Tag: John Climacus
St. John Climacus
After 20 Catecheses dedicated to the Apostle Paul, today I would like to return to presenting the great writers of the Church of the East and of the West in the Middle Ages. And I am proposing the figure of John known as Climacus, a Latin transliteration of the Greek termklimakos, which means of the… Read More ›
The Ladder of Divine Ascent: Is it still relevant to us?
Can the Ladder, a work written by a hermit monk who lived 1,400 years ago, say something to us today? Can the existential journey of a man who lived his entire life on Mount Sinai in such a distant time be relevant to us? At first glance it would seem that the answer must be… Read More ›
The Ladder of Divine Ascent
John Climacus became famous . . . through his work, entitled The Climax, in the West known as the Ladder of Divine Ascent (PG 88, 632-1164). Composed at the insistent request of the hegumen of the neighbouring Monastery of Raithu in Sinai, the Ladder is a complete treatise of spiritual life in which John describes the monk’s… Read More ›
Vainglory and Pride
35. One who had the gift of sight told me what he had seen. ‘Once,’ he said, ‘when I was sitting in assembly, the demon of vainglory and the demon of pride came and sat beside me, one on either side. The one poked me in the side with the finger of vain-glory and urged… Read More ›
Do not give up, but stand courageously
Let us charge into the good fight with joy and love without being afraid of our enemies. Though unseen themselves, they can look at the face of our soul, and if they see it altered by fear, they take up arms against us all the more fiercely. For the cunning creatures have observed that we… Read More ›
Hypocrisy and lies, mother and daughter
Fire is produced from stone and steel; lying comes from loquacity and gossip. And the lie destroys love. No one who has any sense would say that telling lies is not an important sin. The Holy Spirit has severely condemned it. “You destroy those that speak lies,” says David to God ( Psalm 5: 7)…. Read More ›
Repentance, baptismal renewal, daughter of hope
Nothing equals or excels God’s mercies. Therefore, he who despairs is committing suicide. A sign of true repentance is the acknowledgment that we deserve all the afflictions, visible and invisible, that come upon us, and ever greater ones. Repentance is the renewal of baptism. Repentance is a contract with God for a second life. A… Read More ›
Poison in your heart: the memory of insults
The memory of insults is the residue of anger. It keeps sins alive, hates justice, ruins virtue, poisons the heart, rots the mind, defeats concentration, paralyzes prayer, puts love at a distance, and is a nail driven into the soul. If anyone has appeased his anger, he has already suppressed the memory of insults, while… Read More ›
Light, fire and flame
Love in its nature makes a human being like God, as far as is possible for a human being. The soul is intoxicated by the effects of it. Its characteristics are a fountain of faith, an abyss of patience, an ocean of humility. Love is the complete repudiation of any unkind thought about one’s neighbor,… Read More ›
Ladder of Divine Ascent – Lenten Reading Schedule
The Ladder (from which St John received the ‘nickname” Klimakos – “ladder” in Greek) was written in response to another Abbot’s advice on promoting health spirituality in his monastery. St John’s reply proved such a thorough and clear exposition that it has become de rigueur Lenten reading in Eastern Christians monasteries all over the world. As St John’s writings are also… Read More ›