Excerpts from St. John of the Ladder on Illness

Christ healing the paralytic (source)

  

"When we see one of our athletes in Christ in bodily suffering and infirmity, let us not maliciously seek to learn the explanation of his illness, but rather with simple and genuine love let us try to heal him as though he were part of our own body, and as a fellow warrior wounded in the fray.

"Sickness is sometimes for the cleansing of sins, and sometimes to humble our mind.

"All that happens to us, seen or unseen, can be taken by us in a good or a passionate or some middle disposition. I saw three brethren punished: one was angry, one suppressed his grief, but the third reaped the fruit of great joy."
-St. John of the Ladder

(source)
  

St. John Climacus (source)

  

Through the prayers of your Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!

St. John of the Ladder's advice for those living in the world

St. John writing his Ladder of Divine Ascent (source)

  
Some people living carelessly in the world have asked me: ‘We have wives and are beset with social cares, and how can we lead the solitary life?’ I replied to them: ‘Do all the good you can; do not speak evil of anyone; do not steal from anyone; do not lie to anyone; do not be arrogant towards anyone; do not hate any one; be sure you go to church; be compassionate to the needy; do not offend anyone; do not wreck another man’s domestic happiness; and be content with what your own wives can give you. If you behave in this way you will not be far from the Kingdom of Heaven.’
-St. John Klimakos, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step I
(source)
  

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!

St. John Climacus: "There is a time for everything under heaven..."

Jesus Christ, the Pantocrator ("Ruler over all") (source)

  
“If there is a time for everything under heaven, as Ecclesiastes says, and by the word ‘everything’ must be understood what concerns our holy life, then if you please, let us look into it and let us seek to do at each time what is proper for that occasion. For it is certain that, for those who enter the lists, there is a time for dispassion and a time for passion (I say this for the combatants who are serving their apprenticeship); there is a time for tears, and a time for hardness of heart; there is a time for obedience, and there is a time to command; there is a time to fast, and a time to partake; there is a time for battle with our enemy the body, and a time when the fire is dead; a time of storm in the soul, and a time of calm in the mind; a time for heartfelt sorrow, and a time for spiritual joy; a time for teaching, and a time for listening; a time of pollutions, perhaps on account of conceit, and a time for cleansing by humility; a time for struggle, and a time for safe relaxation; a time for stillness, and a time for undistracted distraction; a time for unceasing prayer, and a time for sincere service. So let us not be deceived by proud zeal, and seek prematurely what will come in its own good time; that is, we should not seek in winter what comes in summer, or at seed time what comes at harvest; because there is a time to sow labours, and a time to reap the unspeakable gifts of grace. Otherwise, we shall not receive even in season what is proper to that season”
-St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent (Step 26, Section 87)
  
(source)
  

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!

St. John Klimakos (of the Ladder) on Joy-making Mourning

St. John Klimakos (of the Ladder), Abbot of Mount Sinai (source)

  
St. John Klimakos (of the Ladder) on Joy-making Mourning*
"He who is clothed in blessed and grace-filled mourning as in a wedding garment knows the spiritual laughter of the soul."

"My friends, God does not ask or desire that man should mourn from sorrow of heart, but rather that, out of love for Him, he should rejoice with spiritual laughter.  Remove the sin, and the tear of sorrow is superfluous for your eyes.  What is the use of a bandage when there is no wound?  Before his transgression, Adam had no tears, just as there will be none after the resurrection, when sin will be abolished; for pain, sorrow and sighting will then have fled away."
 
"When our soul leaves this world we shall not be blamed for not having worked miracles, or for not having been theologians, or not having been rapt in divine visions.  But we shall certainly have to give an account to God of why we have not unceasingly mourned.**"
(source)
  
*Note: The English translation "Joy-making Mourning" is the rendering of the single Greek word "Harmolype", which is a beautiful and profound description of true Christian repentance.
  
**Note: The Ladder of Divine Ascent of course was written for a primarily monastic audience, but the advice and passions and virtues described are common and applicable to both married and monastic alike. See this article for more details.
  

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!

"By the Waters of Babylon: The Great Fast, Our Exile" by Fr. Seraphim Rose

The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise (source)

  

By the Waters of Babylon The Great Fast, Our Exile

by Fr.Seraphim Rose (+1982)

March 1965

This weekend, at the Sunday Vigil of the Prodigal Son, we will sing Psalm 135.1  
"By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion".  
In these words of the Lenten psalm, we Orthodox Christians, the New Israel, remember that we are in exile. For Orthodox Russians, banished from Holy Russia,2 the Psalm has a special meaning; but all Orthodox Christians, too, live in exile in this world, longing to return to our true home, Heaven.  
For us the Great Fast is a session of exile ordained for us by our Mother, the Church, to keep fresh in us the memory of Zion from which we have wandered so far. We have deserved our exile and we have great need of it because of our great sinfulness. Only through the chastisement of exile, which we remember in the fasting, prayer and repentance of this season,

Do we remain mindful of our Zion?  
"If I forget thee, O Jerusalem..."
   

