Friday, November 22, 2024
Memorial of Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr
Assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, USA
(click here to listen to or read today’s scriptures)
Jesus Prayer
He shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” But the people walking in front rebuked him.
Forever after, this entreaty has been known as the “Jesus Prayer.” Say it over and over. Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
In The Pilgrim the staretz told his pilgrim that in order to pray continuously, he must say this prayer a thousand times, and then come back to him tomorrow. When he came the next day, the wise priest told him, “Now, pray this prayer three thousand times, and come back tomorrow.” And when the pilgrim came again, the staretz told him, “You’re getting the hang of it. Say this prayer ten thousand times each day, and do not come back again.”
The pilgrim did as he was commanded. And in a very short time the pilgrim was awakening in the morning with the prayer on his lips. It became like a heartbeat in his life, endless and ongoing. “Jesus, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
My friend Dan, a deeply religious Catholic and former hard-metal-music-in-the-morning kind of guy, took me to breakfast in Urbana at Bunny’s, long before Marc worked there. He introduced me to our fellow guest, the priest of the Greek Orthodox church in Urbana, Father John. We had a terrific conversation about religious practice, and when we got around to the Jesus Prayer, I asked him what kind of prayer bracelet I should get.
Father John removed his own from his arm and handed it to me. It was longer and much nicer than anything I’d seen at Amazon, made with 100 black fabric beads. He smiled at me.
“Say the Jesus Prayer a thousand times and come back tomorrow,” he said.
I wish he’d been serious, because as so often happens with me, my good intentions didn’t get me very far. But I continue to be fascinated by these simple words, and they make up a significant part of my prayer life. I read Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger, and as I read I realized Salinger was also fascinated with this prayer. Zooey prayed the prayer to avoid the clutches of a fraternity go-getter, who was embarrassed and left her in the bar. Zooey prayed on for awhile after he left, as I recall. The Jesus Prayer was not only a life-saver, but much more, a life-changer.
The voice spoke to me and said, “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel, take it and swallow it. It will turn your stomach sour but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey.”
President Kennedy’s Catholic religion led him to pray the Rosary, but I wish he’d prayed the Jesus Prayer too, especially around 1 pm in Dallas on November 22, 1963. Lee Harvey Oswald probably wasn’t praying anything, except that his aim would be true, and he shot the president while the motorcade was passing. In those days, the cars were open air. A president had not been shot during a parade for awhile, maybe never.
Now it’s not too late to book an $800 day in the life, during which you ride in a midnight-blue 1963 Lincoln Continental convertible festooned with American flags down Dallas’ Elm Street, visit the Texas Book Depository, the movie theater where Oswald tried to hide from the police, and Oswald’s rooming house. You can read about the tour in Texas Monthly (“Inside Dallas’ Eight-Hour, $800 JFK Assassination Tour”). The organizer and host is Robin Brown, a local funeral director.
There’s a lot to see. “Once you’re in this,” Mr. Brown told his customers, “there’s no turning back.”
How sweet to my taste is your promise. Your law is more precious than piles of silver and gold.
(Revelation 10, Psalm 119, John 10, Luke 19)
(posted at www.davesandel.net)
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