John Climacus: The Ladder of Divine Ascent

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I. Background:

The book is appointed to be read every Lent in monasteries either aloud in Church or during meal times.

II. The author:

John Climacus lived in the desert of Sinai at the foot of Moses’ Mount. He was born in 579 and died in 649. At the age of 16 he entered the monastery. He spent 40 years living as a hermit and then was elected Abbot of the central monastery of Sinai.

III. 3 forms of monastic life:

A.) Cenobium (living-together) A brotherhood living together, sharing meals and under the direction of an Abbot.

B.) Hermits living a solitary life in the desert

C.) A middle way, isolation and community

IV. The audience: The book is written to cenobitic monks.

V. The 30 steps (each for a year in the life of Christ before he began his ministry)

"Of all created and rational beings, endowed with the dignity of free will, some are friends of God, some are His true servants, some are useless servants, some are entirely estranged, and there are some who, for all their weakness, take their stand against him. . . His friends . . . are those intelligent and bodiless beings that surround Him. His true servants are all those who have done and are doing His will without hesitation or pause. His useless servants are those who think of themselves as having been worthy of the gift of baptism, but have not at all guarded their covenant with Him; while it seems the strangers from, His opponents, are the unbelievers or heretics." (John: step 1, p. 73)

I. Break with the world (Steps 1-3)

1. Renunciation

"But to secure a rocklike foundation, those with a mind for the religious life will turn away from everything, will despise everything, will ridicule everything, will shake off everything. Innocence, abstinence, temperance - these make a fine thrice-firm foundation." (John, p.76)

Q. What should be our motivation for fleeing from the world?

a.) Fear of judgment b.) In hopes of a reward? C.) For the love of God

2. Detachment

"No one can enter crowned into the heavenly chambers without first making three renunciations.

a.) To turn away from worldly concerns, from men, from family

b.) Cut selfishness away

c.) Reject the vanity that follows obedience. "Go out from them. Do not touch the uncleanness of this age" (2Cor. 6:17) (John p.83)

Q. Define turning away from worldly concerns -Cutting selfishness away - spiritual pride

3. Exile

"Exile is a separation from everything, in order that one may hold on totally to God. . . Exile is a disciplined heart, unheralded wisdom, a hidden life . . . unseen meditation, the striving to be humble, a wish for poverty, the longing for what is divine." (John, p. 85)

Q. Define "separation from everything"

II. The Active life – Steps 4-7 the four fundamental virtues

4. Obedience

"As flower comes before every fruit, so exile of body or will precedes all obedience . . . obedience is a total renunciation of our won life, and it shows up clearly in the way we act. . . .Obedience is the burial place of the will and the resurrection of our lowliness." (John, p. 91-91)

The fruit of confession: (pages, 93-93)

"Confession is like a bridle that keeps the soul which reflects upon it from committing sin, but anything left un-confessed we continue to do without fear as if in the dark." (John, p. 107)

"Lay bare your wound to the healer. Only through shame can you be freed from shame. Tell him and do not be ashamed: "This is my wound, Father, this is my injury. It happened because of my negligence and not from any other cause." (John, p. 108)

"We ought to be on our guard, in case our conscience has stopped troubling us, not so much because of its being clear but because of its being immersed in sin." (John, p. 130) "

. . the sins committed after baptism are washed away by tears. The baptism received as children we have all defiled, but we cleanse it anew with our tears." (John, p. 136)

5. Penitence

"Repentance is the renewal of baptism and is a contract with God for a fresh start in life. Repentance goes shopping for humility and is ever distrustful of bodily comfort. Repentance is critical awareness and a sure watch over oneself. Repentance is reconciliation with the Lord by the performance of good deeds which are the opposites of the sins." (John , p. 121)

"A proof of our having being delivered from our failings is the unceasing acknowledgment of our indebtedness."

Q. How does one mourn over sins?

6. Remembrance of death

"To be reminded of death each day is to die each day; If your remembrance of death is clear and specific, you will cut down on your eating; and if, in your humility, you reduce the amount you eat, your passions we be correspondingly reduced. " (John, p. 132)

7. Sorrow

"Mourning which is according to God, is a melancholy of the soul, a disposition of an anguished heart that passionately seeks what it thirsts for, and when it fails to attain it, pursues it diligently and follows behind it lamenting bitterly" (John, p. 136)

"Those making progress in blessed mourning are usually temperate and un-talkative. . . they do not become angry and do not bear grudges. . . they are inordinately compassionate." (John, p. 136)

III. The Passions and their contrasting Virtues:  Steps 8-26

A.) Non-physical Passions: 8-13

8. Anger

9. Malice

10. Slander

11. Talkativeness

12. Falsehood

13. Despondency

B.) Physical and Material Passions: 14-17

14. Gluttony

15. Lust

16-17. Avarice (greed, selfishness)

C.) Non-physical Passions: 18-23

18-20. Insensitivity

21. Fear

22. Vainglory (conceit, vanity)

23. Pride (also blasphemy)

IV.  Higher virtues of the active life: 24-26

24. Simplicity

25. Humility

26. Discernment

V. Union with God (Transition to the contemplative life) – 27-30

27. Stillness

28. Prayer

29. Dispassion

30. Love