R. M. FrenchCritiques

Two books in one, likely by different authors, I only finished The Way of a Pilgrim, but deeply enjoyed this Eastern devotional work, one of my favorites of this year. The pilgrim meditates on what it means to "pray unceasingly" and to live a Christian life. It is memorable and worth it's short length.

We accompany a Pilgrim wandering from place to place in Russia and Siberia as he searches for an answer to the question "How can you learn to pray without ceasing"? [1 Thessalonians 5:17] He shares his growing insight through a series of conversations with holy men who guide him to the answer he seeks. This edition benefits from an insightful introduction by Huston Smith.
RB, CSBS

One of the most important prayers to engage in for the love of God is what is called the Jesus Prayer. In The Way of a Pilgrim we encounter what the prayer is and why it is important. An anonymous pilgrim describes his efforts to understand what St Paul advised us in his epistle to “pray ceaselessly”. This book describes the pilgrims wanderings and how his expereinces bring him to the wisdom of asking God simply and humbly for mercy. I could not put this book down once I started and it brought great joy to my heart.

By the grace of God I am a Christian man, by my actions a great sinner, and by calling a homeless wanderer of the humblest birth who roams from place to place. My worldly goods are a knapsack and some dried bread in it, and a Bible in my breast pocket. And that is all.

So begins this russian pilgrim his tale of spiritual search. He walks from place to place seeking advice on mysticism and the prayer life. He acquires The Philokalia, a collection of writings by eastern orthodox church fathers, and in it he finds a lot of wisdom on prayer.

But the charm of the book is his account of the people he meets who also tell their story. He finds shelter and friends but also some people who exploit him. He's always searching for a place where he can meditate in silence and solitude but the outer world seem always to interrupt and make demands of him.

Some spiritual classics are too heavy on mysticism for my liking - but this was different because it was more a biography. A soul on a spiritual journey - but along the way a lot of wisdom is found.

This was given to us eons ago by my brother-in-law, who was spiritually swept away by the book. It is an English translation from the Russian (19th century). At times it was believed to be a hoax, but I think the hoax theory has been rebuked, and it's now felt to be either the recounting of a pilgrim's journey, or a way of teaching meditation and prayer. The pilgrim travels practicing what is known as ceaseless inner praying of the Jesus prayer:
Κύριε Ἰησοῦ Χριστέ, Υἱὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐλέησόν με τὸν ἁμαρτωλόν.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

I have recommended this book to others more than any other book I have ever read. It is a MUST READ for anybody interested in prayer, spirituality, or just drawing closer to God.

Absolute classic on the practice of the Jesus Prayer in a historical context. Well worth reading even if you never went on to practice the Jesus Prayer.

This was a wonderful read. A must-have for any truly religious person. Inspirational.

Not at all the "heavy" volume that I expected, this account of one man's adoption of the prayer of the heart as a means to "pray without ceasing" has a humble charm that makes it accessible to anyone interested in learning more about prayer and its practice.

I haven't read many 'spiritual journey' books, but I love this one. All editions are translated because I think the original was in Russian. The story follows a simple monk on his journey to find out just how to 'Pray without ceasing.' With practice, the monk learns how and with the inspiring result that he (all of us) can commune with 'God' automatically. But more importantly, unceasing prayer brings the awareness of that something bigger, better than ourselves to our daily life. We wake up to truth. Compassion, enlightenment, reality is brought into our hearts. So Christian orthodoxy has unceasing prayer, buddhism has meditation. Both paths lead to the same destination.

Good reading for Catholics and non--explains the Jesus prayer and also provides inspiration for hermits.

An unnamed pilgrim travels around Russia and Siberia, seeking wisdom. He finds inner peace and strength through repeating the Jesus prayer, a uniquely Eastern Christian combination of prayer and mantra.

Any receptive reader will appreciate this combination of well-told story and easy-to-understand guide to prayer and meditation.

A must-read title for Orthodox catechumens and a classic of Russian Orthodox spirituality.

While it has been some time since I read this, I remember it fondly. I am not a traditionally religious person, but this book struck a chord with me. Though I am in desperate need of weeding my collection, this is one that I cannot bring myself to part with.

I read these books because they are the focus of Franny in J.D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey, one of my favorite authors and books of all time. They rounded out my experience of that book and were a means to an end in understanding Franny.

And, they are still on my shelf after about 30 years.

Like many other people, I was inspired to attempt the discipline of continuous prayer by reading this book.

In an anonymous autobiographical account the benefits of continually praying, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me," are extolled by a nineteenth century Russian peasant.

WONDERFUL BOOK on the Jesus prayer. Written by an anonymous author who walk across Russia growing in the Spirit of prayer with a woolen chotki (orthodox rosary).

A classic of Russian spirituality.

YELLOW - Holy Places, Pilgrimages, Pilgrims

APPENDICES; NOTES