a person from the depths of his heart with his mind to send up a prayer to the sweetest Jesus and ask Him for mercy? Or, perhaps, you blaspheme and reject noetic prayer because, in your opinion, God does not hear the secret prayer performed in the heart, but only hears that which is pronounced with the mouth? But this blasphemy against God: God is a knower of the heart and the most subtle thoughts that are in the heart, or that have yet to appear, He knows exactly and knows everything, as God and the All-Knower. He himself seeks from us such a secret from the depths of the heart of prayer, as a sacrifice pure and undefiled, commanding: who see in secret will repay you in truth" (Matt. 6:6).

These words of the Lord, Saint John Chrysostom, the mouth of Christ, the shone of the world, the universal teacher, in the 19th conversation on the Gospel of Matthew, according to the wisdom given to him by the Holy Spirit, refers not to the prayer that is only pronounced with the lips and tongue, but to the very secret , voiceless, from the depths of the heart, sent up prayer, which he teaches to perform not only in a bodily manner, not only by the pronunciation of the lips, but by the most zealous will, with all quietness and contrition of the spirit, with internal tears and mental illness, with the closing of mental doors. And he brings from the divine writings as evidence of this secret prayer - the God-seer Moses and Saint Anna and the righteous Abel, saying this: “But are you sick in soul? For even Moses, when he was ill, prayed thus, and his illness was heard, which is why God said to him, Why are you crying to me? did not he pray in silence and after his death? And his blood issued a voice, the strongest trumpet. Wake and you, just like Moses, I do not forbid. Rip, as the prophet commanded, your heart, and not your garments, call on God from the depths. "From the depths," he said, "I cry out to Thee, O Lord!" From below, from the heart, lift up your voice; make your prayer a sacrament." And in another place: "You do not pray to people, but to God who is omnipresent and hears before you speak, and knows before you think: if you pray like this, you will receive a great reward." And again: "He, being invisible, wants your prayer to be the same."

You see, friends, that, according to the testimony of the invincible pillar of Orthodoxy, there is another prayer, besides spoken by the lips, secret, invisible, silent, from the depths of the heart offered up to God, which, like a pure sacrifice, like the aroma of a spiritual fragrance, the Lord accepts, rejoices in it and rejoices. seeing the mind, which should be most dedicated to God, united with Him by prayer. Why, then, did you arm your tongue with blasphemy against this prayer, slandering, slandering, hating, mocking, rejecting and disgusting it as the most vile thing and, in short, not even wanting to hear about it? Horror and awe seize me at the sight of such an insane undertaking of yours! But I will also ask you again: are you not blaspheming this most salutary prayer, that perhaps you happened to see or heard that one of the performers of this prayer was damaged in mind or mistook some kind of deception for the truth, or suffered any spiritual harm, and you thought that the cause of all this was noetic prayer? But no! No! Sacred mental prayer, acting by the grace of God, cleanses a person from all passions, induces him to the most zealous keeping of the commandments of God and keeps him unharmed from all enemy arrows and charms.

But if anyone dares to go through this prayer on his own accord, not according to the power of the teachings of the holy fathers, without questioning and the advice of the skilful, being, moreover, arrogant, passionate and weak, living without obedience and obedience, and even leading a solitary and desert life, of which there is no trace he is not worthy to be seen for his own self-creation, such a one truly, and I affirm, easily falls into all the snares and charms of the devil. What? Is this prayer the cause of delusion! Let it not! If you defame mental prayer for this, then you should also defame the knife, if it happened to some small child, playing with this knife, due to his unreasonableness, inflicting a wound on himself. Then the warriors should also be forbidden to wear a military sword if some crazy warrior happens to stab himself with a sword. But just as neither a knife nor a sword can be considered the culprit of the harm they cause, so the spiritual sword, sacred and mental prayer is not guilty of anything bad; self-made and pride of self-made people are guilty, as a result of which they fall into demonic delusion and are subjected to all spiritual harm.

