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Prelest

505 bytes added, 12:59, January 16, 2021
Prelest and Jesus prayer: clarification of wrong way of prayer
Several dangerous practices of the Jesus Prayer can be named that contradict the teaching of the Holy Fathers. If at least one of the following exists:
#the person prays without keeping the attention in the words of the prayer and imagines heavenly hosts, Lord Jesus,<ref>St. John Climacus. The Ladder of Divine Ascent. Step 28. St. John writes: "Make the effort to raise up, or rather, to enclose your mind within the words of your prayer; and if, like a child, it gets tired and falters, raise it up again."</ref><ref>St Gregory of Sinai. On Stillness: Fifteen Texts. Different Ways of Psalmodizing. Ch. 10. St. Gregory writes: "Unceasingly cry out: 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy', and do not allow yourself to retain any concept, object, thought or form that is supposedly divine, or any sequence of argument or any color, but concentrate solely on the pure, simple, formless remembrance of Jesus."</ref>
#during prayer, instead of the upper part of the heart, the person keeps attention at the bottom of the heart or even lower than the heart (i.e. close to sexual organs),<ref>{{Ru icon}} [https://www.ccel.org/contrib/ru/Letioann/Let2.htm Letters of schema-hegumen John (Alexeev). Letter 2.] Elder John writes about Jesus prayer: "You execute 100 in the morning and in the evening, such number is enough for you, only try to do it with attention, but do not get confused in you have coldness in the heart, however force yourself; only keep attention, as I told you, in the upper part of the chest."</ref><ref>{{Ru icon}}[https://www.optina.ru/starets/amvrosiy_letters_chart2_37/#372 Letters of St. Ambrose of Optina. Letter 372.] St. Ambrose writes to a person that the reason of fleshy movements and blasphemous thoughts for this person is that he keeps attention during prayer very low.</ref><ref>{{Ru icon}}[https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Zhitija_svjatykh/velikaja-strazha/2_2 Hieromonk Joachim (Sabelnikov). "The Great Watch". The story of a brother affected by the disorderly practice of the Jesus prayer.] The story tells that a brother was concealing from his spiritual father that during prayer, he felt happiness which was appearing very low, from the legs and then was going up and that he accepted this happiness and did not confess both it and the bodily uncleanness during it. Because he was accepting concupiscence for a long time and was considering it to be love to God and neighbor, he became noticeably more proud and did not want to obey the advices of the spiritual father. After that he left the monastery.</ref>
#the person does not use the prayer for repentance but seeks for some "spiritual feelings", "consolation by grace", <ref>St. John Climacus. The Ladder of Divine Ascent. Step 28. St. John writes: "And even if you have climbed the whole ladder of the virtues, pray still for the forgiveness of sins".</ref><ref>{{Ru icon}}[https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Paisij_Svjatogorets/molitva-tom-vi/7_3_2 St. Paisios of the Holy Mountain. Words. Vol. 6. Divine consolation in the prayer.] Elder Paisios writes: "beware of striving for prayer in order to feel pleasure, joy. A child does not run to his father because he gives a chocolate bar but because he loves his father; another thing is if the father himself wants to give a chocolate bar. Prayer for the sake of feeling joy and not to unite with God is not true prayer."</ref>
#the person does not truly repent of some sins, i.e. he does not want to completely give up some sinful habits for which the consciousness condemns him,<ref name="joseph"/><ref name="ioann"/><ref>{{Ru icon}}[http://www.ioann.org/pisma/molitva.html Letters of elder John (Krestiankin). On Prayer.] Elder John (Krestiankin) writes to some person who has demonic attacks because of the previous devotion to heretic and demonic teachings. Elder John says that when someone starts to pray with Jesus prayer while keeping the passions in the soul and in the heart - that can cause mental damage. So elder John advises that person to reduce the prayer rule.</ref>
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