Jesus Prayer and the danger of pride (Fr. Dionisie)

Fr. Dionisie talks about Jesus Prayer and the danger of pride: "As hard it is to acquire the prayer of the heart, as easy it is to lose it..."

Fr. Dionisie Ignat was a renowned spiritual father who lived most of his earthly life at St. George Cell (Vatopedi Monastery), Mount Athos, Greece. He became so renowned for his spiritual discernment in the entire peninsula and even Prince Charles of Wales attended his funeral in 2004.

Fr. Dionisie:
The prayer of the heart is the best prayer, which I do not have... it is perfect, the perfection of man...
As hard it is to acquire the prayer of the heart, as easy it is to lose it...
If your mind says to you, "I have the prayer of the mind, I am not like him or her..." In that moment you lose it... Do you understand? That is a terrible fight...
The enemy of our souls fell because of pride... for us Christians, who want to be saved, the most fearful weapon of the enemy is this: a proud mind.
If you have the prayer of the heart and you are not watchful, you will lose it very easily... that is, you lose it through pride...
If your mind told you: "Yes, Glory to the Lord, I have the prayer of the mind [heart]..." This means a proud mind...
God dwells in the heart of the humble.
But about the proud one... we never heard in the holy books that a certain proud person received salvation... The proud one has pride in his soul and heart and he or she can not obey, can not pray to God with humility... and then... it is impossible to get saved...
This is the most powerful weapon of the enemy... Because the enemy knows that God wants to raise the good Christians and monks to the place from where the devil's cohort has fallen... He knows that. That's why he fights against mankind, day and night, with pride...
Because if you have a proud mind, then you can not move forward...
Therefore, because man fell because of this big sin, that is, pride, the enemy fights against the poor man from his young age, from childhood...
But man, if he really wants it, has the power to overcome this, to overcome this bad and terrible passion that prevents his salvation... with God's help and by asking God, by humility, to acquire a humble mind... he will receive it, but some effort is needed...

Видео Jesus Prayer and the danger of pride (Fr. Dionisie) канала Orthodox Teaching of the Elders