“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” St Josaphat Kuncewicz (1584-1623)

This was a favorite prayer of St. Josaphat. It originated during the Desert Fathers’ period of the third century. It is biblically based. The prayer contains the words of the Tax collector in the Temple and the prayer of the blind man, asking to be healed. The short prayer is a proclamation of faith in the person of Jesus as Lord, Christ and Son of God. At the same time, it is an admission of one’s sinfulness and need of God’s mercy. As a short ejaculation, it praises God for who he is and petitions God for his grace of mercy.  Like any other prayer, it is not magical. But prayed sincerely, it is effective, especially in times of temptations.