The Way of a Pilgrim And the Pilgrim Continues His Way: Orthodox Spirituality, #1

By St George Monastery

The narrator's journey as a mendicant pilgrim while practising the Jesus Prayer. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Virgin Mary of Australia and Oceania
• Release date: Dec 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393773658

Book preview

STORY 1

I'm a Christian by the grace of God. My actions show that I'm a sinner. My soul shows that I'm a lonely wanderer of the lowest social stratum, who wanders from one place to another without rest and peace. I have the following belonging: I have a bag of breadcrumbs behind my back and the Holy Bible right under my jacket. That's it. During the twenty-fourth week after Trinity Sunday, I came to the church to pray at the mass. They were reading the '1 Thessalonians 5:17', which says the following, pray continually. I paid all my attention to this quote just to understand how a person can pray continually without making many other important and obligatory things in this life? I tried to find an answer in the Bible, but I was able to read only the same words about an urgent need to pray continually [1], pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests [2] while lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. I was trying to think more and more, but I couldn't find the answer.

I asked myself the following question: What can I do? Where can I find someone to explain to me the real meaning of these words? I decided to walk around the churches just to find one of the best preachers, who would explain me the reason to pray continually. That's what I did. I managed to listen to a huge number of astonishing sermons about the prayer. However, those were general sermons about the prayer itself. I was told how to pray and about the main types of prayer. However, nobody told me how to be successful in such a complex process as praying. I managed to listen to a sermon about the Spirit and about praying continually; however, nobody wanted to show me the way to reach such a prayer. As a result, I wasn't able to find the answer in the sermons. After listening to a huge number of them, I couldn't find the best way to pray continually, thus I decided to leave them and try to find an experienced person, who would know the answer and show me the divine way. Such a person would show me how to pray continually because my entire soul wanted to know the answer.

I had to visit a lot of different places: I was reading the Bible and frequently asking people about an experienced spiritual mentor or an experienced person of God. One day I was told that a spiritual mentor lived in a neighboring village. I was told that he discovered the way of salvation. He had a church right at his house. He would never leave his home while spending all his time to pray and read the books to save the soul. When I heard it, I had to run to that village just to reach the home of that divine person.

What is the purpose of being here? he asked me.

I told him that I was told about his divine nature and asked him to tell me about the following words of the Apostle: pray continually. I also asked about a real way to pray continually. Was there any real option to make it? I wanted to know the answer, but I couldn't find it no matter how I tried.

He was silent for a while, then looked at me and told the following: the process of continuous praying is the moment when your inner spirit wants to be with the God here and now. In order to be successful in the prayer, I had to talk with God. I also had to ask God to show me the right way to pray continually. I had to pray more and harder, and the prayer would open me the best way to pray continually. I needed time to make it.

After sharing his knowledge, he gave me some food and allowed to leave his home. However, he never explained everything in detail.

I had to wander again. I was thinking about the words of that wise person, but I couldn't understand their meaning. However, I wanted to find a way to pray continually, thus I couldn't sleep. I walked around 200 kilometers and finally entered a large regional city. There was a monastery right in the center of it. After reaching the guesthouse, I was told that the prior of the monastery was very kind, hospitable to strangers and open person, who would never refuse to talk with anyone. I decided to meet him. He received me cordially, asked me to take a seat and began to treat me.

Listen to me, Holy Father! I said. I don't want any food, but I want you to give me spiritual guidance on how to be saved.

How can you find salvation? You need to observe the commandments and pray to God. That's it!

I told him that I was aware of the fact that I needed to pray continually; however, I had no clue how to make it in the right way. I asked the Holy Father to explain me how to pray continually.

He said the following: I don't know how to explain it, my dear brother. Ah! Wait a second. I have an amazing book that says that one needs to open the way of the spiritual training of the inner human being. Read this page.

And I read the following: The words of the Apostle, who told us to pray continually have to be interpreted in the following way: one needs to use their mind, to be honest with the God and pray continually.

I asked the prior to explain to me how a person could think about God all the time without making other things or being distracted.

He told me that it would be a very complex process, and only God would know the answer. However, he never explained everything in detail.