However, why am I asking you for so long about the reason for your blasphemy against this sacred prayer? I know, O friends, I know well the most essential reason for your blasphemy: firstly, your reading of the Holy Scriptures, not according to the commandment of Christ, without testing; secondly, distrust of the teachings of our holy fathers, who teach about this divine prayer; thirdly, your extreme ignorance, perhaps those who have never even seen the writings of our God-bearing fathers about her, or at least who completely do not understand the power of their God-wise words - this is the essential reason for your wickedness. If you, with the fear of God and full attention, with undoubted faith, with diligent testing and humility of mind, read the books of the fathers, containing the whole mind of the life of the Gospel, and necessary for the monks for the benefit of the soul and correction, for a true healthy and humble way of thinking, then never the Lord would not allow you to fall into such a depth of blasphemy. But He would inflame you with His grace through this deed to His inexpressible love, so that you, together with the apostle, would be ready to exclaim: Who will separate us from the love of Christ? (Rom. 8:35). And not only would you not blaspheme her, but you would be ready to lay down your life for her, if you felt by your very deed and experience the inexpressible benefit to your souls that comes from this intelligent attention. To deliver you and all those who doubt from great spiritual harm, I do not find a more suitable healing, how to show you how much the Lord will help me in this, as our holy God-bearing fathers, based on the immovable stone of Holy Scripture, teach about this all-sacred prayer, with the mind in heart secretly committed. Yes, and you yourself, when you clearly and clearly see the truth of the teachings of the holy fathers, with the help of the grace of God that has touched your souls, be healed of your spiritual illness, offer God sincere repentance for your error and be worthy of His mercy and perfect forgiveness of your sin.

In the second chapter, Elder Paisios explains where the noetic Jesus Prayer originates from, and what testimonies from the Holy Scriptures the God-bearing Fathers cite about it. Let it be known that according to the writings of the holy fathers, there are two noetic prayers. One for the beginners, corresponding to the deed, the other for the perfect, corresponding to the vision: the first is the beginning, the second is the end, for the deed is the ascent to the vision. You should know that according to St. Gregory of Sinai there are eight first visions, listing which he says as follows: "We count the first eight visions: the first is about God, formless and without beginning, uncreated, the cause of everything, the Trinity Unity and above all the essential Deity; the second - order and dispensation of intelligent forces; the third is the existing composition; the fourth is the watchful indulgence of the word; the fifth is the universal resurrection; the sixth is the terrible and second coming of Christ; the seventh is eternal torment; the eighth is the kingdom of heaven, which has no end. I will now try, to the best of my weak mind, to explain in what force one must understand deed and vision. Let it be known (I say this to those like me, the simplest monks), that the entire monastic feat, by which someone, with the help of God, strives for love for God and neighbor, for meekness, humility and patience, and for all other God and fatherly commandments, on perfect obedience to God in soul and body, to fasting, vigil, tears, bows and other fatigues of the body, to the all-hearted fulfillment of church and cell rules, to clever secret exercise in prayer, to weeping and thinking about death, all such a feat, while the mind is still governed by human autonomy and volition, as far as is known, is called an act, but in no case is it called a vision.

And if somewhere the mental feat of prayer in the writings of the holy fathers was called vision, then this is only colloquially, just as the mind, being the eye of the soul, is called vision. When, with the help of God, by the above feat, especially with the deepest humility, a person cleanses his soul and heart from bad spiritual and bodily passions, then the grace of God, the common mother of all, taking the mind cleansed by her, like a baby, by the hand, raises him, as it were, along the steps to the aforementioned spiritual visions, revealing to the mind, as it is purified, the ineffable and incomprehensible divine mysteries, and this is justly called true spiritual vision: this is visual or, according to Saint Isaac, pure prayer, from which horror and vision. But it is impossible for anyone to enter into these visions autocratically, by an arbitrary feat, unless God visits him and brings His grace into them. If anyone dares to ascend to such visions apart from the light of the grace of God, let him, according to St. Gregory of Sinai, know that he imagines dreams, and not visions, being deceived by a dreamy spirit.

Having offered this discourse on active and visual prayer, it is time now to show from where the divine mental prayer has its origin. Let it be known that, according to the unfalse testimony of our God-wise father Nile, the fast of Sinai, even in paradise, God himself gave to primitive man a smart, perfect, divine prayer. Saint Nilus says this: “having prayed as you should, expect what is not due, and become courageous, keeping your fruit. This is what you were appointed from the very beginning: to cultivate and store. And therefore, having cultivated, do not leave the cultivated without storage: if you do not do this, then you will not receive any benefit from prayer. Interpreting these words, the Russian luminary, the Monk Nil, the hermit of Sorsk, who shone like the sun in great Russia with the clever doing of prayer, speak like this: "these words the saint brought from the Old Testament - to cultivate and preserve; for the scripture says: God created Adam and settled him in paradise to cultivate and preserve paradise. By cultivation, Saint Nilus of Sinai means prayer: by preservation, observance from evil thoughts, which is necessary after prayer, is necessary. The Monk Dorotheos says the same thing, that the primordial man, settled by God in paradise, was in prayer. From these testimonies it is clear that God, having created man in His own image and likeness, brought him into a paradise of sweetness, to cultivate immortal gardens, i.e., divine thoughts, purest, highest and perfect, as St. Gregory the Theologian writes. This is nothing else than the fact that the first man, as a pure soul and heart, was appointed to remain in visual, with a single mind, sacred, grace-filled prayer, i.e., in the sweetest vision of God and courageously protect it, like a paradise work, like the apple of my eye, so that it never departs from the soul and heart.

