On the Invocation of the Name of Jesus

by Lev Gillet

The invocation of the Name of Jesus is a way of prayer perhaps more familiar to Christians of the East than of the West. In the Orthodox Church it is known under the name of the "Jesus Prayer" and it is widely practiced, not only in monasteries -- for example, on Mount Sinai and Mount Athos -- but by lay people as well. The invocation of the Holy Name, however, has also been used by many generations of Western Christians. This form of prayer has a universal appeal -- to Orthodox and Romans, to Anglicans and Protestants, to all kinds of Christians of both Eastern and Western traditions.

Genres: Spirituality, Meditation, Religion, Christian

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Archimandrite Lev Gillet was an Eastern Orthodox monk who wrote mostly under the name "A monk of the Eastern Church".

Reviews

[Giovanni Del Piero · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best spiritual books I’ve ever read. Does a wonderful job of explaining the Jesus Prayer and the power of the Holy Name. It’s both theologically profound and highly practical. Anyone who is just beginning to want to learn more about this concept should start with this book.

Lev Gillet, pray for us!

[Faith Potter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a powerful book. It is full of beautiful but short meditations focusing on different facets of calling on the name of Jesus.

"Jesus appears now to us under the features of men and women. Indeed, this human form is now the only one under which everybody can, at will, at any time and in any place, see the Face of Our Lord... We should approach all men and women - in the street, the shop, the office, the factory, the bus, the queue, and especially those who seem irritating and antipathetic - with the Name of Jesus in our heart and on our lips... Adore Christ in them. Serve Christ in them... If we go through the world with this new vision, saying 'Jesus' over every man, seeing Jesus in every man, everybody will be transformed and transfigured before our eyes."

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

i am so thankful for this book. it was wisely recommended to me to read one section (typically a short paragraph) per day, and in fact i often could not digest that much. i will return to this often.

"We should find all men in the heart of Jesus and in His love. We should throw all men into His Name and enclose them therein. Long lists of inter-cessions are not necessary. We may apply the Name of Jesus to the name of this or that person who is in particular need. But all men and all just causes are already gathered together within the Name of Our Lord. Adhering to Jesus is to become one with Him in His solicitude and loving kindness for them. Adhering to Our Lord's own intercession for them is better than to plead with Him on their behalf.

Where Jesus is, there is the Church. Whoever is in Jesus is in the Church. If the invocation of the Holy Name is a means of union with Our Lord, it is, also a means of union with that Church which is in Him and which no human sin can touch. This does not mean that we are closing our eyes to the problems of the Church on earth, to the imperfections and disunity of Christians. But we only deal here with this eternal, and spiritual, and "unspotted" side of the Church which is implied in the Name of Jesus. The Church thus considered transcends all earthly reality."

[Zachary Mays · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book to be read slowly and absorbed and put into practice. I read this once several years ago, but ignoring Father Gillet's instructions, rushed through it. This second reading, done slowly per his request in the book, has reaped much more clarity and stability with the practice, which is essentially the whispered or silently repetition of the word "Jesus," the invocation of his name. This was Father Gillet's preferred form of what the Orthodox call the Jesus Prayer, though his suggestions to me seem to blend the best of both Eastern and Western contemplative practice. Whatever Father Gillet might make of this, it is a practice not dissimilar to the practice suggested in the Cloud of Unknowing, and in spirit it is a simple way to enter into what Brother Lawrence would call the practice of the presence of God. In another way, it is very much like the Hindu practice of mantra (repetition of a name of God), if only quieter, slower, and perhaps less ecstatic than what Westerns sometimes associate with that practice (fairly or unfairly). I highly recommend this book both to Christians seeking to enrich their prayer lives, and to spiritual-but-not-religious folks who still retain an affection for the figure of Jesus and who may be drawn towards a comforting Christian "mantra."

[Steven Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very inspiring meditations on the Jesus prayer, sometimes there is some theology I haven’t heard before, but otherwise very interesting. Good for a morning meditation.

Didn’t appreciate it the first time. Must read again and again.