{Fr. Roman Braga} ~ on dispassion

Father, do you think that the ascetic effort associated with the Prayer of the Heart should be the same for monks and for lay people?

The first step should be the Prayer, I mean the formula. If you repeatedly recite the Jesus Prayer, the rest comes naturally. Man cannot become dispassionate without falling on his knees and asking God for this grace, because everything comes by the grace of God. Attaining dispassion is not the result of personal effort, but it comes by the grace of God; so you must fall on your knees, see yourself as a sinner, and ask for God's help. Prayer and the purification of passions happen at the same time. I think that priority must be given to prayer. It is said that there is no pure prayer without first attaining dispassion. But I say that whether pure prayer or forced prayer, prayer must be the beginning of any spiritual work.

~Fr. Roman Braga, 

On Prayer of the Heart

Excerpts from Exploring the Inner Universe

by Fr. Roman Braga

{Fr. Roman Braga} ~ the prayer of the heart

"[Interviewer] Father, you said earlier that Father Theodosius practiced hesychasm. Did you learn the Jesus Prayer from him?

No. He never talked with me about the Jesus Prayer. I learned the formula from the director of the seminary, Archimandrite Chezarie Paunescu, who later became bishop of Galatsi. Another great monk, he was a professor of Latin and Greek languages and culture. He was very stern and correct, almost legalistic. You had to execute your obligations and read your prayers even if you did not understand anything. He used to say, "Asceticism is something to be practiced. Prayer is very important even if you say it mechanically because the understanding comes later. The Holy Spirit works later in you after you are well established in your ascetic endeavors." This was his method. He told me to say the Jesus Prayer if I did not feel the presence of God. In my opinion he was a great pedagogue without being pedantic.

~ from here and here,

book it is in is here