Mosaic from Ormylia Monastery: Adam and Eve eating from the tree in Paradise causing the fall, and  the Good Thief, through the Tree of the Cross, re-entering Paradise (source)

  
Weak and forgetful, even in the midst of the Great Fast we live as though Jerusalem did not exist for us. We fall in love with the world, our Babylon; we are seduced by the frivolous pastimes of this "strange land" and neglect the services and discipline of the Church whi(souch remind us of our true home. Worse yet, we love our very captors - for our sins hold us captive more surely than any human master - and in their service we pass in idleness the precious days of Lent when we should be preparing to meet the Rising Sun of the New Jerusalem, the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  
There is still time; we must remember our true home and weep over the sins which have exiled us from it. Let us take to heart the words of St. John of the Ladder: "Exile is separation from everything in order to keep the mind inseparable from God. An exile loves and produces continual weeping."
  
Exiled from Paradise, we must become exiled from the world if we hope to return.  
This we may do by spending these days in fasting, prayer, separation from the world, attendance at the services of the Church, in tears of repentance, in preparation for the joyful Feast that is to end this time of exile; and by bearing witness to all in this "strange land" of our remembrance of that even greater Feast that shall be when our Lord returns to take His people to the New Jerusalem, from which there shall be no more exile, for it is eternal.
(source)

Icon depicting the Holy Prophet David and Psalm 135 "By the Waters of Babylon" (source)

   
For a fuller commentary on this most beautiful Psalm and fitting hymn for Triodion, see the following talk by Fr. Thomas Hopko.
   

A beautiful video compiled by Fr. Seraphim from Mull Monastery with a recording of the famous Byzantine Chant version of "By the Waters of Babylon" in English, coupled with beautiful footage of the waters and countryside (source)

   

"Theology will not suit mourners, for it is of a nature to dissolve their mourning. For the theologian is like one who sits in a teacher’s seat, whereas the mourner is like one who spends his days on a dung heap and in rags. That is why David, so I think, although he was a teacher and was wise, replied to those who questioned him when he was mourning: ‘How shall I sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?‘ —that is to say, the land of passions."
-St. John of the Ladder
(source)

The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise (source)

  

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!

Gladdening Sorrow

The Ladder of Divine Ascent (source)

   

Keep a firm hold of the blessed gladdening sorrow of holy compunction, and do not stop working at it until it raises you high above the things of this world, and presents you pure to Christ.

-St. John of the Ladder

(source)

   

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!

Nun Mary Magdalene (+2014)

Nun Mary Magdalene (+2014) (source)

   

Nun Mary Magdalene reposed in the Lord. She was a rich woman from France, who spoke with St. Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia without her knowing English, nor his knowing Greek!

She experienced the miracle!

She left for the desert. She lived in asceticism near the Monastery of St. Catherine, near the ascetical place on Sinai where St. John Klimakos (of the Ladder) lived in asceticism, and where she built a small chapel in his honor.

May we have her blessing! May she have a blessed Paradise.

(source)

   

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!

St. John Klimakos (of the Ladder), the Abbot of Mount Sinai

St. John Klimakos (of the Ladder), the Abbot of Mount Sinai - Commemorated March 30 and the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent (source)

   

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

John Klimakos (Climacus) is the author of "The Ladder of Divine Ascent."

John came to Mt. Sinai as a sixteen year old youth and remained there, first as a novice under obedience, and afterwards as a recluse, and finally as abbot of Sinai until his eightieth year. He died around the year 563 A.D.

His biographer, the monk Daniel, says about him: "His body ascended the heights of Sinai, while his soul ascended the heights of heaven." He remained under obedience with his spiritual father, Martyrius, for nineteen years. Anastasius of Sinai, seeing the young John, prophesied that he would become the abbot of Sinai. After the death of his spiritual father, John withdrew into a cave [at Thola], where he lived a difficult life of asceticism for [forty] years.

St. John of the Ladder (source)

   

His disciple, Moses, fell asleep one day under the shade of a large stone. John, in prayer in his cell, saw that his disciple was in danger and prayed to God for him. Later on, when Moses returned, he fell on his knees and gave thanks to his spiritual father for saving him from certain death. He related how, in a dream, he heard John calling him and he jumped up and, at that moment, the stone tumbled. Had he not jumped, the stone would have crushed him.

At the insistence of the brotherhood, John agreed to become abbot and directed the salvation of the souls of men with zeal and love. From someone John heard a reproach that he talked too much. Not being angered by this, John however remained silent for an entire year and did not utter a word until the brothers implored him to speak and to continue to teach them his God-given wisdom.
   

