Maronite Meditations

We learn how to pray the Prayer of Jesus in Latin, using liturgical texts. This provides insights into the use of human language in divine supplication.

We continue Praying the Prayer of Jesus in Syriac, and ask: What Is the “Love of God”?            

St Isaac the Syrian said "The Soul Is a House of Prayer." We explore this, and pray the Jesus Prayer in Syriac.

We take a fuller form of the Prayer of Jesus in Syriac, and learn what each word means. We consider how to meditate upon the mysterious words of this prayer.

In this episode, we commence praying with the Prayer of Jesus in Syriac. We examine the question of the language and form of the Prayer, and see that - in the Syriac tradition - it is essentially liturgical. We then pray it one hundred in Syriac.

In episode 14 we learn why Palmer said that the Jesus Prayer is the most active spirituality possibility for us. We examine the soul, and how our "self" reflects the development of the soul. We use the Prayer, but now we are silent for 50% of the time.

We examine pitfalls for beginners (e.g. unrealistic expectations, not using other methods as well, or spending excessive time on the Jesus Prayer, or linking the breath to it). We pray it one hundred times together.

We learn how the Jesus Prayer exercises our attention and consciousness; then we pray it one hundred times.

We learn a basic form of the Jesus Prayer, and say it 100 times.

We read the Gospel, Epistles and Apocalypse (Revelation) of St John for what we have called its “super-meaning” - the entire picture which we take from these inspired texts. In the contemplative exercise, we return to draining, this time freeing the body of tiredness and the heart of negative emotion.

The first of two introductions to the Syriac understanding of scripture: that what we wish to take from the our reading is not just ideas or a doctrine based on proof-texts, but the impact of the entirety of scripture. We study how contemplation can lead to stability of body as a foundation for stability of feeling and mind.

This is the final exploration of the Our Father. We bring all our study of this prayer together. In the contemplative exercise, we continue to deepen our feeling; and add the planning of the day, so that we may have the influence of our meditation even when we are in the midst of life.

We continue our study of the Our Father, and now come to the line: “Give us this day our Supersubstantial Bread.” I explain why this is not just one possible, but the best translation of this line of the prayer. In the contemplation, we continue to add more awareness of our feeling, using the force of the air to animate, as it were, the whole person.

We continue our study of contemplation, relating it to the Our Father. We now come to the prayer "Hallowed be Thy Name," and continue to study its spiritual dimensions. In the second half, dedicated to contemplation, we add awareness of the breath, and try to deepen a feeling of contrition: being sorry for our sins because they offend God.

We begin to study the Our Father in Syriac, the closest language to the Aramaic which Our Lord spoke. We also speak of "silence," not merely the absence of noise, but rather the presence of something beyond words. In the contemplation, we add the quality of feeling.

The New Testament teaches that God is with us. How can we not, then, wish to have some sense of his presence? This awareness of the presence of God is the essence of mysticism. In our contemplation this week, we deepen our sensation of the body - the Temple of the Holy Spirit

The sacred rites address the faith to the whole person and not only to the intellect. In Semitic terms, they were addressed to the heart, for “In the heart, the image of God was implanted at the beginning of time, and it is by purifying this image that direct contact with God can be re-established.” In the contemplation, we add the sensation of the body as a stabilising element.

We now explore “mysticism.” Mysticism is consciousness of the presence of God. The mystic path includes all which leads to or flows from consciousness. Contemplation can help one come to oneself, and so receive the mysterious impression of the presence of God. It is a practical path to mysticism, and so to the heart of Christianity. The mystical path is not an escapist one, it is the most practica...

In the first half, we introduce the spiritual tradition of the Maronite Catholic Church. In the second half, I lead a very basic contemplative exercise.