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The Prayer of the Most Holy Name

The Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer, also known as the prayer of the heart, developed in the early monastic tradition, but quickly spread throughout the Church. It answers St. Paul,s challenge to "pray without ceasing, (1Thess 5.17). Today, it is practiced by thousands of faithful, lay as well as religious, all over the world.

The Jesus Prayer is a very simple prayer. It consists of just a few powerful words repeated over and over again:

Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God,

Have mercy on me, a sinner.

Variations include: "Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us, or "Lord, Jesus, have mercy, or just the single word "Jesus. The exact wording is not important, as long as it includes the Most Holy Name of Jesus. If the prayer is said regularly, you will find the form of the prayer that best suits our particular needs and speaks to us the most. The structure of the string of beads used for this form of prayer is different from that of the rosary but there is no reason why rosary beads cannot be used as an aid.

The Jesus Prayer is simple and easy to learn, but it is also very profound; it expresses the essence of our Christian faith and summarizes the whole Gospel. When we say, "Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, we proclaim that Jesus is indeed Lord, the Son of God and Saviour of the world and, as St. Paul reminds us, "no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12.3). When we say, "have mercy on me, a sinner, we confess our faith and our trust that He loves us and will forgive us, heal us, and intercede for us before the Father. There is no limit to His mercy and love for us. Each time we call upon Jesus for mercy, we receive His grace, bringing healing, forgiveness and peace.

With the help of the Jesus Prayer, we begin to believe and experience the presence of God within us and around us. The prayer sows deep within our souls the great truth, that God is always present to us in our own hearts; that we are, in the words of St. Paul, "temples of the Holy Spirit (1Cor 6.19).