Our Misery and Sins

At prayer today, I was thinking of my own misery and sins.  But then I was thinking about the Saints who also felt their misery and sins very deeply.  But the difference with the Saints was that they knew their need for God.  They depended on God totally because of their misery. 

Sometimes perhaps I can say that I am miserable but I can remain in my sins, not depending on God as I should to help me.  Therefore in a way, I can also say that I don't realise fully my own misery.  I know that St Faustina, St. Therese and St. Francis of Assisi and many other Saints felt acutely aware of their sins but they were also aware of Gods great and tender Mercy.  They invoked God constantly for help with their weaknesses and sins.  Their prayer life was intense and constant.  I think this is why I as a Christian can fail so much, because I depend too much on my own strength and not on Gods.  My prayer life is not always heartfelt, sincere or contrite.  By seeing my own weaknesses and humbling myself to God in Confession with everything and entrusting Him with everything, He can do more with me...without Him I cannot do what He would like me to, which ultimately is His will for my life. 

One of the ways I can realise more my own misery and my need for God, is by meditating on the Passion of Christ.  By meditating daily on the wounds of Christ I can begin to see my sins, and what they did to Jesus and how much I need Him to help me to overcome my sins.  He suffered for me, was struck because of me, was scourged because of my sins, was rejected because of my sins, had nails driven deeply into His hands and feet because of my sins, He bled for me on the cross, He forgave and He died for me......all this out of love for me.  He is my Redeemer, He overcame sin and death....and by His wounds I can be healed. 

Isaiah 53:5   But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy on me a sinner....

Lord Jesus Christ, have Mercy on me a Sinner

The Jesus Prayer (Η Προσευχή του Ιησού) is a short, formulaic prayer esteemed and advocated within the Eastern Orthodox church:

“ Κύριε Ιησού Χριστέ, Υιέ του Θεού, ελέησόν με τον αμαρτωλόν. ”

“ Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner ”

The prayer has been widely taught and discussed throughout the history of the Eastern Churches. It is often repeated continually as a part of personal ascetic practice, its use being an integral part of the eremitic tradition of prayer known as Hesychasm (Greek: ἡσυχάζω, hesychazo, "to keep stillness"). The prayer is particularly esteemed by the spiritual fathers of this tradition (see Philokalia) as a method of opening up the heart (kardia) and bringing about the Prayer of the Heart (Καρδιακή Προσευχή). The Prayer of The Heart is considered to be the Unceasing Prayer that the apostle Paul advocates in the New Testament.

The prayer's origin is most likely the Egyptian desert, which was settled by the monastic Desert Fathers in the fifth century.
The practice of repeating the prayer continually dates back to at least the fifth century. The earliest known mention is in On Spiritual Knowledge and Discrimination of St. Diadochos of Photiki (400-ca.486), a work found in the first volume of the Philokalia. The Jesus Prayer is described in Diadochos's work in terms very similar[citation needed] to St. John Cassian's (ca.360-435) description in the Conferences 9 and 10 of the repetitive use of a passage of the Psalms. St. Diadochos ties the practice of the Jesus Prayer to the purification of the soul and teaches that repetition of the prayer produces inner peace.

The use of the Jesus Prayer is recommended in the Ladder of Divine Ascent of St. John Climacus (ca.523–606) and in the work of St. Hesychios the Priest (ca. eighth century), Pros Theodoulon, found in the first volume of the Philokalia. 
Though the Jesus Prayer has been practiced through the centuries as part of the Eastern tradition, in the twentieth century it also began to be used in some Western churches, including some Roman Catholic and Anglican churches.

From  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Prayer