Chapters 21 – 40

21) and St. St. Chrysostom teaches prayer within the heart with the words: Lord Jesus, Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.

And the great Chrysostom says: "I beseech you, brethren, never break or despise the rules of this prayer." — A little later: "A monk must, whether he eats, drinks, sits, serves, walks the path, or does anything else — constantly cry out: Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me! that the name of the Lord Jesus, descending into the depths of the heart, may humble the serpent that holds the pasture there, and save and give life to the soul. Abide unceasingly in the name of the Lord Jesus, that the heart of the Lord may swallow up, and the Lord the heart, and these two may be one." And again: "Do not separate your heart from God, but abide with Him, and guard your heart always with the remembrance of our Lord Jesus Christ, until the name of the Lord is rooted within the heart and it thinks of nothing else, — that Christ may be magnified in you."

22) Testimonies to the same by Sts. Climacus and Hesychius.

The Ladder also says: "Let the memory of Jesus be dissolved with thy breath; and then you will know the benefit of silence" (Verse 27:61). "The same is true of St. Hesychius: "If you truly wish to cover your thoughts with shame, be complacently silent, and sober your heart without difficulty; let the Jesus Prayer stick to your breath, and in a few days you will see it in practice" (ch. 182).

23) Whoever wishes to be mentally sober — everyone, especially a beginner — must, for the most convenient exercise in prayer, live in a silent and unbright cell, because through this the mind and thoughts naturally somehow gather into one.

To what has been shown above, as the main thing, which has long been legitimized by the great holy fathers, as is evident from the testimonies we have cited, concerning how we ought to pray, meditate, and sober in His holy and saving name, descending together with the breath into our hearts, in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and in His holy and saving name, and seek mercy for ourselves,

Basil: "The mind, which is not distracted by external things and through the senses does not scatter to the things of the world, returns to itself."

24) Mainly, inconsistency is given to the mind by our Lord Jesus Christ when calling upon His holy name in the heart with faith; and this natural method (technique) of descent into the heart by means of breathing, and this solitude in a silent and unbright place, and all the like, only contribute to this in some way.

More than this, or better than anything else in general, such a feat is successfully accomplished by the mind, with the assistance of divine grace, with the heartfelt, pure and unwavering invocation of our Lord Jesus Christ, and not only by this natural method of descending into the heart by breathing, or by this solitude in a silent and unbright place. Let it not be!

For this is not for the sake of which the Holy Fathers have been invented, except for the sake of the fact that it contributes to the gathering of thoughts, to the return of the mind from its usual soaring to itself and the concentration of its attention, as it was said before.

And from these (the gathering of thoughts and concentration of attention) is born that the mind begins to pray unceasingly, purely, and without flushing, as St. Nilus says: "Attention that seeks prayer will find prayer; for attention, more than anything else, is followed by prayer, for which we ought to have the greatest care" (ch. 179). "This is how this matter should be looked at. "And you, child, though you love the good days, and live in the body like a bodiless one, live according to the following rule and rule.

(25) As a silent person should spend time from evening to waking up from sleep.

After sunset, calling upon the help of the all-good and all-powerful Lord Jesus Christ, sit on a chair in a silent and dim cell, and gathering your mind from its usual whirling and wandering, by means of your breath quietly bring it inside your heart and hold this prayer: Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me! together with the breath it is somehow combined with the words of prayer, as St. Hesychius says: "With thy breath unite sobriety, and the name of Jesus, and the unforgettable thought of death, and humility; for both are of great benefit" (ch. 189). With this prayer, in addition to what has been said, have also the remembrance of judgment and recompense for good and evil deeds, and wholeheartedly considering yourself the most sinful of all people and the most vile of demons, therefore think that you are eternally tormented to be in hell. If contrition, weeping and tears come to you at any of these thoughts, it will remain in that thought until the tears pass by themselves, but if you have not yet been vouchsafed the gift of tears, then accept the podvig and pray with humble wisdom, that you may gain them; for by them we are cleansed of passions and impurities, and by them we become partakers of good and salvific dispositions, as St. Climacus says: "As fire consumes the reed, so pure tears consume all impurity, mental and visible" (Verse 7, ch. 31), and another certain father: "He who wishes to retrieve his evils by weeping, let him take them off, and he who wishes to acquire virtues by weeping, let him acquire them; and if you do not have contrition, then know that you have vanity, for it does not allow the soul to come to contrition." "If tears do not come, then, after sitting, listening to the thoughts that have been spoken, and with prayer, for one hour, then get up and sing the Little Compline with attention. Then sit down again and hold on to your former prayer, as much as you can, pure and unwavering, without any concern for anything, without any thought or dream, with complete sobriety, for half an hour.