“And in praying use not vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.”
—Matthew (vi. 7, 8)
The Lord's Prayer is essential to the skete life. Within our rosaries and offices we pray a minimum of 95 times a day. For we hermits that live in the marketplace (and the marketplace is everywhere), the Lord's Prayer is truly an essential and mystical prayer.
The Lord's Prayer is essential to the skete life. Within our rosaries and offices we pray a minimum of 95 times a day. For we hermits that live in the marketplace (and the marketplace is everywhere), the Lord's Prayer is truly an essential and mystical prayer.
Today people consider the Lord's Prayer a simple prayer and say it remotely without diving into it. This is one of the reasons we developed the Lord's Prayer Rosary - to bring to highlight the Prayer's simple and profound meaning. Yet today, for many, the Lord's Prayer is quickly recited and not inwardly digested - it has been considered too simple and instead replaced with ostentatious, empty ritual, that fall short of the mystical depth and innate understanding of the simplicity. Ironically, Seraphim and I have been talking about the Leo Tolstoy’s classic, “The Three Hermits,” based on an Old Russian legend about three recluses who lived on an island and led the simplest of lives. Their faith in God that he know their needs and their only request is mercy exemplifies how authentic transformation and transcendence can only ever come from within. It tells of how far society has come away from simplicity when in 1886 the Lord's Prayer was considered somewhat complicated. (see our blog on Lord's Prayer: http://blog.nazarethhouseap.
The Hermits only prayer: “We are three, Thou art Thee; have mercy on us.” Even so, they were reputed far and wide to have performed miracles.
When the local bishop heard of their exploits he couldn’t resist sailing out to pay them a visit. And while he was there, he’d teach them more church-proper prayers than “We are three, Thou art Thee; have mercy on us.” When he arrived on the island he proceeded to teach them The Lord’s Prayer.
He spent hours on end working with the three hermits to help them memorize it, though they fumbled and faltered throughout more often than not. Finally it appeared that all three had it mastered, and the bishop felt content to take his leave, satisfied at his good deed.
As he set sail once again, he heard the hermits back on the island praying The Lord’s Prayer in unison, just as he’d taught them so well. That night he stood on the deck in the middle of the sea under the starry sky, basking in his accomplishment and thanking God for allowing him to teach such simple island dwellers the proper way to pray. As he gazed out at the water he saw coming toward the ship a blinding white light – a flock of seagulls?
No, couldn’t be seagulls out here in the middle of the night, could it? He soon grew as frightened as Peter when he saw Jesus walking on water and imagined him to be a ghost. But finally the bishop discerned the light to be the three hermits holding hands and running on the waves to catch up with him.
As they drew nearer, the bishop could hear the holy men crying out in a single voice, “We have forgotten your teaching, servant of God.” And they pleaded with him to repeat it again, just one more time. To which the amazed bishop replied with a humbled heart, “No, your old prayer works just fine. You don’t need me after all. Go your way and pray for us sinners.”