But incomparably, this prayer received great glory when the most holy, most honest Cherubim and the most glorious incomparable Seraphim, the Most Holy Virgin Theotokos, being in the Holy of Holies and ascending with mental prayer to the extreme height of the vision of God, was vouchsafed to be a spacious settlement of the Word of God, incomprehensible to all creation, as testifies about this the irresistible pillar of Orthodoxy, St. Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonite, in his word on the Entrance to the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos. He says that the Most Holy Virgin, being in the holy of holies and understanding from the Holy Scriptures about the human race perishing for the sake of her disobedience, and being filled with extreme mercy towards him, received an intelligent prayer to God for the speedy mercy and salvation of the human race. Here are his own words, worthy of an angelic mind: “When the Mother of God heard and saw everything that was happening, filled with mercy for the human race and, looking for a way of healing and healing, tantamount to such suffering, she found it necessary to immediately turn to God with all her mind, accepting a prayer for us to compel the Unconstrained One and draw Him to us, so that He himself would destroy the condemnation and bind the creature to himself, healing the weak." And below: “not seeing from all that exists nothing better than this prayer suitable for a person, rushing to prayer strongly with all diligence, the Virgin acquires sacred silence, as the most necessary for prayer books for conversation. Any other virtue is, as it were, healing in application to mental ailments and from cowardice to rooted evil passions, the vision of God is the fruit of a healthy soul, as some finite perfection. Therefore, a person idolizes not from words and not from visible actions of prudent moderation, for all this is both earthly and base and human; but from being in silence, thanks to to whom we renounce and free ourselves from earthly things and ascend to God, and staying at the height of silent living, patiently striving in prayers and prayers night and day, we approach in a certain way and approach the impregnable and blissful Nature. Inexplicably existing above the mind and feeling of the Light, we see in ourselves as in the mirror of God, having cleansed the heart with sacred silence. And below: "that is why the Most Pure One, having renounced worldly sojourn and rumor, withdrew from people and preferred life to all invisible and uncommunicative, remaining in the inaccessible. Here, having renounced all material bonds, renouncing all communication and love for everything, and surpassing indulgence to her own body, she gathered her mind to the same contemplation with Him, and abiding, and attention, and to the unceasing divine prayer, and through it, being in herself, and settling above the manifold rebellion and thought, she opened a new and indescribable path to heaven, which is, I will say this, - mental silence. Adhering to him and listening with her mind, she flies over all creatures and creatures, better than Moses, she sees the glory of God, contemplates divine grace, in no way subject to the power of feelings, as well as the souls and minds of the undefiled noble and sacred vision, becoming a partaker of which, She is a bright cloud of living water, the dawn of a mental day, and a fiery chariot of the Word."

From these words of St. Gregory Palamas, it is clear that the Blessed Virgin, while in the Holy of Holies, ascended by mental prayer to the extreme height of the vision of God and she herself set an example of a prudent living according to the inner person - by renouncing the world in the name of the world, by the sacred silence of the mind, by mental silence to the unceasing divine prayer and attention of the mind by concentration and ascension through deed to God-seeing, so that, looking at her, those who have renounced the world diligently labored in the indicated smart labors and sweats, trying to the best of their ability to be Her imitators by Her prayers. And who can worthily praise the divine mental prayer, the performer of which was the Mother of God herself, instructed by the guidance of the Holy Spirit!

