What is “The Jesus Prayer”?
\nIt is a Christian prayer that has very ancient origins. The first reliable sources date back to the Desert
\nFathers of the 3rd-4th century AD and it consists in the continuous repetition of a short prayer with the
\nname of Jesus, that is inserted into the rhythm of one\u2019s breath.
\nI heard the call to this prayer a few years ago, learning the technique and starting to experiment with the
\n“Ricostruttori nella preghiera” (eng. Reconstructors in prayer), a Catholic movement that deals with it\u2019s
\nspreading.<\/p>\n
In what way can this prayer help and give benefits in concrete life?
\nThe meeting with the Jesus Prayer changed my life. Through it the Lord gave me a transformation starting
\nfrom the approach to the little things.
\nWashing the dishes, working in the garden or washing the stairs might seem boring, but accompanied by
\nrecitation of the name of Jesus, they can acquire a different taste.
\nIn fact, the prayer of the heart helps us to fully experience all the activities we do, even the most ordinary
\nones. It invites us to rediscover the beauty of small and simple things, like the nature around us. Through
\nthis fullness and wonder we are helped by the High to live the present with greater presence and
\ninvolvement. It is therefore easier to carry out an action with real joy and gratitude and not with the
\nanxiety of having to finish it.<\/p>\n
Before embarking on the path of the experience of the Jesus Prayer, I remember that my mind was
\nrestless when I had half an hour left in my daily schedule or I had to wait for a bus’s coincidence. Now
\nthings have changed, my attitude has changed as well: I entrust myself, I abandon myself trustfuly to God,
\nreminding me, thanks to this prayer, that everything depends on Him.
\nEven in the life of the novitiate there are innumerable occasions in which i can experience this: going to
\nthe apostolate, working, laying out, walking, etc.
\nThe prayer of the name of Jesus helps to live things in depth by praying in the heart. There are numerous
\nbiblical verses that refer to this perpetual prayer, such as “praying incessantly” (1Thes 5, 17), “give thanks
\nin all things” (1Ts 5, 18), “knock and it will be opened to you” (Lk 11, 10), “I will take away from their
\nchest the heart of stone and I will give them a heart of flesh” (Ez 11, 19) and many others.
\nA further benefit that the recitation of the brief invocation gives us is to pay attention to something that
\nwe often overlook, that is the breath. Learning this prayer allows us to re-explore the use of breath and
\nthus to rediscover a deep and diaphragmatic breathing, the natural one. Instead, we breathe in a breathless
\nway and this hinders us from preparing ourselves to be calm. For these reasons and for those that are more
\nstrictly spiritual, the initiation into this type of prayer by an expert guide is in fact recommended.
\nIt is curious to note how this practice seems to respond optimally to the needs of the modern world today.
\nI think it’s a wonderful medium, useful to counter the rhythms of an anxious and frenetic society. In the
\nlast few decades we are witnessing a spread of this prayer in the West, even in the lay world. I have met
\nseveral people who testify how this practice transformed their lives, bringing them closer to the faith,
\nconverting them to Christ and making them fall in love with the prayer. Spiritual thirst, present in people
\nin a more or less conscious way, could be satisfied in this way.
\nWe must consider that, as St. Ignatius tells us, not every means of prayer is for everyone. But I wish to all
\nthe people, who are unconsciously trying to find it, to encounter it and fall in love with it!<\/p>\n
Marco Garbari, novice of the first year<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"