St. John Klimakos (source)

   

On one occasion, when six-hundred pilgrims came to the Monastery of Sinai, everyone saw an agile youth in Jewish attire serving at a table and giving orders to other servants and assigning them. All at once, this young man disappeared. When everyone noticed this and began to question it, John said to them, "Do not seek him, for that was Moses the Prophet serving in my place."

During the time of his silence in the cave, John wrote many worthwhile books, of which the most glorious is "The Ladder". This book is still read by many, even today. In this book, John describes the method of elevating the soul to God, as ascending a ladder.
  

The Ladder of Divine Ascent by St. John of Sinai (source)

  

Before his death, John designated George, his brother in the flesh, as abbot. George grieved much because of his separation from John. Then John said to him, that, if he [John] were found worthy to be near God in the other world, he would pray to Him, that, he, [George], would be taken to heaven that same year. And, so it was. After ten months George succeeded and settled among the citizens of heaven as did his great brother, John.

 (source)

   

"Ascend, brothers, ascend eagerly, and be resolved in your hearts to ascend and hear him who says: Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of our God, who makes our feet like hind's feet, and sets us upon high places, that we might be victors with His song."

- St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, 30.36.

   

Iconographic depiction of The Ladder of Divine Ascent, written by St. John of the Ladder (source)

   

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone

With the rivers of your tears, you have made the barren desert fertile. Through sighs of sorrow from deep within you, your labors have borne fruit a hundred-fold. By your miracles you have become a light, shining upon the world. O John, our Holy Father, pray to Christ our God, to save our souls.

Kontakion in the First Tone

As ever-blooming fruits, thou dost offer the teachings of thy God-given book, O wise John, thou most blessed, while sweet'ning the hearts of all them that heed it with vigilance; for it is a ladder from the earth unto Heaven that conferreth glory on the souls that ascend it and honour thee faithfully.

 (source)

   

The Ladder of Divine Ascent (source)

   

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!

"That which we are doing is higher than chanting"

Christ is risen! Truly He is risen!

Christ praying in the Garden of Gethsemane (http://www.artlib.ru/objects/gallery_574/artlib_gallery-287028-o.jpg)

  

Note: The purpose of this anecdote is to encourage both monastics and laymen to pursue noetic prayer. Though some might feel that this demeans psalmody/chanting and the liturgical worship of the Orthodox Church, this is not so. The Fathers throughout history have been both hymnographers and chanters, and feel that this is the most appropriate form of common worship that is pleasing to God, and that there is a time and place for every form of true worship. However, the Fathers have always acknowledged that true prayer of the heart surpassess all, as St. John of the Ladder writes: "Men, whose mind has truly learned to pray, indeed converse with the Lord face to face, as those who have the ear of the king (that is his most close and trusted servants.)”
(http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/view/unceasing-prayer-bibilography-and-notes)
  
"That which we are doing is higher than chanting" (amateur translation)

An ascetic on the Holy Mountain once sent his disciple to sell his handiwork in Karyes. There, the disciple heard the most beautiful chanting, in the Church of the Protaton.

One day, he asked his Elder: “Elder, I have a thought. We here in the desert are not doing anything. You should see how they hymn God there: psalmody, choirs, and other things. Here we only pray with the prayer rope: “Lord Jesus Christ...”

Another day, the Elder came to him and said: “Let's go, my child, to see what those fathers are doing. Let's experience their typikon ourselves.”

And when they were there in church, the Elder bent down and whispered into his disciple's ear: “Truly, my child, here they are glorifying God.”

But before he could finish, a strong earthquake hit; everything was shaking.

Then, immediately, the chanters left their music books and the “terirems”, and pulled out their prayer ropes, crying out: “LORD JESUS CHRIST, SON OF GOD, HAVE MERCY ON US!!!”

The disciple turned to his Elder and said: “Elder, let's go to our work, to our hesychia, to our kalyve. That which we are doing is higher than chanting.”

Thus he was truly convinced that the best prayer is the prayer with the prayer rope.

(http://agioritikovima.gr/ΠΕΡΙ-ΖΩΗΣ/6225-proeuchi-me-to-kompochoini-i-chorοnties-kai-terirem)
  

Christ is risen from the dead, by death trampling down upon death, and to those in the tombs, bestowing life!

Truly the Lord is risen!

Additional Quotes of the Fathers on Humility

The Publican and the Pharisee (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDKwADXgj8wdq9w-a7OmyCg0UygsZQUUZU0TWWFYcFZ5W_p2RsAIW21xptmWU3q-bWx0ozIPwLYgeThVdjoh-IgrpBK6kZvqI9y4c-ixpqFLKV42zmq6iW3b8KGPh2McOznloOrZJ86ynd/s1600/publican+pharisee+main.jpg)

  
Additional Quotes of the Fathers on Humility

An [Elder] was asked, "What is humility?" and he said in reply, "Humility is a great work, and a work of God. The way of humility is to undertake bodily labour and believe yourself a sinner and make yourself subject to all." Then a brother said, "What does it mean, to be subject to all?" The [Elder] answered, "To be subject to all is not to give your attention to the sins of others but always to give your attention to your own sins and to pray without ceasing to God."

