Knowing or understanding the history of a prayer, the meaning and purpose of a prayer, as well as its theological foundation (in this case the Psalter of Our Lord) is good and necessary. They will help us realize how this prayer can enrich and strengthen our Christian faith. But what is far more important than all that is how to practice this prayer, and truly make it aa a source of spiritual strength for our lives as followers of Christ. For this reason, in this section we will discuss how to practice the Psalter of Our Lord.

The core part of the Psalter of Our Lord consists of two simple prayers, and 15 reflections on Our Lord's passion. Meanwhile, we will ignore the meditational part of the Lord's passion temporarily and discuss the prayer part first.

The first prayer of the Psalter of Our Lord is taken from the Jesus Prayer, which is a short prayer taught by the Lord Jesus in the parable of the excise collector's prayer (Luk. 18:13) and also the cry of the blind man (Luk.18:38):

"Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner"

The second prayer is Peter's answer to the question Our Lord asked him three times in succession (Jn .21:15-17):

"Lord Jesus Christ, I love Thee"

These two prayers are said slowly and silently in the heart. The first prayer is said 10 times in a row, then it is continued with the second prayer. After that return to the first prayer, and so on. In order to help silence and concentration in prayer, the two prayers are recited in sync with the breath.

For the first prayer, while inhaling slowly say:

"Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God...."

While exhaling slowly say:

"...have mercy on me a sinner."

If we use the video guide, we can also synchronize our prayers with the songs in the video:

When we hear the chant, "Lord Jesus Christ..." we take a breath and say, "Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God..."

When we hear the chant, "... have mercy on me" we exhale and say, "..have mercy on me, a sinner."

For the second prayer, as you inhale say:

"Lord Jesus Christ...."

As you exhale say:

"...I love Thee."

Keep in mind carefully, breath regulation here only serves to help achieve silence and concentration in prayer. When the silence and concentration have been obtained, then the breath regulation does not need to be considered anymore and then we only focus on the prayers that are said. So the function of regulating the breath in the Psalms of Jesus is only a tool to help us concentrate and achieve silence, nothing more. The focus is on the prayers we say..

Those were the basic principles of how to practice these two main prayers from the Psalter of Our Lord. In the Rosary, the Our Father and the 10 Hail Marys repeated serve as a framework while the 15 meditations of Our Lord's mysteries which divided into 3 parts are the centerpiece. Likewise with the Psalter of Our Lord, the two main prayers serve as a framework, while the 15 meditations on the Lord's passion are the core of the Psalter of Jesus.

Following are the fifteen reflections on God's passion in the Psalter of Our Lord:

1. The Lord Jesus prays to His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane.

2. The Lord Jesus was betrayed by Judas.

3. The Lord Jesus is confronted by the High Priest.

4. Peter denied the Lord three times.

5. The Lord Jesus before Pilate's trial

6. The Lord Jesus was crowned with thorns.

7. The Lord Jesus carry His cross.

8. The Lord Jesus was crucified.

9. The Lord Jesus saves a criminal who believe in Him.

10. The Lord Jesus meets His mother and John.

11. The Lord Jesus was abandoned by His Father.

12. The Lord Jesus felt thirsty.

13. The Lord Jesus died on the cross.

14. The side of the Lord Jesus was pierced by a spear.

15. The Lord Jesus is buried.

Each meditation is done by imagining the moment of the Lord's passion which is the topic of meditation, as if we saw or were present at the event. If we use the video guide, at each meditation we will be guided through the reading of the narrative of the Lord's passion taken from the Bible. If we don't use the video guide, we can do the  meditation by imagining every moment that becomes the topic of meditation.

Furthermore, the main part of the Psalter of Our Lord, which is a combination of meditations on the Lord's passion and the two main prayers, is practiced in this way:

Reflection on the Lord's passion #1

Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner" 10 times.

Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, I love Thee"

Reflection on the Lord's passion #2

Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner" 10 times.

Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, I love Thee"

Reflection on the Lord's passion #3.... and so on until the fifteenth meditation, then ends with the first prayer 10 times and the second prayer.

In addition to the core part of the Psalter of Our Lord, there are also opening and closing prayers. The opening prayer is the Our Father followed by three Hail Marys. Meanwhile the closing prayer is the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, followed by a short exorcism in the Name of Jesus (Phil.2:10), then ends with a short litany.

That is the whole of the Psalms of Jesus Prayer.