However, for the affirmation and undoubted assurance of all those who doubt, the time has come to show what evidence from the Holy Scriptures the God-bearing Fathers cite about it, writing through the enlightenment of divine grace. Divine mental prayer has an unshakable foundation, first of all, in the words of the Lord Jesus: “But when you pray, go into your closet, and having shut your doors, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you in reality.” These words, as already mentioned, St. John Chrysostom interprets about silent, secret, prayer sent from the depths of the heart. The fiery pillar, the fiery mouth of the Holy Spirit, the eye of the church, St. Basil the Great, interpreting the words of Holy Scripture: “I will bless the Lord at all times, I will bring His praise in my mouth,” perfectly teaches about smart lips and smart action, i.e., about intelligent prayer. His words about this I quote exactly: "I will take out His praise in my mouth." It seems impossible what the prophet says: how can the praise of God always be on the lips of men? When a person conducts an ordinary everyday conversation, he does not have the praise of God in his mouth; when he sleeps, he is silent, of course; when he eats and drinks, how does his mouth give praise? To this we answer that there are intelligent lips of the inner man, by means of which a man becomes a partaker of the life word of God, which is the bread that came down from heaven. Of these mouths the prophet says: "My mouth was opened, and I drew the spirit." These are the mouths and the Lord calls us to have them open to the reception of true food: "Expand, He says, your mouth, and I will fill it." The thought of God, once inscribed and imprinted in the mind of the soul, can be called praise, from God always abiding in the soul. Maybe, according to the apostolic word, a diligent person does everything for the glory of God. For every deed and every word, and every intelligent action has the power of praise. The righteous - whether he eats or drinks, or does anything else, does everything for the glory of God: even his sleeping heart is vigilant. "From these words of St. Basil it is clear that in addition to bodily lips there are also smart lips and smart action and praise, mentally done in the inner man.

The great Macarius, who has the same name as the blessedness, the Egyptian, or rather, the universal sun, shining brighter than the sun with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, in his words about this prayer says this: “A Christian must always have the memory of God, for it is written: “Love the Lord Your God with all your heart.” "so that not only when he enters the house of prayer, he loves the Lord, but also when he walks, talks, eats and drinks, he has the memory of God and love, and desire; for it is said:" where your treasure is, that your heart shall also be" (Matt. 6:2). The reverend and God-bearing ancient father, holy Isaiah the faster, about the sacred teaching, i.e., about the Jesus Prayer, performed by the thought in the heart, cites the following words of Divine Scripture as evidence: "My heart will be warmed within me, and fire will kindle in my teaching" (Ps. 39:4).The Monk Simeon, who shone in the reigning city like the sun with mental prayer and the inexpressible gifts of the Holy Spirit, and for this received from the whole church the name of the New Theologian, in in his word about the three types of prayer, he writes the following: “Our holy fathers, hearing the words of the Lord, as if from the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, litigation, false witness, blasphemy, and that essence is defiling a person (Matt. 15:19), who taught clean the inside of the glassware, and the outside will be clean (Mt. 23:26), having abandoned the thought of any other deed, they labored in this guarding of the heart, undoubtedly knowing that while guarding the heart they would without difficulty observe any other deed, without it, no virtue cannot be sustained." These words of the saint clearly show that the aforementioned words of the Lord were recognized by the divine fathers as evidence and the basis for keeping the heart, that is, for the mental invocation of Jesus. The same reverend, as evidence of divine mental prayer, also cites other words of Holy Scripture: "Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart blameless and leave wrath from your heart" (Ekl. 11: 9, 10); and: "If the spirit of the possessor comes upon you, leave not your place" (Ekl. 10:94).

And the apostle Peter says: "be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). And the Apostle Paul, obviously, writes to the Ephesians about the preservation of the heart: "Our battle is not against the blood and the flesh, but against the principalities and the powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world" (Eph. 6:12). The Monk Hesychius Presbyter, the theologian and teacher of the Jerusalem Church, who wrote a book of 200 chapters on the mental invocation into the heart of Jesus, i.e., on mental prayer, cites the following testimonies of Divine Scripture about it: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" ( Mt. 5:8) and again: "Take heed to yourselves, lest a word of iniquity be hidden in your heart" (Deut. 15:9). And the apostle says: "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and the Lord himself says: "Without Me you can do nothing. Our divine and God-bearing father John of the Ladder gives the following testimonies from Holy Scripture about this sacred prayer and true silence of the mind: “the great, great and perfect prayer doer said: I want five words with my mind,” and so on. and again: "I sleep, but my heart watches" (Song of Songs 5:2); and again: "I called, I said, with all my heart" (Ps. 119:145). Our God-bearing father Philotheus, abbot of the monastery of the Cupid of the Most Holy Theotokos on Sinai, who compiled a small book of priceless pearls of divine wisdom about the preservation of the heart, puts the words of Holy Scripture into the unshakable foundation of his teaching: : "The kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21) and "become like the kingdom of heaven to grain and pearls and kvass"; and again: “with all keeping keep thy heart” (Wis. 4:23) and again: “I delight in the law of God in the inner man: I see another law resisting the law of my mind and capturing me” (Rom. 7:22-23) . Our divine father Diadochus, Bishop of Photiki, in his word about the noetic Jesus Prayer, gives the following grounds from the Holy Scriptures: "But no one can speak the Lord Jesus, only by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. , concludes about prayer: "this is a pearl of great value, which, at the cost of all his possessions, a person can acquire and have inexpressible joy about finding it." Our venerable father Nikifor the faster, in his word on guarding the heart, likens this divine mental prayer in the heart to a treasure hidden in the field and calls it a "burning lamp."