An [Elder] said, "Every time a thought of superiority or vanity moves you, examine your conscience to see if you have kept all the commandments, whether you love your enemies, whether you consider yourself to be an unprofitable servant and the greatest sinner of all. Even so, do not pretend to great ideas as though you were perfectly right, for that thought destroys everything."

As Abba Macarius was returning to his cell from the marsh carrying palm-leaves, the devil met him with a sharp sickle and would have struck him but he could not. He cried out, "Great is the violence I suffer from you, Macarius, for when I want to hurt you, I cannot. But whatever you do, I do and more also. You fast now and then, but I am never refreshed by any food; you often keep vigil, but I never fall asleep. Only in one thing are you better than I am and I acknowledge that." Macarius said to him, "What is that?" and he replied, "It is because of your humility alone that I cannot overcome you."

The [Elders] used to say, "When we do not experience warfare, we ought so much the more to humiliate ourselves. For God seeing our weakness, protects us; when we glorify ourselves, he withdraws his protection and we are lost."

(http://dialogues.stjohndfw.info/2009/03/the-egypts-desert-fathers-humility/)

"...true humility does not say humble words, nor does it assume humble looks, it does not force oneself either to think humbly of oneself, or to abuse oneself in self-belittlement. Although all such things are the beginning, the manifestations and the various aspects of humility, humility itself is grace, given from above. There are two kinds of humility, as the holy fathers teach: to deem oneself the lowest of all beings and to ascribe to God all one's good actions. The first is the beginning, the second the end."

St. Gregory of Sinai

(Texts on Commandments and Dogmas no. 115)

"...we have never achieved anything good on our own, but all good things are ours from God by grace, and come as it were from nothingness into being. For 'what do you have which you did not receive?' asks St. Paul - receive, that is, freely from God; 'and if you received it, why do you boast as if you had not received it' (I Cor. 4:7), but had achieved it by yourself? Yet by yourself you cannot achieve anything, for the Lord has said: 'Without Me, you can do nothing' (John 15:5)."

St. Peter of Damascus

(Book 1: A Treasury of Divine Knowledge, The Philokalia Vol. 3 pg. 176)

"A characteristic of those who are still progressing in blessed mourning is temperance and silence of the lips; and of those who have made progress – freedom from anger and patient endurance of injuries; and of the perfect – humility, thirst for dishonors, voluntary craving for involuntary afflictions, non- condemnation of sinners, compassion even beyond one’s strength. The first are acceptable, the second laudable; but blessed are those who hunger for hardship and thirst for dishonor, for they shall be filled with the food whereof there can be no satiety."

St. John Climacus

“The Ladder of Divine Ascent,” (Boston: Holy Transfiguration Monastery, 1978), Step 7: On Joy-Making Mourning

"A man who is truly humble is not troubled when he is wronged and he says nothing to justify himself against the injustice, but he accepts slander as truth; he does not attempt to persuade men that he is calumniated, but he begs forgiveness."

St. Isaac the Syrian - The Ascetical Homilies

"A person who suffers bitterly when slighted or insulted should recognize from this that he still harbors the ancient serpent in his breast. If he quietly endures the insult or responds with great humility, he weakens the serpent and lessens its hold. But if he replies acrimoniously or brazenly, he gives it strength to pour its venom into his heart and to feed mercilessly on his guts. In this way the serpent becomes increasingly powerful; it destroys his soul's strength and his attempts to set himself right, compelling him to live for sin and to be completely dead to righteousness."

St. Symeon the New Theologian

(Practical and Theological Texts no. 31)

"Abba John [the Dwarf] said, "Who sold Joseph" A brother replied saying, "It was his brethren." The old man said to him, "No, it was his humility which sold him, because he could have said, "I am their brother" and have objected, but, because he kept silence, he sold himself by his humility. It is also his humility which set him up as chief in Egypt."

The Desert Fathers

"Abba Poemen said, "As the breath which comes out of his nostrils, so does a man need humility and the fear of God."

The Desert Fathers

"An angel fell from heaven without any other passion except pride, and so we may ask whether it is possible to ascend to Heaven by humility alone, without any other of the virtues."

St. John Climacus

"The Ladder of Divine Ascent," (Boston: Holy Transfiguration Monastery, 1978),STEP 23: On Mad Pride, and, in the Same Step, on Unclean Blasphemous Thoughts

"At the Last Judgment the righteous will be recognized only by their humility and their considering themselves worthless, and not by good deeds, even if they have done them. This is the true attitude."

