When I need a little more God in my life, especially on short notice, I often find myself turning to the ‘Jesus Prayer.’ This direct, short prayer often helps me ground myself in the arms of God when I need it most. If I’m feeling resentful, tempted, stressed, or generally overwhelmed by any other negative emotion, the Jesus Prayer can help me take a step back from the situation and recall God’s love. It goes: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” This very simple prayer proclaims the entirety of the Gospel in just 12 words.
Ruins of the Monastery of St. Simeon in Egypts Aswan Desert
Like many great Christian traditions, we can only trace it back to some unnamed saint in a monastery. Specifically, scholars believe it came out of the Egyptian desert monastic movement of the 5th century, where they found an inscription of the prayer in a monastic cell from that period. A few Church Fathers, including St. John Chrysostom and St. John Climacus, used very similar prayers, even if they did not call them, ‘the Jesus Prayer.’ But perhaps the most famous example of the prayer’s use comes from The Way of a Pilgrim by an unknown Russian author in the 19th Century. Eastern Christians often pray this prayer on a prayer rope similar to Hail Mary’s on a rosary. While more common in Eastern traditions, many do pray it in the West, including our current Pontiff. It even appears in the Catechism in paragraph 2667.
But what does ‘the Jesus Prayer’ have to do with the Theology of the Body? Well, there exists a very interesting devotion around this prayer that involves breathing. The practice begins by breathing in while praying, “Lord Jesus Christ.” In this, we accept our Lord into ourselves. As we breathe out, we proclaim, “Son of God” to affirm the truth of the person we just accepted. Then, with, “have mercy on me” we breathe in His mercy before exhaling our sin with, “a sinner.” The rhythmic breathing perfectly unites the spiritual and physical. Deep breathing calms the nerves, while the prayer elevates the mind to God. So, next time you are feeling a little overwhelmed, consider this simple prayer technique as a way to entrust both your bodily and mental woes to Jesus.
Christogram with the Jesus Prayer in Romanian
Chris Tarantino is the Communications Director for TOBET. He studied History at The University at Texas A&M and has written for the Tennessee Register and Nashville Catholic.
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