Parish Retreat Mission NO. 3 - The Fruit of Silence

Presenter: Fr. Deacon Edward Kleinguetl

 

CONFERENCE NO. 3

Introduction to the Jesus Prayer

 

 “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you …”

(Acts 3:6)

“His name is living. It gives new life to those who cry out with it to the source of Life, the Lord Jesus Christ.”[1]

(St. Ignatius Brianchaninov)

“This is a prayer from the depth of the heart, especially when man feels that no other person can help him, but only the Most Merciful God Almighty.” [2]

(Patriarch Daniel of Romania)

 

 

Opening Gospel Passage: Dependence on God

Matt. 6:19-34

‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.’

‘The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.

‘No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.’

‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your lifespan? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wildflowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?

‘So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.’

‘But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

 

The Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer is a simple, yet powerful tool for assisting us in achieving interior stillness. It places Jesus at the center of our lives. This is an overview of the most common form of the prayer:

Breathing[1]	Prayer	Observation
Inhale	Lord, Jesus Christ[2]	A profession of faith: Acknowledging Jesus as Lord, the center of our lives and as the Son of God.
Exhale	Son of God
Inhale	Have mercy on me	A desire for repentance and reconciliation: Acknowledging who we are (“a sinner”) and our request of Jesus (“have mercy on me”). In addition, the prayer is grounded in humility, the foundation for attaining all the other virtues. Humility is part of the movement away from self, surrendering self-will to the Divine will.
Exhale	A sinner

 

 

[1]Some Spiritual Fathers would advise their disciples that the prayer is said on a single breath: (Inhale) “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God”; (exhale) “have mercy on me, a sinner.” Either is acceptable, as long as the prayer itself becomes as natural as breathing. To some, this two-breath approach more readily adapts to a natural breathing pattern. Ultimately, it is up to the practitioner to decide what is better.

[2]Acts 4:12: “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”

 

[1]Brianchaninov, The Refuge, 202.

[2]Iftimiu, “30 Quotes.”