St. Peter of Damascus

"Behold, this is the true and the Christian humility. In this you will be able to achieve victory over every vice, by attributing to God rather than to yourself the fact that you have won."

St. John of the Ladder

"Consider well, brethren, how great is the power of humility. Consider how great is the spiritual energy behind saying, `Pardon me.' Why is the devil called not only `enemy,' but also `adversary'? He is called `enemy' because he is a hater of man, one who hates what is good, a traitor; and `adversary,' because he always puts obstacles in the way of good. If someone wants to pray he puts obstacles in the way through evil suspicions, shameful thoughts, and spiritual torpor. If a man wants to give alms he obstructs it through avarice or procrastination. If a man wants to keep vigil he obstructs it with hesitations or laziness. In every single thing he is against us when we desire to do good. This is why he is called the enemy and the adversary and why, by lowliness, all his attacks and devices are brought to nothing."

St. Dorotheos of Gaza - Discourses and Sayings

"Extirpate two thoughts within thyself: do not consider thyself worthy of anything great, and do not think that any other man is much lower than thou in worthiness. Learn humblemindedness beforehand, which the Lord commanded in word and showed forth in deed. Hence, do not expect obedience from others, but be ready for obedience thyself."

St. Basil the Great

"For this reason the Lord calls blessed those who are opposed to worldly possessions, saying: `Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' Why to the words, `Blessed are the poor,' does He add, `in spirit'? So that by this would be shown that He considers blessedness to be the humility of the soul. Why did He not say, blessed are the poor-spirited - and thus would be demonstrated the humility of thinking - but rather He says, `poor in spirit'? By this He wants to teach us that bodily poverty is also a blessedness, in that through this one can receive the kingdom of heaven, when it is done for the sake of the humility of the soul. This is the case when bodily poverty is united with the humility of the soul and when it is for the person the principle of the humility of the soul. Having called blessed `those poor in spirit,' He demonstrated in a wonderful way what are the root and cause of the visible poverty of the saints - that is, their spirit."

St. Gregory Palamas - Treatise on the Spiritual Life

"God descends to the humble as waters flow down from the hills into the valleys."

St. John of Kronstadt

"What made our Lord Jesus Christ lay aside his garments, gird himself with a towel, and, pouring water into a basin, begin to wash the feet of those who were below Him (John 13:4, etc.), if not to teach us humility? For it was humility He showed us by example of what He then did. And indeed those who want to be accepted into the foremost rank cannot achieve this otherwise than through humility; for in the beginning the thing that caused downfall from heaven was a movement of pride. So, if a man lacks extreme humility, if he is not humble with all his heart, all his mind, all his spirit, all his soul and body - he will not inherit the kingdom of God."

St Anthony the Great

"Early Fathers From the Philokalia," by E. Kadloubovsky and G.E.H. Palmer, (London: Faber and Faber, 1954), pp. 45-46

"Let all who are led by the spirit of God enter with us into this spiritual and wise assembly, holding in their spiritual hands the God-inscribed tablets of knowledge. We have come together, we have investigated, and we have probed the meaning of this precious inscription. And one man said: “It (humility) means constant oblivion of one’s achievements.” Another: “It is the acknowledgement of oneself as the last of all and the greatest sinner of all.” And another: “The mind’s recognition of one’s weakness and impotence.” Another again: “In fits of rage, it means to forestall one’s neighbor and be first to stop the quarrel.” And again another: “Recognition of Divine grace and divine compassion.” And again another: “The feeling of a contrite soul, and the renunciation of one’s own will.” But when I had listened to all this and had attentively and soberly investigated it, I found that I had not been able to attain to the blessed perception of that virtue from what had been said. Therefore, last of all, having gathered what fell from the lips of those learned and blessed fathers as a dog gathers the crumbs that fall from the table, I too gave my definition of it and said: “Humility is a nameless grace in the soul, its name known only to those who have learned it by experience. It is unspeakable wealth, a name and gift from God, for it is said: “learn not from an angel, nor from man, nor from a book, but from Me, that is, from My indwelling, from My illumination and action in you; for I am meek and humble in heart and in thought and in spirit, and your soul shall find rest from conflicts and relief from thoughts.” (Matthew 11:29)"

St. John Climacus

"The Ladder of Divine Ascent," (Boston: Holy Transfiguration Monastery, 1978), Step25: On the Destroyer of the Passions, Most Sublime Humility, Which is rooted in Spiritual Perception

"Make account that thou hast done nothing, and then thou hast done all. For if, being sinners, when we account ourselves to be what we are, we become righteous, as indeed the Publican did; how much more, when being righteous we account ourselves to be sinners."

