Archimandrite Emilian (Vafidis)

 

CIRCULAR PRAYER.

Fragments of the book of Archimandrite Emilian (Vafidis)

"Sober life and ascetic canons".

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Let's now see how prayer is done. Prayer is done in a variety of ways. Each person, in accordance with his character, finds his own way, which changes little by little. Today I assure you that it is good to speak prayer with your lips. Tomorrow I am discovering that it is better to do this with the help of the language. I move my tongue, saying "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner," and keep my attention on my tongue. Someone else discovers that it is much better to do the prayer with the throat so that the organs of the larynx move and the mind stays there. The other connects prayer with heartbeats. This does not mean that we will put our mind in our heart, we will not use such techniques. It is important that we find a way that suits us today, and tomorrow Christ will give us another way, or we will discover it ourselves. This "tomorrow" may come in a month and in five years, and maybe in 20 years. But think, twenty years in exploit together with Christ, companionship with Christ!

During prayer, I make sure that nothing enters my mind. Just as the line of the circle that I draw is not interrupted by anything, the same should happen with my mind. When I say a prayer, it should be as if I were drawing a certain circle that constantly returns to myself and nowhere else. And even if Christ appears and says to me: "Well done, my child, I have come to bless you," I will tell him: "My Christ, go away, now I only care about the mind being in what I say." And even more so, I will not do something good that comes to my mind, a godly thought or a solution to a problem. I will not allow such a break to occur, because prayer is a constant union with Christ. Christ comes and cleaves to the mind. Just as if I put honey somewhere, then the bee will fly there by itself, and not I plant it there, the same happens with prayer: I put my mind in the words of prayer and the Holy Spirit himself comes and cleaves to the mind. This is how our deification happens, very simply, without us understanding it ourselves, and slowly we see the results, we discover experiences, joys, consolations, pleasure, fun. Thus, we receive a full guarantee of communion with God. Is there any other way, an easier one, that can guarantee us God?

When someone spends the night like this, then during the day he has no attraction either to talk or to argue. And if you tell him: look! the donkey is flying! - then since he will say a prayer, he will agree with you. Who doesn't know that donkeys don't fly? But since his mind is in Christ, and you are in Christ, in order to show unity with you, he will not deny your words. Pronounced in prayer constantly, these words of prayer and our mind become fire and red-hot coals, and the sacrifice of our self, our desires, our dreams, our aspirations is laid on them from above, and smoke ascends upward, ascends to Christ, and Christ smells the sacrifice and rejoices ... Because His child is with Him