Prayer as Communion.

        Prayer as communion is the highest level of the experience of God. The element of communion is already present in invocation and becomes more conscious in a vital relationship with God. However, when communion becomes predominant, the Christian attains to a fulness of spiritual maturity imaging “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). Interesting to note as a theological reflection is that covenental relationship with God, based on the Law and the Temple cult, defined the essence of salvation in the Old Testament, whereas incarnation and communion defined salvation in the New. The Prophet Jeremiah foresaw a time when God would make a “new covenant” in which He would write His Law in the hearts of His people (Jer. 31:31-33). The new covenant was fulfilled in Christ who embraced human nature in His incarnation and promised to dwell among and within His followers by the power of the Holy Spirit. According to the Apostle Paul, the new covenant in Christ is “written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (2 Cor. 3:3,6). These theological considerations indicate that prayer as communion reveals the most profound dimensions of the knowledge and experience of God.

        The language of communion and union predominates in the Gospel of John, especially in what is called the Farewell Discourse (Jn, chaps. 13-17). As Christ anticipated His departure from the world, He assured His disciples that, if they practice love and obedience, He will always abide in them and they in Him in a union as intimate as that of a vine and its branches (Jn 15:1-11). “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love” (Jn 15:9). And again: “If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (Jn 14:23). Christ told the disciples that the seal and perfection of this “mystical union” with Him is the resurrection experience: “Because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you” (Jn 14:19-20). The life of the Christian is a paschal festival in union with the risen Lord. We are united with Christ in many ways: faith, love, obedience, witness, and above all Holy Communion. However, the paschal experience of new creation becomes a conscious, transforming reality through prayer above all because prayer is the most direct and personal encounter with the risen Lord.

        The first to reflect theologically on prayer as communion was Origen, perhaps the greatest Christian thinker of all time. In his work On Prayer Origen conceived of the highest purpose of prayer as participation in the life of God. Prayer was neither to inform God about our material needs nor to change His providential purposes in our lives, but rather to lift up our hearts and minds to heaven in order to gaze at the divine glory and be illuminated with the radiance of God. In prayer the believer is “mingled” (anakrathenai) with the Spirit of the Lord whose glory fills heaven and earth. The praying believer is purified and changed into a new creation and the whole of life becomes “a single great prayer.” In the same line of thought Evagrios, a student of Origen, defined prayer as the highest spiritual activity which he identified as true knowledge of God. In his own work On Prayer published in The Philokalia, Evagrios has contributed to the Christian tradition the classic definition of prayer as true theology, that is knowledge of God: “If you are a theologian, you will pray truly, and if you pray truly, you are a theologian.”

        The element of communion shows that prayer is not merely a means to an end but an end in itself. Through prayer we seek not merely the gifts of God but God Himself, that is, to be with Him, live in Him, and delight in His presence. Saint Isaac the Syrian says that the primary purpose of prayer is to attain divine love. Other saints have referred to prayer as “heaven in the heart,” “inner worship,” and “worshiping in spirit and truth.” They have spoken of various depths of prayer — prayer of the mind, the heart, and ecstasy of the spirit in which one does not know whether one is in heaven or on earth. In The Way of the Pilgrim, through the life of prayer the pilgrim came to know that the “mystery of prayer is a foretaste on earth of the bliss of heaven.” Through the practice of the Jesus Prayer, the pilgrim was astonished to discover the wondrous changes occurring within him as he attained to self-acting prayer of the heart. Inexpressible peace and sweetness filled his soul. Strangers appeared to him as if they were his own brothers and sisters. His lonely hut seemed like a splendid palace. All of creation shone with the light of God’s glory. The pilgrim writes:

“When ... I prayed with my heart, everything around me seemed delightful and

marvelous. The trees, the grass, the birds, the earth, the air, the light seemed to

be telling me that they existed for man’s sake, that they witnessed to the love of

God for man, that everything proved the love of God for man, that all things

prayed to God and sang His praise.”

The sentiments of the Russian pilgrim express what the Church Fathers call the mystery of theosis. Theosis is usually translated as deification or divinization. The biblical word for it is glorification, that is, a radiant transformation by participation in the uncreated grace of God. It is the new creation taking concrete form through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and in union with the risen Christ. Saint Paul refers to it as “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” which God shines in our hearts (2 Cor. 4:6). According to Saint Paul, by gazing inwardly at this light, the Christian beholds the glory of the Lord and is changed into the likeness of Christ from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor. 3:18). Theosis is involved in the whole process of spiritual growth marked by various stages from repentance to perfection.

        Prayer is the existential, energizing context of theosis. We invoke God to connect with Him. As we develop an enduring relationship with Him through prayer, we become conscious of His personal presence and power. The goal of prayer is full mystical union and communion with God, a true image of our eternal glorification with Him which is rarely achieved on earth. The elements of prayer as invocation, relationship and communion parallel the three main stages of spiritual life: purification, illumination, and perfection. These elements, just as the stages of spiritual life, are closely related and co-exist in the dynamics of Christian existence, and yet they are also qualitatively distinct by the depth of participation in the life of God. Properly speaking, theosis involves the highest levels of prayer as communion and belongs to the final stages of spiritual growth.

        The transfiguration of Christ, when His human nature was transformed into light by the radiance of divine glory, expresses actual theosis. Christ’s transformation in glory occurred in the context of prayer. The Evangelist Luke notes that Jesus “went up to the mountain to pray. And as He was praying, the appearance of His countenance was altered, and His raiment became dazzling white” (Lk. 9:28-29). Saint Symeon the New Theologian reports in his Discourses that his first experience of theosis occurred when he devoted entire nights to fervent prayer for the forgiveness of his sins. While in prayer, and quite unexpectedly, he was granted a sublime vision. A flood of divine light filled the room and he himself seemed to have turned into light. He did not know whether he was standing in heaven or on earth.

        Another saint, Saint Elias the Presbyter in his Gnomic Anthology in the Philokalia writes that in concentrated prayer, the soul is inflamed with grace and glows like red-hot iron. In this radiant state the soul cannot be touched by the powers of the fallen world. It reaches virtual sinlessness, a state rarely achieved on earth. We must be careful in the use of these images. All these references counsel reserve in speaking easily about theosis and making any claims about it for ourselves. The saints teach us that the Christian is better off practicing humble prayer and seeking God’s guidance in daily life without yielding to thoughts of having achieved great spiritual heights, much less actual theosis.

        When Jesus descended from the transfiguration mountain, He soon encountered the reality of human weakness, including that of His disciples who were unable to heal the epileptic boy. In exasperation Jesus cried out: “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?” (Mk 9:19). A sober lesson lies here. Prayer as communion may grant us life-changing moments of illumination and the desire to be always with the Lord. Nevertheless, we cannot live continuously on the mountain top. We must return to the plains of daily life engaging the obligations of family, work and community. Christ, who was transfigured, also had to bear the Cross from which he uttered the aching words: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” (Mk 15:34)? When great injustice, evil and pain come our way, it may seem that we have been abandoned by God and that despair may be engulfing our soul. It is in such moments that we must rely on our treasured experiences of moments of true communion with God for strength and endurance. When we remain faithful no matter what happens, the darkness inevitably yields to light, because God is stronger than darkness.