Posted by Jonathan on March 3, 2003, at 5:08:29
In reply to Re: Dena » Miller, posted by Dena on February 22, 2003, at 19:14:15
> ...
> Here's a book that's speaking to me: "The Way of a Pilgrim". It teaches about the Jesus Prayer, which is a way to pray without ceasing.
>
> Shalom, DenaDena,
As you say in the previous thread, you are indeed blessed to have an Orthodox Christian mother-in-law to learn from. I am blessed with an Orthodox wife but, sadly, my Orthodox MIL-to-be died nearly two years before our wedding: I met her but once and her father, a distinguished Orthodox theologian and philosopher, never.
My interest in Orthodox spirituality began at university, long before I met my wife and her family. The Dean and Chaplain of my college, an Anglican like myself with a strong interest in the rich diversity of beliefs and practices available to Christians, first introduced me to the Jesus Prayer and I subsequently read "The Way of a Pilgrim (Savin)" and "School for Prayer" (now re-published as "Beginning to Pray") and "Living Prayer by Metropolitan Anthony" — see also http://www.metropolit-anthony.orc.ru/eng/ ; "Living Prayer" is still my favourite book about prayer. You can read the short chapter about the Jesus Prayer online at
http://home.it.net.au/~jgrapsas/pages/Jprayer.html .
I'm surprised Dr. Bob didn't clobber you when you mentioned "The Way of a Pilgrim" with a reminder about using double-double quotes to create links to Amazon (see http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faq.html#amazon ) Savin's is my favourite translation, but there are at least two others available — "The Way of a Pilgrim (Bacovcin)" and "The Way of a Pilgrim (French)". You can read the first few pages of each on Amazon's site. A longer excerpt from French's translation, which describes the Jesus Prayer, can be found at
http://landru.i-link-2.net/shnyves/Prayer_without_Ceasing.html .
I hope this is helpful to anyone interested in learning more about the Jesus Prayer. With repeated practice, it soon becomes a comforting habit which you can call on whenever you feel the need to strengthen your faith.
I'm looking forward to your return from Purgatory, Dena.
Jonathan.
poster:Jonathan
thread:200824
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20021227/msgs/205457.html