If the opening and closing sections are added to the main section, then the complete sequence of the Psalter of Our Lord is as follows:

Our Father

Hail Mary Prayer (3x)

The main part of the Psalms of Jesus Prayer (i.e. meditation on the mystery of the Lord's passion, the first prayer, the second prayer, and so on)

Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel

Short exorcism in the Name of Jesus (Phil. 2:10)

Short litany

Finished.

For convenience, you can immediately practice this prayer by following the video guide to the Psalms of Jesus available on the Crusader Network channel.

Two Versions of the Psalter of Our Lord

The practice of the Psalter of Our Lord that we discussed earlier is the regular or ordinary version of the Psalter of Our Lord. This is the practice of the Psalter of Our Lord that we should practice every day, either with the help of a video guide, or without the help of a video guide if we memorize the sequence of meditations on the Lord's passion.

But there are times when we can't use the video guide and also don't memorize the sequence of meditations of the passion. In such circumstances we can practice a simplified version of the Psalter of Our Lord.

The method is almost the same as the usual Psalter of Our Lord, but for the meditations of Lord's passion we change it to a simple meditation by looking in our minds or contemplating the moment of the Lord's crucifixion for a few moments. But what must be remembered, if there are no significant obstacles, the regular version of the Psalter of Our Lord is still better to do than this simple version.

Komboskini As A Prayer Tool

As a prayer tool, we use the komboskini, very similar to what Eastern Christians use in practicing the Jesus Prayer. Very similar but not the same, because the komboskini used in the Jesus Prayer is usually not divided into decade groups because only one prayer that is repeated. While the komboskini used in the Psalter of Jesus is divided into decade groups, each of which is separated by a knot, similar to a rosary beads because there are two prayers used in repetition.

There is a long komboskini which has 150+15 knots. This long komboskini is usually used to pray at home or in a special prayer room. There are also short komboskini with 30+3 knots. This short komboskini is very practical, it can be used anywhere, including when traveling. The short komboskini is also more popular, mainly due to its very symbolic number of knots, namely 33 knots. This number reminds us of the number of years our Lord was incarnate on earth, so it is very suitable for use in the Psalter of Jesus.

If there is no special komboskini for the Psalms of Jesus, we can also use other tools that already exist, such as rosary beads. Or if there are no rosary beads, we can use the help of our fingers.


The Psalter of Our Lord And Pray All The Time

One of the interesting and valuable lessons from the book "The Way of a Pilgrim" is about how the author applies the Apostle Paul's advice to pray all the time (Eph.6 :18) by practicing the Jesus Prayer without ceasing along the way. With the help of the komboskini, he silently recited the Jesus Prayer in his heart while walking or doing simple work.

This way of praying turns out to bring extraordinary spiritual blessings. The writer felt Lord's presence accompanying him throughout his journey every time he uttered the Name of Jesus in his prayers.

We can also practice the Psalter of Our Lord in the same way, by reciting them silently in our heart without ceasing while we are waiting for something, or doing light works that don't require special attention. In practicing the Psalter of Jesus in this way we don't need to be bound by the number of repetitions of 150 times, it can be less or more according to the time available and the existing conditions. Just as the Rosary when practiced in this way, we are also not bound by counting 50 or 150 Hail Marys. 

In faith we may believe that the extraordinary spiritual blessings that the author of "The Way of a Pilgrim" obtained from the Jesus Prayer which he practiced along the way, we can also get from the Psalter of Our Lord through this way of praying.


Prayer Psalms Of Jesus For Non-Catholics

Because the Psalter of Jesus Prayer is a synthesis or combination of prayers from two different Christian traditions, this prayer has great potential to be a means of building a spirit of Christian unity. But the question is, how can non-Catholic Christians practice this prayer if there are prayers in it that they are not familiar with?

The Hail Mary, Prayer to the Archangel Saint Michael, is probably unknown to Orthodox and Protestant people. As for the litanies to the saints, the Orthodox recognize them but the Protestants do not. Even though those prayers are not the main part, these three prayers also cannot be separated from the Psalter of Our Lord. The importance of these three prayers in the Psalter of Our Lord will be explained at another time in order to keep the contents of this book or video series concise.

However, these problems need not be an obstacle for non-Catholics to practice the Psalter of Our Lord. For the time being, so as not to become a stumbling block for non-Catholics, these three prayers can be skipped or replaced by other prayers according to their custom. But over time, it was gradually necessary to include these three prayers in the Psalter of Our Lord. In this way the Psalter of Our Lord will be practiced equally for all Christians, whether Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant.

The potential of the Psalter of Our Lord as a means to build unity will be greatly reduced or even in vain if in the end this prayer is practiced differently by each Christian group.