This article continues the series on prayer for this year, 2024.

The most important thing to happen between God and the human soul is to love and to be loved.
(Kallistos Kataphygiotis)

 As the name accompanying the quote above suggests, there is something Greek going on here! That is because I’ve been reading a little about prayer in the Orthodox Church of the East. It probably doesn’t differ a lot from what we have in the West, but there is a strong emphasis on the Trinity and being conscious of praying in the Trinity.

You may be aware of what we know as the Jesus prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. At first, it appears that I am simply praying to Jesus, but the way the Orthodox look at it, it is completely a Trinitarian prayer. If I acknowledge Jesus as Son of God, I am acknowledging the Father, and if I acknowledge him as Lord, I am living in the Spirit, as “no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 12:3).

With the Jesus prayer we simply utter it frequently and consciously. Acknowledging that we are sinners, is quite simply acknowledging that there is still part of me not yet healed. I am still a person searching for God. In no way is it meant as a put down of who I am.

The Jesus prayer, when uttered frequently, usually shortens quite naturally in the pray-er, until it becomes only the word ‘Jesus’. Contained in that though is the rest of the prayer, and particularly the words: “I love you”. For those who set aside a specific time each day for contemplation, the name becomes an excellent centering prayer, bringing us back to focus when distracted, and in this process we loving and being loved.

Finally, just in case you may be thinking that this is all very well, but what does it do for others? Caring for others has its roots in the very depths of the revelation of God to humanity. It is rooted in Judaism and in the Gospels and teachings of Jesus. When we say we care for others, we mean we care for their souls as well as their bodies. Spiritual poverty is just as destructive to our growth as human beings as is material poverty. However, we cannot give what we do not have.