St John Chrysostom

HOMILY III., MATT. I. 1

(http://www.orthodox.net/gleanings/humility.html)

The Publican and the Pharisee (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX-Ak_ErYWrOwDW6JpqBvFCUPdK3u9IkosT-v1rGjK7ubKy5a-6NgGUvd9vHjlRo_wgsVXizUzuknRSYu59NgGxwzEkMFEgpX7F2eIfIUpP44rD4d8ZxDlNKl00weHN6gg7Mz4Vcs7dCkp/s1600/publican+and+pharisee3.jpg)

   

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God. have mercy on us and save us! Amen!

Selected Quotes of the Fathers on Vainglory, Pride, and Humility

Christ the Bridegroom (Icon courtesy of www.eikonografos.com used with permission)

Selected Quotes of the Fathers on Vainglory, Pride, and Humility
"Adam became so proud that he wished to become God and died for his pride; the Son of God humbled Himself unto death, and gave life to the fallen. O abyss of humility! Adam and Eve lost themselves through gluttony, the Lord fasted and died for them, in order to give them life. They were disobedlient, Christ fulfilled obedience."
St. John of Kronstadt - My Life in Christ

"Flee vainglory, and you will be glorified; fear pride, and you will be magnified."
St. Isaac the Syrian - "Ascetical Homilies" (Homily Five)

"Pride does not perceive that it walks in darkness and, as being darkened, it does not know the insight of wisdom. For this reason in its own murky thoughts it elevates itself above all, whereas it is more vile and more feeble than any, and it is incapable of learning the ways of the Lord. And the Lord conceals His will from it, because it did not choose to walk in the path of the humble."
St. Isaac the Syrian - "Ascetical Homilies" (Homily Nineteen)
(http://scienceofsalvation.blogspot.com/)

“The sun shines on all alike, and vainglory beams on all activities. For instance, I am vainglorious when I fast; and when I relax the fast in order to be unnoticed, I am again vainglorious over my prudence. When well-dressed I am quite overcome by vainglory, and when I put on poor clothes I am vainglorious again. When I talk I am defeated, and when I am silent I am again defeated by it. However I throw this prickly-pear, a spike stands upright.”
St. John Climacus - The Ladder of Divine Ascent (Step 22, Section 5)

“An angel fell from Heaven without any other passion except pride, and so we may ask whether it is possible to ascend to Heaven by humility alone, without any other of the virtues.”
St. John Climacus - The Ladder of Divine Ascent (Step 23, Section 12)
(http://www.hchc.edu/hellenic/campus_life/vocation/OCTEV_Resources/quotes/johnclimacus.html)

"When pride retreats from a man, humility begins to dwell in him, and the more pride is diminished, so much more does humility grow. The one gives way to the other as to its opposite. Darkness departs and light appears. Pride is darkness, but humility is light."
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk - "Journey to Heaven"

"Pride prevents the soul from setting on the path of faith."
Staretz Silouan - "Wisdom from Mount Athos"

"Humility is a Heavenly siphon which from the abyss of sins can raise the soul to Heaven."
St. John Climacus - The Ladder of Divine Ascent (Step 25)

"When blessed Anthony saw all the snares of the devil spread out everywhere, he sighed, and asked God how anyone could ever avoid them. God answered him, 'Humility. It is humility that enables you to escape them all!' And what is more astonishing, He added, 'They cannot even touch you'."
St. Dorotheos of Gaza - "Discourses and Sayings" (On Humility)

"...The work of fulfilling the Commandments generates a state of humility."
Abba Dorotheos of Gaza - "Discourses amd Sayings"

"Let us humble ourselves and the Spirit of God Himself will instruct the soul."
Staretz Silouan - "Wisdom from Mount Athos"
(http://scienceofsalvation.blogspot.com/)

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!

Selected Quotes of the Fathers on Hope and Patience

Christ carrying His Cross to Golgotha (Source: www.eikonografos.com)

Selected Quotes of the Fathers on Patience
"Trials are of two kinds. Either affliction will test our souls as gold is tried in a furnace, and make trial of us through patience, or the very prosperity of our lives will oftentimes, for many, be itself an occasion of trial and temptation. For it is equally difficult to keep the soul upright and undefeated in the midst of afflictions, as to keep oneself from insolence and pride in prosperity.”
St. Basil the Great – “I Will Pull Down My Barns” (The Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers)

"Show patience, and there will be peace.”
St. Anatoly of Optina – “A Collection of Letters to Nuns”

"When patience greatly increases in our soul, it is a sign that we have secretly received the grace of consolation. The power of patience is stronger than the joyful thoughts that descend into the heart.”
St. Isaac the Syrian – “Ascetical Homilies” (Homily Forty-Eight)

