April 5, 2024 ~ Friday in Easter Week
~ Kallistos Ware*
Prayer of the heart is prayer of the total person, body, soul, and spirit. But since the heart is the place of the Divine indwelling, prayer of the heart is praying, in which it is not only I that speak, but it is the prayers which Christ and the Holy Spirit are saying within me. Those who attain prayer of the heart have the experience of being prayed in. [emphasis added]
Lord and Spirit of my Heart ~
It's true, then. I have felt You
here, within me, but I was afraid to recognize You, to acknowledge You, and I
have also denied to myself that I have felt You. It hasn't happened often
but I would like it to happen again, and, more often.
The times of my life when I have needed the most
comfort have sometimes been the most difficult to enter into prayer. And
sometimes the happiest times distract me from praying my thanksgivings. I'm
working on all of that and I ask You ~ I invite You ~
to come into my heart, my soul, and all of me and help me to discover
again all that deep prayer can do with, for, and in me. Pray in me, please,
and let my heart and soul feel full of You. amen.
*Timothy
Ware [1934-2022] of Bath, England was raised in the Anglican Church and
read classics and theology at Magdalen College, Oxford. In 1958 at
age 24 he affiliated with the Eastern Orthodox Church. After much travel in
Greece and a significant amount of time at the Monastery of St. John
of Patmos and elsewhere, he was ordained to the priesthood and tonsured [shaving all or part of one’s head] as a monk in 1966. At that time he received the
name "Kallistos." He was later consecrated bishop and his
career path led him to be a Lecturer in Eastern Orthodox Studies at Oxford
University, a position he held for 35 years before retirement. He
authored many books and articles on the Orthodox Christian faith.
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