Category: Jesus Prayer

Jesus Prayer, Lectionary, Liturgical Feasts and Fasts, Sermon

Salty, Doo Doo, and Jesus – A Sermon for the Feast of the Holy Name, Luke 2:15-21

The collect and readings for January 1, the Feast of the Holy Name, may be found here. The following sermon is based on the gospel, Luke 2:15-21. After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb (Lk. 2:21) My wife and I spent some … Continue reading Salty, Doo Doo, and Jesus – A Sermon for the Feast of the Holy Name, Luke 2:15-21

Michael K. Marsh3 Comments
Jesus Prayer, Liturgical Feasts and Fasts, Saints, Spirituality

Richard Rolle on Devotion to the Name, Jesus

And seeing that you yearn to be God’s lover, I appeal to you to love this name, Jesus, and meditate on it in your heart so that you never forget it wherever you are. And, assuredly, I promise you that you will find great joy and strength in it; and because of the love with which you love Jesus so tenderly and as such an … Continue reading Richard Rolle on Devotion to the Name, Jesus

Michael K. Marsh2 Comments
Jesus Prayer, Liturgical Feasts and Fasts, Saints, Spirituality

St. Bernard of Clairvaux on the Feast of the Holy Name

January 1 is the Feast of the Holy Name. St. Bernard of Clairvaux wrote the following about the Holy Name of Jesus: The sweet Name of Jesus produces in us holy thoughts, fills the soul with noble sentiments, strengthens virtue, begets good works, and nourishes pure affections. All spiritual food leaves the soul dry, if it contain not that penetrating oil, the Name Jesus. When … Continue reading St. Bernard of Clairvaux on the Feast of the Holy Name

Michael K. Marsh1 Comment
Jesus Prayer, Lectionary, Liturgical Feasts and Fasts

The Feast of the Holy Name, Jesus

The Feast of the Holy Name is celebrated eight days after the Nativity, January 1. Under the Law of Moses, all male infants were to be circumcised on the eighth day after birth (Lv. 12:3). It was also customary at this time to name the child. The collect and readings for this feast may be found here. Luke tells us, When the angels had left … Continue reading The Feast of the Holy Name, Jesus

Michael K. Marsh1 Comment
Desert Spirituality, Jesus Prayer, Prayer

Entering the Temple of the Heart

If the heart is the most authentic temple of God, the truest dwelling place of God, then it is also our true home. It is the deepest and most authentic part of our humanity, the place of wholeness and integration. “All things are there,” Macarius says of the heart. The heart is not only the physical but also the psychic and spiritual center of the … Continue reading Entering the Temple of the Heart

Michael K. Marsh3 Comments
Desert Spirituality, Jesus Prayer, Prayer

With Every Breath

If you really wish to achieve spiritual stillness and to guard your heart successfully, then let the prayer “Lord Jesus, have mercy on me” become one with your breathing, and in a few days you will see how it can all be acheived.                                                                – Hesychios Continue reading With Every Breath

Michael K. Marsh1 Comment
Jesus Prayer, Liturgical Feasts and Fasts, Prayer

The Feast of the Holy Name of our Lord Jesus Christ

For most of the world January 1st is New Year’s Day—the beginning of a new year, a day of football, resolutions, and black-eyed peas. For the church, however, January 1st is the Feast of the Holy Name. More often than not this feast goes unnoticed, uncelebrated, lost in the new year. And it is a loss. For the liturgical calendar has something to teach us … Continue reading The Feast of the Holy Name of our Lord Jesus Christ

Michael K. Marsh2 Comments