After spending the night with him and thanking him for his kind hospitality, I went on my way, and I didn't know where to go. I was sad about my inability to understand how to pray continually, so I had to read the Holy Bible to get rid of the grief. It was the fifth day of my wandering when I met an old man, who looked like a truly spiritual person.

When I asked him about his past, he told me that he was a monk from the desert located 10 km from the road. He asked me to follow him and go to the desert. He told me that they would show me the real hospitality and that I could stay together with pilgrims in the guesthouse.

I didn't want to follow him, so I decided to answer in the following way: My patience and rest don't depend on the place to stay. I need to find spiritual advice. I don't need more food because I still have a lot of breadcrumbs in my bag.

He asked me about the exact type of spiritual advice that I was looking for. He told me the following: Come to visit us. We have a lot of wise elders, who can provide you spiritual guidance and show you the right way while keeping you in the world of God and words of the Holy Fathers.

I told him that about the following words, which I had heard about a year ago:pray continually. I couldn't understand their meaning, so I had to start reading the Bible. I have seen that I have to pray continually many times in the Bible while doing all types of work and throughout my life, and even while sleeping. I sleep, but my heart is awake [3]. I was really surprised because I couldn't find a way to make it. I was led by a strong desire to find the answer, spending days and nights wandering around and looking for an explanation. As a result, I started wandering about the churches just to listen to the sermons about the prayer. However, the more I listened, the less I understood. People were telling me about how to prepare for the payer and the results of the prayer, but they never told me about the praying process and the meaning of the prayer in general. I read the Bible many times in a row just to confirm their words, but I couldn't answer the main question. As a result, I'm still worried and confused without knowing the answer.

The elder crossed himself and began to speak: you need to thank God for opening the irresistible desire to know the real meaning of the continuous internal prayer. You need to understand that it was the decision of God. First of all, you need to be patient. You need to understand that all the actions from the past were driven by your desire to follow God. Some people need to show curiosity towards people around them to reach the light of heaven and the continuous inner praying. At the same time, the poverty of spirit can mean only the real way of salvation for many people in this world. That's why I'm not surprised that you weren't able to discover the real meaning of the prayer because it's simply impossible to make it on your own. I have to tell you that there are many sermons about the prayer. Many of them were written by famous authors; however, they want to impose their understanding of the world to your mind, while using only their logic. At the same time, they can only understand the most insignificant aspects of the prayer, while the real meaning of it will always remain hidden from their minds. Some people are great in the explanations about the need for prayer, while others are good in the sermons about its power and beneficence. Other people will tell you about the best way to make your prayer more precise and accurate, explaining you the meaning of diligence, attention, warmth of heart, purity of thoughts, and reconciliation with enemies, humility, and contrition and so on. What is prayer? And can I learn how to pray? These are the most important questions, it is very rare for preachers of this time to find detailed explanations; because these questions are more complex and require a mysterious reference. One is not able to answer them by using only science. What is even more deplorable is that vain elemental wisdom makes people measuring divine things by the standard of man. Many people use the most standard way to interpret the meaning of the prayer. They will tell you that actions and deeds define the prayer, while the prayer is not relevant. As a result, they are wrong in their thoughts and actions. They think that the results of the prayer are the ways to reach success and open the power of prayer. And this is completely contrary to the Holy Scripture: Apostle Paul gives the following instructions about prayer: I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all people [4]. As you can see, Paul urged people to pray first of all, without thinking about other things: I urge, then, first of all. There are many good things, which have to be done by Christians, while the prayer has to be the most important of them because other good deeds are simply impossible without the prayer. However, one can find a way to God even without praying. One can distinguish the power of prayer and understand the difference with the flesh. One is able to open the light of Jesus and find salvation even without praying continually. At the same time, the prayer has to be frequent because people are not able to pray continually. These are the most important words Of Apostle Paul: We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. [5]. As a result, we need to pray as frequent as we can by using all opportunities to make it in order to pray continually. The prayer is the mother of any spiritual good. Acquire the mother and she will bring you the child. These are the words of Isaac Sirin. You need to find a way to pray for the first time, and everything else will come to you. At the same time, many preachers are not aware of this simple truth, thus having no real practice in praying.

While discussing this matter, we almost reached the deserted area. In order not to lose this wise man, I wanted to share the following words with him: Do me a favor, the most honest father! Explain to me the meaning of the unceasing inner prayer and how to learn it. I can see that you are the one, who knows everything in detail.

