"It is in spirit and in mind, then, that he says that one should pray and sing to God; he does not say anything at all about the tongue. The reason is that this spiritual prayer is more interior than the tongue, more deeply interiorized than anything on the lips, more interiorized than any words or vocal song. When someone prays this kind of prayer he has sunk deeper than all speech, and he stands where spiritual beings and angels are to be found; like them, he utters ‘holy’ without any words. But if he cease from this kind of prayer and re-commence the prayer of vocal song, then he is outside the region of the angels and he becomes an ordinary man again."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_of_Apamea
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
John of Apamea
John of Apamea was a 5th-century Syriac Christian writer. His writings include "On Prayer", a treatise on silent prayer.
5 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by John of Apamea →
Related Quotes
"Do not imagine, brother, that prayer consists solely of words, or that it can be learnt by means of words. No, the tr…"
"For God is silence, and in silence is he sung by means of that psalmody which is worthy of Him. I am not speaking of …"
"Thus there is a silence of the tongue,"
"And when you recite the words of the prayer that I have written for you, be careful not just to repeat them, but let …"
"(About the Assumption of Mary) She who was conceived without spot and borne without pain, who became mother without l…"
"Of all the things to seek, the first is wisdom, in which lies the form of perfect goodness."
"Wisdom enlightens human beings so that they may recognise themselves."
"Tell me, I beg you, what – among all things – has become the one thing for you, the thing you want to embrace in a un…"
"Omnia disce. Videbis postea nihil esse superfluum. Coartata scientia iucunda non est."
"Delicatus ille est adhuc cui patria dulcis est; fortis autem iam, cui omne solum patria est; perfectus vero, cui mund…"