[contents week 1]

WEEK 1 - Day 5
Receptivity through repetitive prayer 
Introduction
The Protestant Church also knows repetitive prayer in the form of Litanies. Such prayer exists in the midst of an alternating rhythm between repeated, standard segments and other parts that change, yet still fit into the whole. In the Catholic Church people have been familiar with the Rosary prayer for many centuries. From the Eastern Church we are learning to appreciate more and more in our prayer life the meaning and blessing of the Jesus Prayer, the "Prayer of the heart". Many generations have learned that such prayer forms have nothing to do with the "babbling" against which Jesus warned so strongly, but rather they point to a way that makes it possible to be drawn into the full depth of inner prayer. After praying the same words repeatedly they sink into our subconscious to a certain extent and continue "to pray" in us without straining our mind. At the same time a part of our inner unrest will be captured and directed in beneficial ways. This frees other inner capacities to focus on the essential mysteries of faith. In the space provided thoughts and feelings can move about unhampered and "play" (in the best meaning of the word) around the mystery. So from an ever new perspective we experience something similar and acquire, thereby, ever greater depth.

The Eastern Church places tremendous spiritual significance on invoking the name of Jesus while praying the Jesus prayer. Name is "symbol" in the fullest sense (e.g. symbol). Whoever names the name receives, thereby, part of that person truly and effectively just as a signature represents the person! In breathing the one praying takes reality into one's self. Throughout this book we will reach back often to this form of Christian meditation. Therefore, I would like to request those who are unfamiliar with this way of praying to try it in order to gain personal experience. Many Protestant participants in the correspondence course made important new discoveries for their prayer life from repetitive prayer.

How does this prayer proceed practically? The first and last verse provide the framework of the prayer into which individual expressions of faith (petitions) are inserted. The entire prayer is repeated ten times: opening prayer, petitions, closing prayer. Then the second petition is inserted and again repeated ten times. As a first attempt to learn this I offer the following prayer in the form I first came to know and love it - a form that comes from Romano Guardini.


Exercise (Repetitive prayer)
Praised be the Lord, Son of the Living God (opening prayer)

(Insert the petitions below)

Jesus Christ, Redeemer of the world, our Savior and Brother, have mercy on us (me) (closing prayer) [These three lines are repeated ten times each time with a different petition.]

-who knows my every need ...(1st petition inserted above)
-before whom my sins are open...(2nd Petition)
-who gives me strength to do good...(3rd Petition)
-who loves my own more than I am able... (4th Petition)
-to whom all power in heaven and on earth is given ... (5th Petition)

Variations
- In this way it may also be possible to rediscover the petitions of the Rosary Prayer (the most familiar and widely dispersed prayer of meditation in popular Catholic piety) which have developed over the centuries. Here you have the essential words of salvation formulated in brief sentences upon which we can meditate in prayer until they resonate in us and in our life:
  -who sweat drops of blood for us...
-whose blood was shed for us. .
-who was crowned with thorns for us...
-who bore the heavy cross for us...
-who was crucified for us...
( Petitions of the "pain filled" Rosary)

- Whoever feels drawn to a very simple prayer can chose an even simpler form (see p.*). Joannes Bours suggests a prayer using only the name of Jesus as is done in the Eastern Church. The name of Jesus is placed in different contexts. At Christmas, for example, Jesus' name reminds us of the mystery of the Incarnation; at Easter the victory of suffering over death. In this way we can breathe in the the whole range of salvation events for such praying is like breathing. Such "conscious breathing", such opening of ourselves in breathing, reaches aspects of our being that remain closed to rational thinking. At the same time regular, even breathing can be a special help to calm the unrest of our thoughts and feelings like the popular saying, "Take ten deep breaths before you answer!"

The exercise can proceed in three steps. Each person should sense what is best for them and linger with that as long as they like.
 

1. Breathe in the name of Jesus and while inhaling either think the name or quietly say it. If you chooseyou can place this name against the background of a particular salvation truth (the reality of that truth is in the name). With exhaling strive not to think but to empty yourself completely for the next inhalation... .

2. Breathe the name (and again the reality) of Jesus into yourself. With each exhaling and inhaling quietly think "Jesus" bringing him into the center of our being...

3. Breathing in and breathing out let yourself be permeated by the name and the reality of Jesus Christ and by the particular mystery of his being that has become especially important to you at that moment... .
 

Note: This exercise is also suitable for long solitary stretches or during the performance of routine, monotonous work  .

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