The old man received my petition with love and called me to approach him: Come to me and I will give you a book of the Holy Fathers. By having it, you will understand the real meaning of the prayer with the help of God. We entered the cell, and the elder began to speak as follows: "The unceasing inner prayer of Jesus is the continuous, never-ceasing invocation of the Divine name of Jesus Christ by the mouth, mind, and heart. You need to think about his ever-present presence, and you need to ask for salvation in every place, in every time, and even while sleeping. It is expressed in these words: Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me! And if anyone learns this invocation, he will feel great comfort, and the need to always repeat this prayer. The life will change and you won't be able to live without the prayer.

Can you understand the real meaning of the prayer now? Yes, it's more than clear, Holy Father! Now show me how to reach and discover it!" I was happy and extremely excited.

This book will tell you how to understand the prayer. This book is called Love to Kindness. It contains all the information about the inner prayer, which was prepared for you by twenty-five Holy Fathers. This is so useful and honored that it's considered the first and the most important manual for the contemplative spiritual life. According to the words of Saint Nikephoros, It can lead you to salvation without hard work and sweating."

Is it more important than the Bible? I asked.

"No, it's not more important than the Bible. It contains a clear explanation of the most mysterious things from the Bible, which can't be understood by the narrow-minded people of modern times. Here's an example for you: the Sun is the largest and the brightest source of light and luminary; at the same time, you are not able to look at the sun with your own eyes. You need to use a piece of glass, which removes the bright light of the sun and allows looking at the most important star to admire it and receive its fiery rays. The Holy Scripture is the brilliant sun, and Love to Kindness is the necessary piece of glass.

Now listen to me, while I will tell you how to master the unique art of the inner prayer. The elder opened the booked and find words of Saint Simeon, who was the new theologian. He started to read: Take a seat in a silent and lonely place, bow your head, and close your eyes. Try to breathe rarely, while looking inside your heart. Move your mind from the head to the heart. Use the following words, while breathing: Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me. You can use your mouth or just think about these words. Try to get rid of all the ideas and be patient. Repeat it as often as you can."

Then the old man explained all this to me, showed me an example, and we also read from the Love of Kindness by Saint Gregory the Sinaite and Saint Kallistos and Ignatios. The elder explained to me all the things, which he had read in the Love of Kindness. He used his own words to show me the meaning of it. I was excited to listen to him. My memory was absorbing new information, and I tried to remember every single word. So we sat up all night and didn't sleep. After that we went for the Morning Prayer.

At the moment when I was leaving, the elder blessed me and told me that I needed to visit him for confessions and revelations while learning the art of prayer. He told me that I couldn't reach great results without his divine help and support.

When I reached the church, I felt an ardent zeal inside me, and I wanted to learn the art of inner prayer. I asked God to help me. I was thinking about a way to visit the elder. I wouldn't be allowed to stay for more than 3 days in the guest house, and there was no accommodation right next to the deserted area. Finally, someone told me that there was a village located in around 4 miles. I went there to find a place to stay and I was lucky enough to find one with the help of God. I was hired there for the whole summer to guard the garden so that I could live in a hut in this garden. Thank God, I was able to find a quiet place. As a result, I start to live and learn there in order to discover the art of inner prayer. In the meantime, I had to visit the elder once in a while.

It took around a week to practice the inner prayer that was explained to me by the elder. In the beginning, I thought that something really changed. Then I felt a great burden, laziness, boredom, overpowering sleep, and the cloud of different thoughts came over me. I was sad and went to the elder to tell him about my current state. He greeted me and began to speak: "This is a war of the dark world, my beloved brother; this world is scared of the sincere prayer, thus it wants to do its best not to allow you praying. At the same time, the enemy is acting on the will of God, and you need to suffer this moment to overcome it later. It seems that you need to show real patience, thus, you are not allowed to open your heart now to avoid suffering from spiritual greed.

I will read you the following chapter from Love to Kindness. The elder found the teachings of St. Nikephoros and began to read: If you are not able to reach the kingdom of your heart, you need to do the following things to get help from God. By doing so, you will be able to find what you really need. You know that the ability to pronounce words depends on the larynx. Use it to repeat the following words and forget about all other ideas: Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me! You need to learn how to repeat these words all the time. By doing so once in a while, you will be able to find a way to the Kingdom of your heart. It was proven by experience."

