Mysteries Of The Jesus Prayer

“Norris Chumley traverses a spiritual landscape unfamiliar to most Westerners. . . . Take this book and read. Even better, read this book and accept its invitation to pray.” —Diana Butler Bass, author of A People's History of Christianity Norris Chumley presents a lavishly illustrated companion to the PBS documentary Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer. Readers can follow Chumley on a pilgrimage through the holiest sites of the early Christian world as he searches for modern-day practitioners of the ancient Eastern mystical tradition and its most sacred prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." This beautifully illustrated volume includes black-and-white and full-color images of the author's travels through Eastern Europe, including rare pictures from visits to holy sites where photographers are only rarely granted access.

This resource is a complete introduction to one of the most mysterious prayers of Eastern Christianity, The Jesus Prayer. A conversational question-and-answer format takes the reader through practical steps for adopting this profound practice in everyday life.

While Roman Catholics have used the Rosary for centuries, focusing on events in the life of Mary, many more people are discovering that rhythmic prayer with beads is a spiritually enriching. This book draws these great spiritual traditions together and offers Christians of all backgrounds a Jesus-centred way of praying with rosary beads.

"'To pronounce the name of Jesus in a holy way is an all-sufficient and surpassing aim for any human life ... We are to call to mind Jesus Christ as until the name of the Lord penetrates our heart, descends to its very depths ... The Name of Jesus, once it has become the center of our life, brings everything together." So writes the "Monk of the Eastern Church" in the course of the present work. To those who wonder how such claims can be advanced on behalf of the Jesus Prayer, and how it is that this particular way of praying continues to appeal so powerfully to contemporary Christians, Eastern and Western, Orthodox and non-Orthodox, this short book provides an answer. Starting with the veneration of the Holy Name in the Old and the New Testament, the author traces the gradual development of the Jesus Prayer first in Byzantium and then in the Slav lands. He concludes with practical suggestions for its use today, showing how it is a prayer not only of the past but equally for the twentieth century. Indeed, there are good reasons to believe that the "way of the name," as he calls it, is being followed by more Christians in our own day than ever before - a striking sign of hope in an age of anxiety. Simple yet profound, this book reveals to us the secret of the continuing attraction exercised by the Jesus Prayer. Since its first appearance some thirty-five years ago, it has become a minor "classic" of the spiritual life, and it still remains the best introduction to the subject"--

"An in-depth examination of the Lord's Prayer guided by the writings of the Church Fathers"--

We are introduced gradually into the contemplative prayer of heaven dwelling in our hearts by humbly reciting the rosary. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we explore our own depths, the inner person, the place where God is present in ourselves.

A closely argued book about what the negative tradition in Western theology involves.

In 2002, Pope John Paul II added five new "luminous" mysteries to the rosary, but many Catholics do not realize this was only one of many changes the Pope recommended in the rosary. Here, an eminent liturgist presents the full scope of the pope's reforms.