Prayers to Our Lord Jesus Christ & A Safeguard for the Soul

by Nicodemus the Hagiorite, George Dokos

P rayers to Our Lord Jesus Christ by our Ascetic and God-bearing Father Nikodemos the Hagiorite is a beautifully poetic work dedicated to the Name of Jesus and written, according to the Saint, with the express purpose of motivating his readers "to continuously meditate upon and repeat the salvific, most sweet, and joy-producing Name of our Lord Jesus Christ." In reality, it is an Akathist to the Name of Jesus, following the standard pattern of twenty-four stanzas arranged alphabetically according to the Greek alphabet. A Safeguard for the Soul is a small work divided up into four Meditations, brief Meditations, Examinations, and Readings. It is a very dense but practical section, and was written by the Saint with the intent that his reader would study one brief Meditation per day, hence thirty of them, one for each day of the month. It would seem that the best time for reading these Meditations would be at the very start of the day, since they immediately bring one's mind to ultimate and vital realities, thus setting the proper tone for the day at hand. A veritable Athonite "chicken soup for the soul," this is certainly not a work that falls into the contemporary category of "inspirational" that will make one "feel good," but is rather truly inspired by the Spirit of God since it is concerned with the ultimate salvation of the human person.

134 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 2010

Reviews

[George]

This book is comprised of two parts, the stanza, Prayers to Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the smaller, A Safeguard for the Soul, which consists of 30 meditations of 3 short paragraphs, and a conclusion.

I have to start off by stating I was impressed with the translation of the book. Modeled on the 24 letters of the Greek alphabet, the translator kept the alphabetical order of each stanza in English. Beginning with the Trinity, the prayers cover the events in the life of Christ.

The 30 meditation are taken form a yet unpublished in English book called Spiritual Exercises. While most of these fit on one page, they are quite dense, often focusing on death and the afterlife, and how one should strive to live their life in Christ. These are stone-cold sober meditations, and if you are interested in looking for feel good inspirational writings, one should go elsewhere.

Based on the nature of these writings, I cannot rate this book. I did find the writings very useful, and I plan on returning to these pages often. I am also hoping that Fr. Dokos, translates the Spiritual Exercises as he has translated other books by Nicodemos the Hagiorite. Ratings are an indicator of a consumerist mindset, of which I too am guilty. But these writing point to a higher reality, one of more substance than "He who dies with the most toys wins".

[Alan]

Awesome daily meditations. Really puts life into perspective.