Our divine and God-bearing father, Gregory of Sinai, having reached the highest vision of God by doing this prayer in Mount Athos and other places, having composed trinity songs with divine wisdom, which are sung every week all over the world, and also compiling the canon to the life-giving cross, cites the following certificates about this divine prayer from divine scripture: "Remember thy Lord yonder" (Deut. Ch. 18) and again: "In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening let not thy hand leave" (Ekl. 11:6), and again: "If I pray with my tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is without fruit (1 Corinthians 1:1); therefore I will pray with my mouth, and I will also pray with my understanding," and: "I will speak five words with my understanding," and so on. He cites John of the Ladder as a witness, who also relates these words to mental prayer. A follower of the Apostolic footsteps, an invincible pillar of the Orthodox faith, who at the Florentine Cathedral tore like a spider web the Doukhobor heresies of the Latins with the fiery sword of the spirit and the truth of Orthodox dogmas, the all-holy, most wise and most verbal Metropolitan Mark of Ephesus writes about the divine Jesus Prayer: “It would be appropriate to pray unceasingly according to the commandment, and in spirit and in truth to offer worship to God; but the disposition of worldly thoughts and the severity of caring for the body leads and removes many from the Kingdom of God that exists within us and prevents them from staying at the smart altar, offering spiritual and verbal sacrifices from themselves to God, according to the divine apostle, who said that we the temple of God who lives in us, and that His divine Spirit lives in us, and there is nothing surprising if this is usually the case with many who live according to the flesh, when we see some monks who have renounced the world, mentally overwhelmed by the actions of passions, and consequently subjected to great confusion which darkens the rational part of the soul, and therefore those who are unable to reach, with all their desire, true prayer. Sweet is the pure and constant memory of Jesus in the heart and the inexpressible enlightenment that comes from it. " Our reverend father, Russian saint Nilus of Sorsky, who compiled a book on the mental preservation of the heart, uses the following words of Holy Scripture: "Evil thoughts come from the heart and defile a person" ( Matthew 15:19) “in spirit and in truth it is fitting to bow down to the Father,” etc. Another Russian luminary, St. Demetrius of Christ, Metropolitan of Rostov, who wrote a word about the inner mental doing of prayer, cites the following passages of Holy Scripture: “My heart will speak to you: I will seek the Lord ; I owe you my face; I will seek your face, O Lord," and again: "in the same way the deer desires for the springs of water, my soul longs for you, O God" and again: "I pray with every prayer and supplication at all times in the spirit." All these words he, together with Saint John of the Ladder and Gregory of Sinai and the Monk Nil of Sora, refers to noetic prayer. Likewise, the church charter, outlining the church rules on prostrations and prayer, cites the following words of Divine Scripture about this divine prayer: "God is a Spirit; He wills those who swear in spirit and in truth" (John 4: 24). He also cites the testimony of the holy fathers in that part of their teaching that relates to noetic prayer, and after that he says: "here we finish the word about the holy and sacred, and ever-memorable mental prayer", and then goes on to the single prayer, holy for all, indicated church position. Thus, by the grace of God, we have shown that the God-bearing Fathers, made wise by the Holy Spirit, establish the basis of their teaching about the mental sacred action of prayer secretly performed for the inner man on the immovable stone of the Divine Scripture of the New and Old Testament, from which, as from an inexhaustible source, they borrow numerous testimonies.

In the third chapter of his epistle on mental prayer, Elder Paisios says that this prayer is a spiritual art. “Let it be known that the divine fathers call this sacred mental performance of prayer an art. So St. John of the Ladder in word 23 says about silence: “If you have learned this art by experience, then you know what I am talking about. Sitting on a height, watch, if you can: and then you will see how and when, and from where, and how much, and what kind of tatis go to steal the grapes. Tired, this guard, having risen, prays, then sits down again and courageously continues the first work. "The Holy Hesychius Presbyter of Jerusalem says about this same sacred prayer: "sobriety is a spiritual art, completely delivering a person with the help of God from passionate thoughts and words, and from crafty deeds". Saint Nicephorus the faster says the same thing: "come, and I will reveal to you the art, or rather the science of eternal heavenly life, introducing its agent without labor and sweat into the refuge of dispassion." The aforementioned fathers call this holy prayer art, I think, because just as a person cannot learn art by himself without an artist, so it is impossible to get used to this mental practice of prayer without a skillful mentor. deeds and the warmth of faith.

