Prayer is Communion

Elder Aimilianos of Simonopetra said, "Prayer is communion." Communion with God is the entire focus of the spiritual life, and by "spiritual life", I do not mean merely "being spiritual" or "living religiously", but rather the process of salvation. Actually, we could just drop the word "spiritual" out of that sentence and be closer to the truth: communion with God is the sole focus of life.

What is communion? All too often, the word is used only for the partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ. Yes, that is communion, and certainly the primary and most grace-filled communion available to mankind.

Communion with God is every contact with the Other. Communion is a return to our true self, that image of Christ within us. Communion is the restoration of creation, the restoration of this lump of earth to its first-created state. Communion is union with Christ. Communion is no less than partaking of the very being of God and becoming one in that being.

If that is communion, then the opening phrase is infinitely more important: prayer is communion. In the first words spoken after the Fall, we see the breaking of perfect communion with God: "Where are you?" Adam and Eve were in communion, but they have turned away.

In prayer, we return—we repent, that is, change our path back toward God. He is saying to us, in our excommunicated state, "Where are you?" Here I am, Lord. Our life is a constant return to God. We keep returning from our other-godly orientation, turn back toward our Creator, the source of life, and commune with him. That is what prayer is.

Comments

  1. KimberlyJahnFriday, March 06, 2020

    I love this post, for many reasons! Prayer is Communion, and Communication. Makes me think about how important listening is in prayer. Prayer is at least as much listening as it is responding. Prayer starts with hearing, being able to hear God, taking time to hear God's call, "Where are you?"

    Love this paragraph: "Communion with God is every contact with the Other. Communion is a return to our true self, that image of Christ within us. Communion is the restoration of creation, the restoration of this lump of earth to its first-created state. Communion is union with Christ. Communion is no less than partaking of the very being of God and becoming one in that being."

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  2. Ignatius StrangeSaturday, March 07, 2020

    Listening is important, yes. Now that I think about it, though, there is not a lot of talk (that I have heard in my limited exposure) in the Fathers to listening. I think the opposite to one-way monologue with God is not so much listening as it is silence (which is obviously very close to listening). Hesychia is the word in Greek, and is more than just silence. Hesychia is stillness. (Though not the word "hesychia") a verse pointed in the right direction is, "be still and know that I am God".

    Now, the one disclaimer with this stillness/quietness is that it is not commonly suggested to just sit in quiet during prayer. We all too easily shoot off in every other direction. And that is where the Jesus Prayer comes in. We use the easy-to-memorize, don't-have-to-think-about-it-much Jesus Prayer to keep us from drifting off into thoughts; we use the Jesus Prayer to purposefully and consciously and actively remain still before God.

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