Schola Christi - Prayer of the Heart

Schola Christi, The Oratory Lecture Series and Homilies from The Pittsburgh Oratory

This was the February gathering for Schola Christi, a meeting open to all members of the Secular Oratory and adults who are interested. We began with a discussion of The Practice of the Jesus Prayer in the context of the ascetical life of the Christian followed by a history of the use and making of the prayer rope. Presented by: Fr. David Abernethy, C.O. and Ren Witter

If it is true that only the prayer has the power to awaken and deepen the spirit within us, that which makes us human beyond the body and the soul, then only the one who prays is a normal human being. Because of this fact, prayer is above all things, before all things and must accompany them all. “Nothing good can be done without it,” says the Russian pilgrim. The Jesus Prayer is precisely the practice which offers us this path for, the pilgrim says, “it is the continual and uninterrupted invocation of the name of Jesus on the lips, the heart and the mind, in the feeling of His presence, in all places, at all times, even during sleep: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’”