The fourth chapter of the epistle speaks of what kind of preparation one should have who wants to undergo this divine work. Since this divine prayer is higher than any other monastic feat and is the completion of all labors, the source of virtue, the subtlest work of the mind hidden in the depths of the heart, the invisible enemy of our salvation spreads on it invisible, subtle and barely comprehensible to the human mind the network of its various seductions and dreams. Therefore, whoever wants to learn this divine work must, according to St. Simeon the New Theologian, surrender himself into complete obedience to a person who fears God, a diligent guardian of His divine commandments, experienced in this mental feat, able to show his disciple the right path to salvation. By humility, born of obedience, such a person will be able to avoid all the deceptions and snares of the devil and always practice this mental activity quietly, silently, without any harm and with great success for his soul. If, even having betrayed himself into obedience, he would not have found in his father, by deed and experience, a mentor skillful in this divine prayer, for at present the experienced mentors of this work are completely impoverished, then nevertheless he should not fall into despair. , but continuing to remain in true obedience according to the commandments of God with humility and the fear of God, and not in an arbitrary and self-willed life without obedience, which is usually followed by seduction, and, placing all hope on God, together with your father, obey the teachings of our venerable fathers, those who subtly teach this divine work and learn this prayer from them. And in any case, the grace of God will hasten and instruct the holy fathers through the prayers to learn, without any doubt, this divine work.

The fifth chapter contains the teaching of what this sacred prayer is in its quality and effect. St. John of the Ladder in Word 28 says about prayer: “Prayer is, in its quality, the coexistence and union of man and God: by action, the affirmation of the world, reconciliation with God, the mother and daughter of tears together, the propitiation of sins, a bridge that leads through temptations, protection from sorrow, the breaking of battles, the work of angels, the food of all incorporeal, future joy, endless work, the source of virtue, the cause of gifts, secret prosperity, food for the soul, enlightenment of the mind, the ax to despair, proof of hope, deliverance from sorrow, the wealth of monks, the treasure of the silent, weakening fury, a mirror of prosperity, an indication of measure, a discovery of a state, an indicator of the future, a seal of glory. Prayer is truly for the one who prays and the judgment seat, and the judgment itself, and the throne of the judgment of the Lord before the future Throne. St. Gregory of Sinai in chapter 113 writes: "Prayer is in the new beginnings, as it were, a fire of joy emitted by the heart; in the perfect, it is like a light, fragrant, active" and in another place: "Prayer is the preaching of the apostles, the act of faith, or, better, immediate faith, hoped-for manifestation, realized love, angelic movement, the power of the incorporeal, their work and joy, the gospel of God, the revelation of the heart, the hope of salvation, the sign of sanctification, the formation of holiness, the knowledge of God, the manifestation of baptism, the betrothal of the Holy Spirit, the joy of Jesus, the gladness of the soul , the mercy of God, a sign of reconciliation, Christ's seal, a ray of the mental sun, the morning star of hearts, the affirmation of Christianity, the manifestation of God's reconciliation, the grace of God, the wisdom of God or, better, the beginning of self-wisdom, the manifestation of God, the work of monks, silent living, better, a source silence, the seal of angelic residence."

Blessed Macarius the Great says about prayer: “The head of every good effort and the peak of all deeds is to endure in prayer, through which we can always acquire other virtues by asking from God; through prayer in those who are worthy there is communion of God’s holiness and spiritual action, and the union of the mind, aspiring to the Lord, with unspeakable love with Him. Whoever always forces himself to remain in prayer with patience, kindles to God with divine zeal and fiery desire from spiritual love, and, according to his measure, receives the grace of spiritual sanctifying perfection "(Conversation 40, ch. 2) . Saint Simeon, Archbishop of Thessaloniki, speaks of this same sacred prayer: “This divine prayer of our Savior is an invocation: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God: have mercy on me, and there is prayer, and prayer, and confession of faith, and the giver of the Holy Spirit and the bestower of divine gifts and the cleansing of the heart, and the expulsion of demons, and the indwelling of Jesus Christ, and the source of spiritual thoughts and divine thoughts, and the deliverance of sins, and the healing of souls and bodies, and the giver of divine enlightenment and the source of God's mercy, and the bestower of the humble revelations and mysteries of God, and salvation itself, because it bears in itself the saving name of our God: which name is the name of Jesus Christ the Son of God called upon us" (ch. 296). Likewise, the other God-bearing Fathers, writing about this holy prayer, testify to its effect and to the inexpressible benefit that comes from it and to success through it in the divine gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Who, seeing how this most sacred prayer leads the ascetic to such a heavenly treasure of various virtues, will not be inflamed with God’s zeal for the constant doing of this prayer, so that by it he will always preserve in his soul and heart the all-sweet Jesus and unceasingly remember in himself His all-dearing name, indescribably inflamed by it love him. Only he does not feel a burning desire to begin this mental work of mental prayer, who is seized by the addiction of thoughts to worldly things, is bound by the bonds of caring for the body, diverting and alienating many from the Kingdom of God, which exists within us, who, by his deed and experience, has not tasted the spiritual larynx of the inexpressible divine the sweetness of this all-beneficial activity, who did not comprehend what hidden spiritual benefit this thing contains within itself. Those who want to be united by love with the sweetest Jesus, spitting on all the beauties of this world and all its pleasures, and the peace of the body, will not want to have anything else in this life but to constantly practice in the paradisiacal doing of this prayer.

