Emily

“Truly I tell you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. For whoever humbles himself like a child, he is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 18:3–4).”
― Ignatius Brianchaninov, On the Prayer of Jesus: The Classic Guide to the Practice of Unceasing Prayer Found in The Way of a Pilgrim

“Prayer means the shedding of thoughts.”33 “The mind during prayer,” writes Ignatius, “must be carefully kept formless, rejecting all imagination . . . Images, if the mind admits them, become a curtain and a wall which separate the soul from God.”
― Ignatius Brianchaninov, On the Prayer of Jesus: The Classic Guide to the Practice of Unceasing Prayer Found in The Way of a Pilgrim

“The Great Divorce where the main character witnesses the spectacle of a heavenly parade with shining angels, saints, and animals flowing and dancing around a luminous woman who was so beautiful she was almost “unbearable” to behold. At first the observer thinks she must be Eve or Mary, the mother of Jesus. But he is told that, no, it is Sarah Smith, who lived as a suburban London housewife. In heaven, though, she is counted as one of the “great ones.” How did she get this status? Because in her ordinary life, she became mother to every young man, woman, boy, girl, dog, or cat she encountered, loving them all in a way that made them more loveable and more eager to love others.”
― C.S. Lewis, How to Be a Christian: Reflections and Essays

“Ignatius is careful to insist that the Jesus Prayer is suitable for “all the people of God without exception. . . whether monks or lay people.”4 He does not claim, however, “It is the only way,” for he believes that there are many different paths of prayer which lead to salvation, and in this connection he quotes Christ’s words, “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places” (John 14:2).5 Yet he would, I think, have said, “It is the best way.” Certainly he says (to paraphrase the whole argument of the present book), “It is an ancient way, commended in the Bible and the Fathers. It has helped many; it has helped me; it may also help you.”
― Ignatius Brianchaninov, On the Prayer of Jesus: The Classic Guide to the Practice of Unceasing Prayer Found in The Way of a Pilgrim