The elder told me that I needed to listen to the words of the experienced saint. It turns out that you need to repeat the offered prayer all the time without being interrupted. Here is a rosary. You can use it to read three thousand prayers per day. Do it while standing, sleeping and walking. Simply repeat these words: Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me. Don't do it fast or loud. Just read the prayer three thousand times per day without reading more or less. God will help you to achieve heart action.

I was endlessly happy to get such an important instruction from him and went back to my hut. I started to do what the elder told me. The first two days were too hard, while the next day was easy and light. I realized that I needed to repeat the prayer every single time I was silent. As a result, it became a convenient way to spend my time, and it wasn't tiring for me.

I shared my experience with the elder, and he told me to read the prayer six thousand times per day. He added: Be patient and do whatever it takes the read the prayer the required number of times. God will do mercy to you.

I spent the next week in my hut by reading six thousand prayers every single day. I forgot about everything else, and I wanted just to follow the order of the elder. What happened? I got used to the prayer. Every time I was silent, I needed to make something. As soon as I started to read the prayer, I could enjoy the life around me. I didn't really want to meet other people and talk to them. I wanted to be alone and read the prayer because I really got used to it/

In about ten days the elder came to see me, and I told him about my current state. He listened and said: Now you are used to the prayer. You need to continue your way without losing your precious time. Use the help of God to read the prayer for 12,000 times per day. Stay alone, wake up early and go to bed later. You need to see me in two weeks.

I started to follow the order of the elder, and I could barely read the prayer for 12,000 times during the first day. However, it was easy and pleasant on the second day. Firstly, I was tired of the prayer and my tongue became numb. Later I discovered a light pain in my mouth and the left thumb that I used to count the prayers with the rosary. The pain distributed around my arm and it wasn't a regular pain. It was something truly pleasant. At the same time, I was overexcited and wanted to read it more and more. As a result, I had to read 12,000 prayers for five days in a row. In addition, I was able to enjoy my life and the process of praying.

One morning I was wakened up by the prayer. I woke up and tried to read the prayer, but my tongue was numb. My inner will wanted to read the prayer and I did my best to master the art of the prayer of Jesus. When I started reading, my tongue and my lips would read the prayer without my will! I spent all day being incredibly happy and not thinking about all other things. I thought that I was in a different world, and I could easily read 12,000 prayers during the day. I wanted to read more, but the elder prohibited me to do that. As a result, I would read the prayer and think about Jesus every single day.

After that, I went for a confession to the elder and told him everything in detail. He listened to me and told the following: Thank God, that you discovered the beauty and the lightness of the prayer. This can be reached only by practicing day and night. You were like a machine that works only with the added force. However, in order to move forward, you need to lubricate the wheel and push the wheel more and more. Can you see the unique abilities, which were given by God to the sensitive nature of the human being? Do you feel the unique range of emotions, which can be discovered by practicing the prayer again and again? And isn't it excellent and delightful that the Lord does the favor to open the gift of self-acting spiritual prayer and allows purify the soul from the passions? It's simply impossible to describe this state. And only be feeling it yourself, you are able to enjoy the sweetness of life on the earth. This can be reached only by people with open hearts, who want to find a connection with God! For now, I allow you the following: you can read the prayer as many times as you want, and try to talk with Jesus as many times as you can without counting it. Pray in the name of Jesus Christ and follow the will of God, while waiting for his help. I'm sure that he won't leave you alone and will show you the way.

After listening to his words, I spent the entire summer praying, and I was incredibly happy and patient. I would dream about praying once in a while. During the day, I would meet many people and all of them would be so kind and familiar even though I had never met them before. My thoughts disappeared and I was thinking only about the prayer. My mind was moving to the prayer, while my heart became warm and pleasant. When I had a chance to visit the church, the service would look too short, and it wasn't as tiring as before. I thought that my lonely hut was a luxurious place, and I couldn't be grateful enough because God sent such an important old wise mentor to me.

However, I couldn't follow his tips for a long time because he passed away at the end of summer. I cried