In the last sixth chapter of his epistle, Elder Paisios writes about some external methods of teaching this prayer to beginners. Before presenting his instructions, instead of a preface, we will cite a brief note on this subject by one of our contemporary ascetics, who writes the following: “The goal of noetic prayer is union with God, who is Spirit, and union with whom, therefore, can only be spiritual. As for external methods used by some ascetics when practicing this prayer, then, of course, they are of secondary importance. In the imperfect, the soul of a person conforms to the body, say the fathers. Therefore, the silence of the soul must be preceded by the silence of the body, i.e., its good order, as John says Ladder: And for the composure of the mind necessary for prayer, certain external conditions of habitation and even the position of the body may also be suitable. But it would be a mistake to think that the achievement of growth in spiritual prayer can depend on external conditions and methods. One thing is certain, that since the essence prayer is to pray with the mind in the heart, then, in accordance with this, our mind should be directed to the heart. Everything else is of secondary importance. Therefore, in the Russian Philokalia, all references to external methods are omitted "(Arch. Theophan of Poltava). After this preliminary remark, let us turn to the message of Elder Paisios. He writes: "because in ancient times the doing of mental prayer flourished in many places where the saints had their stay fathers, and then there were many teachers of this spiritual work, then writing about it, they spoke only about the spiritual benefit proceeding from it, having no need to write about the very method of this work, which befits the new beginnings. When they saw that the true and far from deceitful mentors of this work began to diminish, then prompted by the Spirit of God, so that the true teaching about the beginning of this prayer would not be impoverished, they described both the very beginning and the method of how to learn this prayer by the novice and enter with the mind into the countries of the heart. and it is not deceptive to pray there with the mind.

St. Simeon the New Theologian speaks of the beginning of this work as follows: “True and undeceptive attention and prayer consists in keeping the heart during prayer, and always turning inside it and sending up prayer to the Lord from its depth. Having tasted here that the Lord is good, the mind no longer departs from the abode of the heart and, together with the apostle, says: "It is good for us to be here," and always surveying the places there, casts out the thoughts planted by the enemy. Then he speaks of the same thing even more clearly: “sitting in a silent cell in some secluded corner, do with attention what I say to you: “shut the door, divert your mind from all fuss, press your beard to your chest, directing it along with mind and sensory eye. Slow down your breath so that you don't breathe too freely. And try mentally to find a place of the heart inside in your chest, where all the forces of your soul naturally like to have their stay, and, above all, you will find darkness and unrelenting rudeness there. When you continue and do this work both night and day, you will find, oh miracle! constant fun. For as soon as the mind finds a place in the heart, it immediately sees what it has never seen: it sees the air in the middle of the heart and itself as bright and full of reason. And from then on, wherever a thought arises, before it turns into action, or becomes an idol, by invoking Jesus Christ, he drives it away and destroys it. Hence, the mind, having malice against demons, raises natural anger against them and, driving them away, overthrows mental opponents. You will learn many other things with the help of God by watching your mind, keeping Jesus in your heart.