"...It is patience that both commends us to God, and saves us for God. It is that same patience which tempers anger, bridles the tongue, governs the mind, guards peace, rules discipline, breaks the onslaught of lust, suppresses the violence of pride, extinguishes the fire of dissension, restrains the power of the wealthy, renews the endurance of the poor in bearing their lot, guards the blessed integrity of virgins, the difficult chastity of widows, and the indivisible love of husbands and wives. It makes men humble in prosperity, brave in adversity, meek in the face of injuries and insults. It teaches us to pardon our offenders quickly; if you yourself should offend, it teaches you to ask pardon often and with perseverance. It vanquishes temptations, sustains persecutions, endures sufferings and martyrdoms to the end. It is this patience which strongly fortifies the foundations of our faith. It is this patience which sublimely promotes the growth of hope. It directs our action, so that we can keep to the way of Christ while we make progress because of his forbearance. It ensures our perseverance as sons of God while we imitate the patience of the Father.”
St. Cyprian of Carthage – “The Good of Patience”

“...In proportion to your humility you are given patience in your woes; and in proportion to your patience the burden of your afflictions is made lighter and you will find consolation; in proportion to your consolation, your love of God increases; and in proportion to your love, your joy in the Holy Spirit is magnified. Once men have truly become His sons, our tenderly compassionate Father does not take away their temptations from them when it is His pleasure to 'make for them a way to escape' (1 Cor. 10:13), but instead He gives His sons patience in their trials. All these good things are given into the hand of their patience for the perfecting of their souls.”
St. Isaac the Syrian - "Ascetical Homilies" (Homily Forty-Two)

“Ask with tears, seek with obedience, knock with patience. For thus he who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
St. John Climacus – "The Ladder of Divine Ascent" (Step 28)

“Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, but stand your ground courageously. And assuredly, the angel who guards you will honour your patience.”
St. John Climacus - "The Ladder of Divine Ascent" (Step 5)

"Do not be cast down over the struggle- the Lord loves a brave warrior. The Lord loves the soul that is valiant"
St. Siloan the Athonite

"...And so let us be glad and bear with patience everything the world throws at us, secure in the knowledge that it is then that we are most in the mind of God."
St. Basil the Great - "Gateway to Paradise"

"Hope also requires a life corresponding to the hope."
St. John of Kronstadt - My Life in Christ

"Tribulations worketh patience, and patience probation, and probation hope, " (Rom. 5:3,4). And even as the violence of the wind, when it rushes upon strong trees, and sways them in all directions, does not root them up, but renders them still firmer and stronger by these attacks; so the soul that is holy, and lives in a religious state, is not supplanted by the inroads of trial and tribulation, but stimulated thereby to more patience; even as the blessed Job, whom they made more illustrious and honourable."
St. John Chrysostom - "Concerning the Statutes"

"Prayer breathes hope..."
St. John of Kronstadt - My Life in Christ

"When you pray, bring to mind the ploughman who sows in hope. He Who causes to return twofold the seed that the ploughman sows with hope, Who has esteemed the seeking of His kingdom and His righteousness to be greater than temporal things, He himself will reward your entreaty according to His promise."
St. Isaac the Syrian - "Ascetical Homilies" (Homily Twenty-Five)

The Holy Prophet Job on the dung-hill (http://www.srpskoblago.org/Archives/Gracanica/exhibits/digital/w2-n2s2/large/w2-n2s2-4.jpg)

  

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!

Selected Quotes of the Fathers on Repentance

The Return of the Prodigal Son (Icon courtesy of www.eikonografos.com used with permission)

Selected Quotes of the Fathers on Repentance
"He who would be saved should ever have his heart disposed to repentance and broken, according to the Psalmist: A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit: a broken and humbled heart God will not despise (Ps. 50:17). In such brokenness of spirit a man can easily pass securely through the artful snares of the proud devil, whose whole care consists in agitating the human spirit, and in agitation sowing his tares, in accordance with the words of the Gospel: Lord, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? From whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this (Matt. 13:27-28). When, however, a man strives within himself to have his heart humble and his thought not agitated, but peaceful, then all the snares of the enemy are without effect; for where there is peace in one's thoughts, there resides the Lord God Himself - His place is in peace (Ps. 75:3).”
St. Seraphim of Sarov - 'Little Russian Philokalia' (Repentance)

“...Repentance which is true and truly from the heart persuades the penitent not to sin any more, not to mix with corrupt people, and not to gape in curiousity at evil pleasures, but to despise things present, cling to things to come, struggle against passions, seek after virtues, be self-controlled in every respect, keep vigil with prayers to God, and shun dishonest gain. It convinces him to be merciful to those who wrong him, gracious to those who ask something of him, ready with all his heart to bend down and help in any way he can, whether by words, actions or money, all who seek his assistance, that through kindness to his fellow-man he might gain God's love in return for loving his neighbor, draw the Divine favour to himself, and attain to eternal mercy and God's everlasting blessing and grace.”
St. Gregory Palamas - "Homily on the Feast of SS. Peter and Paul"

