Wednesday, January 15, 2025

St. Anastasios of Sinai: Can one pray without ceasing?

Question 24: What is it to pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5: 17)? For it is not possible for a person who is preoccupied with house and children, and living in the world, to pray without ceasing.

Answer: It is certainly not with reference to oral prayer that the Apostle made that remark, just as Christ said, Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of the heavens, but the person who does the will of the one who sent me (Mt 7:21). Thus, the person who continuously performs good deeds, either dedicated to works of kindness or engaged in other services, in accordance with God, this is the one who prays without ceasing. Indeed, it is possible to pray in one's heart both in bed, and out on the road, at table, in the marketplace, and in any other place.

Source: Anastasios of Sinai: Questions and Answers, translated by Joseph A. Munitiz (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols Publishers, 2011), p. 105.

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