The Monk Nikifor the Faster, teaching even more clearly about the entrance of the mind into the heart, says this: “First of all, may your life be silent, free from worries and with all peace. Then, having entered your cell, shut up and sit in one of the corners, as I say to you: "You know that when we breathe we breathe air into ourselves; we breathe it out not for the sake of anything else, but for the sake of the heart, for the heart is the cause of life and warmth of the body. The heart attracts air in order to release its warmth by breathing, and to receive fresh air for itself. The instrument of such activity is the lung, which, being created porous by the Creator, constantly, like fur, brings in and out of the surrounding air. Thus, the heart invariably performs the purpose for which it was designed for the well-being of the body. So, sit down and, having collected your mind, lead it in the way that the air goes to the heart and force it to descend into the heart along with the air you breathe. When he enters there, the following will not be gloomy and not joyless. "He further writes:" therefore, brother, accustom the mind not to proceed from there quickly: for at first it becomes very discouraged from the inner shutter and narrowness. When he gets used to it, he no longer wants to remain in external wanderings: the Kingdom of Heaven is within us. When we consider it there and seek it with pure prayer, then everything external appears to us vile and hateful. So, if you immediately, as I said, enter with your mind into the heart place that I showed you, give thanks to God and glorify Him, and rejoice, and always hold on to this activity, and it will teach you what you do not know. You should also know this, that when your mind is there, it should not remain silent and idle, but should have as its constant work and teaching the prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, and should never stop this. class. It keeps the mind from exaltation, makes it inaccessible and elusive to the machinations of the enemy, and elevates it to the love of God, and to the daily divine desire. But if, having worked hard, you cannot enter the countries of the heart, do as I tell you, and with God's help you will find what you are looking for. Do you know that the rational beginning of every person is in his chest? Here, even with the silence of the mouth, we speak, and reason, and pray, and much more. To this rational beginning, having removed from it every thought (you can, if you wish), let it say: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me" and force yourself to cry out on this alone, instead of any other thought, always cry inside. If you hold on to this order for some time, the entrance to the heart will open for you, as we have written to you, beyond any doubt, as we ourselves have learned by experience. Together with long-desired and sweet attention, the whole face of virtues will come to you: love, joy, peace, etc.

The Divine Gregory of Sinai, also teaching how to make the invocation of the name of the Lord in the heart with the mind, says: “Sitting in the morning on the seat in one quarter, bring the mind down to the heart and hold it there. , and in the neck, incessantly cry out with your mind or soul: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” When it becomes too cramped and painful, perhaps even unsweetened, the frequency of repetition (which does not happen from the monotony of often eaten food, for it is said: those who eat me will still hunger - Sirach 24:23) changing your mind to the other half, say: “Son of God, have mercy on me.” And repeating this half many times, you should not often change it out of laziness or boredom, for plants do not take root, often transplanted. Control also the breath of the lungs, so that it is not too free. For the breath of air emanating from the heart darkens the mind, forbidding or not allowing it to descend to the heart and dispels the thought. By not allowing it to the heart, it betrays it into captivity. oblivion, or sets him up to learn otherwise, and not properly, leaving him insensibly to abide in what he should not. If you see the impurities of evil spirits, i.e., thoughts that arise or are transformed in your mind, do not be horrified, do not be surprised; if good understandings of some things appear to you, do not heed them, but holding your breath as much as possible, and closing your mind in your heart and invoking the Lord Jesus often and constantly, you will soon burn and destroy them, striking them with the divine name. For the Ladder says: Strike the warriors in the name of Jesus, for there is not a single stronger weapon either in heaven or on earth." Further, the same saint, teaching about silence and prayer, continues: "Your sitting must be in patience, for the sake of the one who said: in enduring prayer; and it is not necessary to get up soon, weakening due to painful difficulty and intelligent crying and frequent hoisting of the mind. Therefore, bowing down and gathering your mind in your heart, call on the help of the Lord Jesus. Feeling pain in your shoulders, often aching your head, endure all this, seeking the Lord in your heart: those who are in need have the Kingdom of God and those who are in need take it up "(Matt. 11:12). The same father also speaks about how prayers should be performed: "so the fathers said: one - Lord Jesus Christ, - Son of God, have mercy on me. All. The other half is: Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, and this is more convenient because of the infancy of the mind and weakness, for no one can secretly name the Lord Jesus purely and completely by himself, but only by the Holy Spirit. Like a baby who cannot speak, he cannot yet perform this prayer articulately. Due to weakness, he should not often change the invocation of names, but slowly for the sake of retention. ” Still: “some teach to pronounce a prayer with the lips, others with the mind; I think both are necessary. For sometimes the mind from despondency fails to pronounce it, sometimes the mouth. However, one should cry silently and without embarrassment, so that the feeling of the soul and the attention of the mind, confused by the voice, does not depart until the mind, as usual, succeeds in business, receives the strength from the Spirit to pray strongly and in every possible way. Then he will no longer have the need to speak with his mouth, and indeed he will not be able, being able to perfectly perform prayer with his mind alone. understand the instructions about this work and other ascetics, although the latter were not expressed with such clarity.

This concludes the message of Elder Paisios about the noetic Jesus Prayer.

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