“Repentance raises the fallen, mourning knocks at the gate of Heaven, and holy humility opens it.”
St. John Climacus - "The Ladder of Divine Ascent" (Step 25)

“Repentance signifies regret, change of mind. The distinguishing marks of repentance are contrition, tears, aversion towards sin, and love of the good.”
St. Nectarios of Aegina

“Repentance is the second grace and is begotten in the heart by faith and fear. Fear is the paternal rod which guides our way until we reach the spiritual paradise of good things. When we have attained thereto, it leaves us and turns back.”
St. Isaac the Syrian - "Ascetical Homilies”

“The main thing in repentance is the anguish of the heart over being deficient in the Lord's eyes and a firm resolution to try to be diligent in everything in the future."
St. Theophan the Recluse - "The Spiritual Life"
(http://scienceofsalvation.blogspot.com/)

"Repentance is the renewal of baptism. Repentance is a contract with God for a second life. A penitent is a buyer of humility. Repentance is constant distrust of bodily comfort. Repentance is self-condemning reflection, and carefree self-care. Repentance is the daughter of hope and the renunciation of despair. A penitent is an undisgraced convict. Repentance is reconciliation with the Lord by the practice of good deeds contrary to the sins. Repentance is purification of conscience. Repentance is the voluntary endurance of all afflictions. A penitent is the inflicter of his own punishments. Repentance is a mighty persecution of the stomach, and a striking of the soul into vigorous awareness."
St. John Climacus – The Ladder of Divine Ascent

"Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, but stand your ground courageously. And assuredly, the angel who guards you will honour your patience."
St. John Climacus – The Ladder of Divine Ascent
(http://www.quotes.orthodoxwiki.org/John_Climacus)

  

The true repentance of St. Peter, after he denied Christ (http://www.skete.com/images/products/icons/CF728.jpg)

  

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!

St. Akakios the Righteous of Sinai, and St. John Klimakos on Obedience

Icon of St. Akakios of Sinai, who was mentioned in the Ladder of Divine Ascent - Commemorated on July 7 (taken from: http://christopherklitou.com/icon_7_july_acacius_of_sinai.htm)
   

"Saint Acacius of Sinai lived during the sixth century and was a novice at a certain monastery in Asia. The humble monk distinguished himself by his patient and unquestioning obedience to his Elder, a harsh and dissolute man. He forced his disciple to toil excessively, starved him with hunger, and beat him without mercy. Despite such treatment, St Acacius meekly endured the affliction and thanked God for everything. St Acacius died after suffering these torments for nine years.
   

Five days after Acacius was buried, his Elder told another Elder about the death of his disciple. The second Elder did not believe that the young monk was dead. They went to the grave of Acacius and the second Elder called out: "Brother Acacius, are you dead?" From the grave a voice replied, "No, Father, how is it possible for an obedient man to die?" The startled Elder of St Acacius fell down with tears before the grave, asking forgiveness of his disciple.
   

After this he repented, constantly saying to the Fathers, "I have committed murder." He lived in a cell near the grave of St Acacius, and he ended his life in prayer and in meekness. St John Climacus (March 30) mentions him in THE LADDER (Step 4:110) as an example of endurance and obedience, and of the rewards for these virtues.
   

St Acacius is also commemorated on November 29."

(taken from: http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=101951)

   

Troparion of Sts. Thomas of Malea and Akakios of Sinai - Tone 4

O God of our Fathers, always act with kindness towards us; take not Your mercy from us, but guide our lives in peace through the prayers of Saints Thomas and Acacius.

   

Kontakion - Tone 2 Podoben: "Seeking the highest..."

Forsaking the world, you followed Christ from childhood. Emulating His voluntary humility, you cast down the prideful tyrant. All-wise and venerable Acacius, unceasingly pray for us all!

   

Icon of St. John Klimakos, author of the Ladder of Divine Ascent (Icon courtesy of www.eikonografos.com used with permission)
   

Quote from the Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step IV: On blessed and ever-memorable obedience.

"Obedience is absolute renunciation of our own life, clearly expressed in our bodily actions. Or, conversely, obedience is the mortification of the limbs while the mind remains alive. Obedience is unquestioning movement, voluntary death, a life free of curiosity, carefree danger, unprepared defence before God, fearlessness of death, a safe voyage, a sleeper’s progress. Obedience is the tomb of the will and the resurrection of humility. A corpse does not argue or reason as to what is good or what seems to be bad. For he who has devoutly put the soul of the novice to death will answer for everything. Obedience is an abandonment of discernment in a wealth of discernment."
(from the Ladder of Divine Ascent by St. John Klimakos, taken from the translation by Holy Transfiguration Monastery, excerpts posted here: http://www.innerlightproductions.com/thoughts/oct0399.htm)
   

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!