St. Gregory, or Gregory of Sinai, was born in the 13th Century. From Cyprus, Gregory moved to Palestine, where he joined a monastic community on Mount Sinai. Later, he moved to Mount Athos in northern Greece. There he developed his own method of prayerful contemplation in the tradition known as Hesychasm, a prayer of inner quiet, or resting in the Divine Presence, through use of the name "Jesus." Hesychasm derives from a Greek root meaning "to keep stillness."

Gregory taught union with the Divine Presence comes in quieting the mind and opening the whole being to Grace. He taught that repetition of the Jesus Prayer opened the soul to the Divine Presence. In the following words, he instructs about practicing this prayer:

Some of the [Church] fathers taught that the prayer should be said in full: "Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me." Others advised saying half, thus: "Jesus, Son of God, have mercy upon me"; or "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me," or to alternate, sometimes saying it in full and sometimes in a shorter form. Yet, it is not advisable to pander to laziness by changing the words of the prayer too often, but to persist a certain time as a test of patience.

Again, some teach the saying of the prayer with the lips, others with and in the mind. In my opinion both are advisable. For at times the mind, left to itself, becomes wearied and too exhausted to say the prayer mentally; at other times the lips get tired of this work. Therefore, both methods of prayer should be used-with the lips and with the mind. But one should appeal to the Lord quietly and without agitation, so that the voice does not disturb the attention of the mind and does not, thus, break off the prayer, until the mind is accustomed to this doing and, receiving force from the Spirit, firmly prays within on its own. Then, there will be no need to say the prayer with the lips; indeed, it will be impossible, for he who reaches this stage is fully content with mental doing of the prayer and has no wish to leave it.

I conclude with another of Gregory's sayings on prayer, and invite you to apply this writing for today to your expression of spirituality, or Grace. Some such practice may assist you, especially in the start of your meditation time, through quieting the mind. Afterward, you might choose simply to rest in the Quiet and return to the prayer practice to re-center yourself in the Center, That that is Grace:

Authentic prayer-the warmth that accompanies the Jesus Prayer, for it is Jesus who enkindles fire on the earth of our hearts (cf. Luke 12:49)-consumes the passions like thorns and fills the soul with delight and joyfulness. Such prayer comes neither from right or left, nor from above, but wells up in the heart like a spring of water from the life-quickening Spirit. It is this prayer alone that you should aspire to realize and possess in your heart, always keeping your intellect free from images, concepts and thoughts. And do not be afraid, for He who says "Take heart; it is I; do not be afraid" (Matt. 14:27), is with us-He whom we seek and who protects us always. When we invoke God we must be neither timid nor hesitant.

Blessings! brian