Sometimes, and most often, you should sit on a stool, because it is
more arduous; but sometimes, for a break, you should sit for a while on a
mattress. As you sit be patient and assiduous, in accordance with St.
Paul's precept, "Cleave patiently to prayer" (Colossians 4:2). Do not
grow discouraged and quickly rise up again because of the strain and
effort needed to keep your intellect concentrated on its inner
invocation. It is as the prophet says: "The birth-pangs are upon me,
like those of a woman in travail" (Isaiah 21:3). You must bend down and
gather your intellect into your heart -- provided it has been opened --
and call on the Lord Jesus to help you. Should you feel pain in your
shoulders or in your head -- as you often will -- endure it patiently
and fervently, seeking the Lord in your heart. For "the kingdom of God
is entered forcibly, and those who force themselves take possession of
it" (Matthew 11:12). With these words the Lord truly indicated the
persistence and labor needed in this task. Patience and endurance in all
things involve hardship in both body and soul.
-- Some of the fathers advise us to say the whole prayer, "Lord Jesus
Christ, Son of God, have mercy," while others specify that we say it in
two parts -- "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy," and then "Son of God, help
me" -- because this is easier, given the immaturity and feebleness of
our intellect. For no one on his own account and without the help of the
Spirit can mystically invoke the Lord Jesus, for this can be done with
purity and in its fullness only with the help of the Holy Spirit (I
Corinthians 12:3). Like children who can still speak only falteringly,
we are unable by ourselves to articulate the prayer properly. Yet we
must not out of laziness frequently change the words of the invocation,
but only do this rarely, so as to ensure continuity. Again, some fathers
teach that the prayer should be said aloud; others, that it should be
said silently with the intellect. On the basis of my personal experience
I recommend both ways. For at times the intellect grows listless and
cannot repeat the prayer, while at other times the same thing happens to
the voice. Thus we should pray both vocally and in the intellect. But
when we pray vocally we should speak quietly and calmly and not loudly,
so that the voice does not disturb and hinder the intellect's
consciousness and concentration. This is always a danger until the
intellect grows accustomed to its work, makes progress and receives
power from the Spirit to pray firmly and with complete attention. Then
there will be no need to pray aloud -- indeed, it will be impossible,
for we shall be content to carry out the whole work with the intellect
alone.
from The Philokalia: Volume IV, edited and translated by G. E. H.
Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and Bishop Kallistos Ware, (London: Faber and
Faber, 1995), pp. 275 - 276.
